I seem to be having a problem (I think it is a problem) where I am flowering most of my Paphs on very small growths. It is particularly noticeable when I obtain a division of a plant and I can compare the size of my flowering growths with that of the previous person. Generally the size of my growths are only a fraction of that flowered previously.

For example, here is a photo of Paph wardii. You can see the 2 growths in the middle both have buds developing. Both these growths have only 4 small leaves. All those large leaves on the left and right of the pot are from previous growths. My growths would only be a third the size at best. The second photo is of Paph S Gratrix. The plant had already flowered (middle growth) when I bought it. The growths on the left and right are from my flowering. These growths were quite large when I bought it so I suspect they could be even smaller next time they flower.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/emydura/wardii5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/emydura/gratrix.jpg

Even my seedlings are flowering on tiny growths. I keep getting amazed when seedlings I’m not expecting to flower for a couple of years suddenly throw up a spike. Look at this Paph tonsum. The flower is bigger than the growth.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/emydura/tonsum5.jpg

Despite the size of the growths, the flowers still end up particularly large. However when I flowered my Susan Booth on relatively smaller growths than previous, I ended up only having two flowers. So I am worried that this problem is resulting in the plants sacrificing flower count.

Anyone got any solutions. One of the possible causes you might think of is too much light. But I don’t think this is the case. Especially the mottled leaves plants which I do grow in a fair amount of shade.

David

I don't think you have a problem. You may just be a good grower or you may have a couple of plants with the awful habit of flowering too young.

I'd rather be in your shoes than a guy that can't seem to flower ANYTHING, much less on plants too small!

I saw a spicerianum last december that was flowering like your tonsum. The flower was MUCH larger than the plant in a 2" pot.

Flowering on such a small grow certainly puts tremendous stress on the young plant but I wouldn't worry about it. Your plants look fine. ENJOY YOUR BLOOMS! Congratulations

It is not just a few plants, it is pretty well the majority. I'm certainly happy to flower them. I guess I would like to see the plants reach their full potential, especially the multiflorals.

I do tend to grow Paphs on the dryer side so i wonder if this has any affect. Less water, hence slower growth rates and eventually smaller growths. I thought Paphs would wait to they reached a certain size then throw up a spike. but I guess there is a trade-off with growth rates. Saying that, some of my Paphs are throwing up spikes very quickly. The growths in that wardii are only a year old while I have a superbiens that put on a growth (smaller than normal of course) and a flower spike all within 6 months. I'm just confused.

David

Hey David, I admit, it does sound a bit odd. I look forward to hearing some of our experienced growers reply. I know I have often heard that folks would rather a second growth be well on its' way before the first mature growth blooms, and that is what I tend to look for when weighing evidence.

While it is nice to have blooms, you don't want them blooming as a last ditch effort, for sure! Hang in there, good luck, and I hope we hear from some others who might be able to help you!

What are your growing conditions like...mainly, what is your relative humidity 90 percent of the time and how far away from what kind of light are they?
When you say you keep them dryer...how long is the media dry for between waterings?

I've had plants, Maudiae types especially, do this when grown on a windowsill. Paphs like more water at their roots and in the air than many orchids. I let mine dry out completely for only one day, maybe two if I don't notice it, but my humidity is constantly at least 70%. Flowering on stunted growth is usually a sign of mild stress...but not very bad for the plants as it is just the plants way of adapting to their surroundings.
If you have constantly high humidity and this is happening...they are drying out for too long in between waterings.
If this isn't the case then you've stumped me. I hope some of this helps...as I say, I only know these symptoms from one cause and you may have it from another I am not familiar with.
Jon

The plants are grown in a glasshouse with 70% shadecloth for the multiflorals and brachys and another layer of shadecloth over the rest. In the middle of summer I also put a layer of 50% shadecloth on top of this. The Australian sun in the middle of summer is pretty intense. Humidity can be a problem in summer. It is just so dry outside. It is hard to say what the humidity is 90% of the time as it is so variable. In the glasshouse I try and keep the humidity above 50%. Generally successful, but not always. I have automatic misters but I would need them on permanently to keep it high. Most of the time the humidity would be above 70% but in the middle to late afternoon on a hot day it would go down to 50%. Humidity is something I worry about and am looking to improve.

I don't let them dry out totally between waterings. They certainly wouldn't be dry for 2 or more days. I don't believe in the evenly moist concept. That just means rotted roots to me. Still, I am more unsure about watering now than I have ever been.

David

I think you should buy a flask of Phrag kovachii as soon as they are available. Being the first to market by two years, you'll make a fortune!!!

Do you have the same luck with phrags?

You mentioned multi-florals. Do you have the same luck with these? Are your adult plants blooming regularly?

I don't think you have anything to fix or change!

P.S. Throw in a flask of roths and sandies while you're at it!

"A PLANT’S GROWTH IS DETERMINED IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO THE AMOUNT OF WATER IT RECIEVES".
This may help: http://www.lancebirk.com/gpage.html2.html

........SORRY.........

I meant this: http://www.lancebirk.com/downloads/CH_2_Water.htm

........SORRY.........

I meant this: http://www.lancebirk.com/downloads/CH_2_Water.htm

You can always click on the EDIT button to edit your posts.

Not only is the amount of water important, but so is the amount of food!

Look at it this way: many plants are quite time-sensitive in relation to their growth cycle. If they are not growing at a rate that gets them to the same size when it's time to bloom, they will try anyway, with the result being fewer and/or smaller blossoms that typically don't last as long. Worse, it weakens the plant, making it that much harder for it to recuperate for the future growth.

Look at it this other way, too: in order to build up mass, i.e., become larger, the plant must assimilate the proper amount of water and nutrients, and do enough photosynthesizing. If any one of those isn't up-to-par for any reason, smaller growth it is.

David
I'd look at your air humidity harder. Especially if the problem is worse with your barbata types. I saw allot of plants in my collection experienceing the same problems as yours.

I automated my greenhouse with misters for about the same reasons as yours (and cooling too). And the results have been fantastic once the humidity got locked in at 70% or more. I do go through lots of water, and looking for more efficient methods. Will probably need to go to foggers.

Take Care Rick

Thanks for all the advice.

Slipperhead - I don't have any Phrags although I may be purchasing a wallisii soon. I have quite a few multiflorals although many of these are large seedlings. The larger plants have been flowering for me no problems. But I wasn't getting a high flower count.

Ray - I feed my plants heavily (2 out of 3 waterings), so I don't think that is the problem.

It sounds like I definitely need to improve the humidity levels during hot weather and maybe more water. The humidity issue is difficult as we have severe water restrictions here and I am already breaking the law using automated misters. I'm not sure where I can go.

I notice a lot of the growers on this list grow their orchids inside their house under lights. How can you maintain high humidity levels in such an environment? I’m finding it tough enough in a glasshouse.

David

I notice a lot of the growers on this list grow their orchids inside their house under lights. How can you maintain high humidity levels in such an environment? I’m finding it tough enough in a glasshouse.

David

I'm having trouble with this. My area is not restricted enough right now. I have a humidifier but I need another, at least! I go through the water between when I go to bed and wake up and again before/after work. Actually, the noise when it runs out of water now wakes me up, and I often run down here at 4am to refill. Was really low today, which was a beautiful warm windy day with the windows in the grow area open. :roll:

I can't use misters/foggers as I am an appartment dweller with rugs and such below my area. Trays may help a teeny bit, but very little.

When I grew primarily on a windowsill, I had a smaller room with one door to work with. I kept the windows shut year-round and the door closed as much as possible. I had two ultrasonic humidifiers on timers so that they both ran at different times but never letting the humidity drop below 60%. I did have to refill them once a day and always had to regulate the humidity by opening/closing the door. I used a bunch of small fans instead of a couple big fans to keep just enough air flow on the plants to prevent problems.

The main problem I had was algae growing on the windows during winter when the glass was cold and the water would condense on it. Never really had too many problems with the humidity other than that though.

I've never used the foggers, so I don't know how efficently they use water...probably worth more research though.
Jon

My two cents worth.
I would unpot the plants and check to see the condition of the roots - are they alive and do they have actively growing tips? If they do then:

1) make sure that your growing medium is free draining
2) do not let the growing medium dry out! please!
3) feed at every watering with a balanced fertilizer at approximately 100 ppm N
4) it is critical that you raise the humidity level. When I visited the Eric Young Foundation, I was amazed at the condition of the plants - both paphs and phrags. They said that raising the humidity to 70% will give you better growth than changing any other growing condition. Paphs will tolerate lower humidity but they will not thrive.
5) Small growths indicate an unhappy plant. Frequently unhappy plants bloom as a last ditch effort to survive.
6) I would check the difference between your day and night temperatures. 90 degrees and higher and paphs stop growing. Keep the night temperature to a minimun of 65 degrees for growing. 60 ish to initiate blooming.
7) Since all of your paphs are reacting in the same way, you might want to try growing under lights, where you can maintain conditions more suitable for paph. culture can be maintained.

Opps sorry, that was 7 cents worth :(

David,

What constitutes "heavy feeding?"

I use fertilizer with every watering at 125 ppm N, and I am seeing better, more robust growt than ever. Keep in mind that I'm growing all of my slippers in Semi-Hydroponic culture, so they have a virtually unlimited supply of water and nutrition.

Ray - I feed them at half-strength (after flushing the pot) every 2 out of 3 waterings. I haven't worked out ppm's.

The roots tend to be fine. Lots of them and generally all growing. Overall the plants look really healthy. I'm not sure you would think there is a problem looking at them. I think humidity is the real problem. I just have to work out how I can increase it. I don't think growing under lights inside my house would help as I would find it even harder to increase humidity levels. Plus I have too many plants to be able to do this. Canberra in summer is just so dry. We can get humidity levels as low as 4or 5% during the day which makes it hard to increase it to 70% or more in the glasshouse. I use automatic misters but I find the humidity levels rapidly decline again after they have stopped. Maybe I need to look at these foggers?

Currently my minimum temperatures are around 16oC (around 60F). Maximum temps in Summer can be a problem. On a hot day the temps can get up to 32 or 33 oC. I have an evaporative cooler but if it is 40 oC outside it can't work miracles.

David

OK, but half-strength of WHAT?

If it's a 10-10-10 formula that's recommended at 1 teaspoon per gallon (1.25 ml/l), half strength only gives you 67 ppm N.

Ray

I use a few, but here is the most common one I use.

N P K - 22:8:12 at 1g in 1 litre.

I mix at half this rate. So what ppm does that work out at. I couldn't quite work out how you got 67 ppm below. What is your recommendation in terms of the ppm I should be feeding at? Do you vary it according to the season. For example, use another fertiliser with a different NPK ratio to encourage flowering.

Cheers

David

David,
Check out this cool calculator on Ray's site. http://www.firstrays.com/fertcalc.htm I've been playing there lately (thanks Ray! neat site!) :D

If I put in your fert, at 1 tsp per gallon, it comes out to 290ppm nitrogen.

Thanks Heather.

I had to convert what I'm using to teaspoons per gallon (when are you guys going to start using the metric system :wink: ) which I calculated came out to 0.4 teaspoons per gallon. Which made it 116 ppm nitrogen, 19 ppm phos, 53 ppm potassium and 188 ppm TDS. The nitrogen is close to what Ray is recommending above 125 ppm N) so I assume I'm doing it right. Any thoughts? I always flush out the pots heavily before fertilising. I assume the recommended figures are based on doing this.

David