# Charles E x Borneo getting smaller, not bigger



## My Green Pets (Jan 9, 2016)

Hi everyone,

Here's my roth, bought September 2014. It has been slowly losing lower leaves, which I felt was probably ok, but now an entire growth is turning brown, so I wanted to ask what needs to be changed.

The plant is currently grown at intermediate temperatures with bright light with some sun in the afternoons. Humidity is 50 - 60%. I rarely fertilize it but when I do I use 30-10-10 at ¼ tsp / gal. Since it is in a 10 inch pot, I water sparingly, especially in winter, about once per week.

Photos:


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## emydura (Jan 9, 2016)

The mix seems very coarse. Your humidity is a little low (50-60%) but not bad. When you combine all that with a clay pot your mix would dry out quickly. You say you water sparingly. I wonder if it is getting enough water. I find these Paphs do better with more water. 

The pot also seems a little large for the plant. What was the root system like? If it wasn't big I'd probably have it in a smaller pot with a finer mix. 

The other growths look healthy though.


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## cnycharles (Jan 9, 2016)

Maybe that's the original seedling growth, which if was the only one declining and roots are okay then you're set though I would second David's advice. Anytime I put plants in big pots with coarse media I end up rotting the roots cause the top looks dry but it's too stagnant inside. Having a smaller pot to water more I think would keep it fresher and happier


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## troy (Jan 9, 2016)

I saw a charles e with a 38 inch leafspan, either the root system is out of service or the plant is misslabeled.. the growth habit looks like a phillipinense


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## Justin (Jan 9, 2016)

I agree it should be in a finer bark mix so that you can retain more moisture at the roots.

It is just one old growth dying back...nothing to worry about but keep the plant better hydrated going forward.


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## My Green Pets (Jan 9, 2016)

Ok well I was looking for a reason to inspect the roots and you all have given me that. I unpotted and it looks like there were very few healthy roots. The plant kind of fell apart into two plants, so I potted them up separately in new air cone pots. I put large lava rock at the bottom, a layer of sphagnum, a layer of bark, then a top layer of sphagnum. I wonder if there's too much air at the bottom of the pot.


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## troy (Jan 9, 2016)

not a charles e x borneo roth, I was in a greenhouse the other day and noticed a gigantic roth single growth 40 inch leafspan and it was a true charles e and I beleive roth 'borneo' is large. with a clump of plant from that cross you would have a 1 ginourmous plant


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## gonewild (Jan 9, 2016)

This could be Pythium or another soil fungi. 
You should drench it with a strong fungicide.


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## troy (Jan 9, 2016)

Could a fungus shrink that cross to that small?


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## My Green Pets (Jan 9, 2016)

troy, here's a link to some of this cross in bloom. They don't look to be so big. As I have seen here in other threads, Borneo was a very small clone.

http://www.nattsorchids.com/Paph_rothschildianum.jpg


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## troy (Jan 9, 2016)

Very nice blooming in the link, I'm just skeptical because the charles e I saw was very very large and cost almost 5,000 a few years back, the owner said, I hope that yours bounces back quick and blooms for you, there is active growing roots which is very good


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## emydura (Jan 9, 2016)

troy said:


> Very nice blooming in the link, I'm just skeptical because the charles e I saw was very very large and cost almost 5,000 a few years back, the owner said, I hope that yours bounces back quick and blooms for you, there is active growing roots which is very good



But this isn't Charles E. It is a seedling of Charles E x Borneo. The flowers look very typical of this type of breeding.


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## gonewild (Jan 9, 2016)

troy said:


> Could a fungus shrink that cross to that small?



The small is from lack of water and nutrients. Very easily could be caused by the fungus over time by limiting the root activity.


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