# Opinions on helenae



## abax (Oct 11, 2013)

I have three helenae. One has one leaf, one has two leaves and the newest
has three growths and in bloom. I've noticed that small plants in my gh
tend to like being in the same pot for some period of time...something like
a compot, I imagine. I'm considering potting all three plants together in
a 4" clay orchid pot. Is autumn bad timing for this idea? Might waiting
until spring be better? I really don't like growing in plastic pots and would
like to get them out of the pots they came in, but I can wait if this time of
year is unwise. In passing, I might mention that I have more sun in winter
when all the leaves on surrounding trees have fallen. Opinions please.


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## Rick (Oct 11, 2013)

That observation may indicate you are still overfeeding (i.e. lots of plants competing for shared resource actually improving pot conditions).

I think you can repot these guys any time of year Angela and try something else if you think they need a change. Maybe just water no feed at all until spring.

Mine are in baskets with mostly gravel. Live moss has taken over the surfaces of the gravel and baskets.


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## abax (Oct 11, 2013)

Rick, I have cut feeding K-lite back to 1/4 tsp. per gallon once a month, but
with winter coming I'll cut that further for Paphs. The plant with only one
leaf left is in a basket of mostly gravel with a bit of small Orchiata. It hasn't
died, but it doesn't appear happy either. The one with two leaves hasn't
put on any new growth since it bloomed. All other Paphs. (mostly Brachy) are doing very well in clay pots and I have several buds coming
along nicely. To be truthful, I'm terrified of bringing collected moss into
my greenhouse. I have live moss ordered for spring that's supposed to be very clean. Do you think Orthene might kill collected moss? I'm going
to get growing helenae right if it kills me! I'll discontinue K-Lite until
spring. Forgive me. I'm all in a dither about the helenae. Thank you.


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## naoki (Oct 11, 2013)

Last fall, one of my P. helenae got root rot, and it ended up with no root & 2 leaves. I wrapped it with Alaskan live sphag moss loosely, put it in a small (2") Rand's pot (bottom 1/2 filled with normal bark based mix), and "grew" it under pretty dim LED grow light (28W per 4 sqft). I was 90% sure it was a goner, because soon after putting it in sphag, it dropped one of the 2 leaves, and the last leave (about 1") was pretty dehydrated. But it remained as a 1-leaf plant with no root for about a half year, and it finally started to grow leaves earlier this summer (now it's in normal bark mix). It seems to be stable for now. So it seems to be a pretty tough species (or I was just lucky). It didn't bring in any bugs etc. You could keep it in quarantine area for a while if you are worrying about bugs. I didn't even wash or anything.


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## naoki (Oct 11, 2013)

This a bit far fetched, but I wonder abscisic acid (ABA) is something to do with the benefit. The following info seems to suggest that bryophytes (moss) need to tolerate drought, and ABA plays a role: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100204144809.htm
IF ABA is produced abundantly by moss, and if it leaks out to plants, plants may be able to save energy by not synthesizing ABA (stressed plants need ABA as a emergency switch). ABA is an SOS hormone, which stops shoot growth, but root growth is unaffected (or promote root growth). When the plants are healthy, excessive ABA isn't great, but when the plants are weak (e.g. not enough root), this might help. Also ABA is involved in pathogen defense: http://www.plant-hormones.info/abscisicacid.htm


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## SlipperFan (Oct 11, 2013)

I don't see any problem with repotting them now, but I sure would not put them together.

Mine took awhile to recover from whatever rot it had when I got it. Mine's in an orchiata mix, on the warm side of my greenhouse with lower light.


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## Chicago Chad (Oct 11, 2013)

I can't really tell you much about helenae but I have heard that people will actually microwave their live sphag to kill microorganisms. I have never done this but I would imagine it could help remove anything unwanted if the moss was relatively unaffected by the process.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Oct 11, 2013)

This is a good time of year to repot. I would not put all 3 together though...if 1 gets a rot, the others will too.


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## abax (Oct 11, 2013)

Thank you everyone! I did the deed this afternoon. Two of the plants have
excellent roots and the little one leaf plant had no roots at all. I potted
them together and drenched with Cleary's. This is experimental so we shall
see what we shall see. Send good vibes for improvement!

naoki, I worry about bugs and bringing weeds into the greenhouse. I have plenty
of moss around the property, but all of it has various weeds growing in it and
there are at least three different kinds of moss. None of them look like the photos
TN Rick has growing on his baskets. Does anyone know anything about Orthene
drench on moss?


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## Stone (Oct 13, 2013)

You'll have to pick out any weeds but I find that submerging it for 24 hours will kill most bugs, snails, slugs, eggs etc. but the moss is not harmed.


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## Rick (Oct 13, 2013)

Stone said:


> You'll have to pick out any weeds but I find that submerging it for 24 hours will kill most bugs, snails, slugs, eggs etc. but the moss is not harmed.



That sounds like a good idea to me:wink:


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## abax (Oct 14, 2013)

Sounds like a good idea to me too. I think I'll try a test patch of moss
in the kitchen before I take it into the gh. I've not had any kind of infestation in years and I don't want to start now. *knock on wood*


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