# Paph niveum culture / medium???



## Marc (Jul 17, 2011)

I have this Paph niveum for couple of months now, and allthough a lot of my paphs have really responded very well to the start of spring / summer this one seems to be holding back. It's a plant with 3 growths that have bloomed and it's very slowly pushing out a new growth. I haven't noticed any new root growth. Allthough the existing roots still look healthy.

I grow it on my windowsills and currently temperatures during the daytime here are around 20C, I've placed it at a north facing window so there is quite some light but no direct light.

I've planted it in a mix of bark with bits of perlite and charcoal. I've also added a bit of spagnum to the mix.

It also stayed in my parents greenhouse for a while but that didn't have any noticeable effect either.

Am I missing out on something here?


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## likespaphs (Jul 17, 2011)

do you supplement with oyster shell or the like?


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## Marc (Jul 17, 2011)

likespaphs said:


> do you supplement with oyster shell or the like?



No I haven't, is this used to influence the PH value of the medium or do the brachy's need certain micronutrients that are released by oyster shell?


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## paphioboy (Jul 17, 2011)

Niveum particularly loves limestone. One of my friends had a 15-growth niveum clump that did not flower until he added limestone. It was growing in tree-fern + charcoal.


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## Marc (Jul 17, 2011)

I did some searching and according to wiki Limestone contains different crystal forms of calcium carbonate ( CaCO3 ).

I have a product in my potting material collection that's called "mergel", which is a rock deposit that contains both calcium carbonate and a form of clay. It's a very soft material and I can easily crush it in a fine powder and add it on the top of the medium before next watering.


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## Rick (Jul 17, 2011)

http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21692

Marc you should go over this thread on concolor.

Both being brachies, niveum and concolor are very similar in requirements. The only big difference is that niveum is found at sea level in open environments (hot and sunny) will concolor is found at higher elevations in more shaded environments (cooler and shadier), but both like limestone habitats.

In particular be careful about the amount of fertilizer you use. See all the posts of QuietAustralian about how restrictive and seasonal his use of fertilizer is.


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## fibre (Jul 17, 2011)

SUN! Niveum loves sun! My niveums are growing on my windowsill south facing with only a little shade on high noon and in the spring to adapt to the bright sunlight.
I've never seen a niveum growing successfully on a north window!


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## SlipperKing (Jul 17, 2011)

I agree with the above advise. All I would add is to not bother crushing your "mergel" Leave it as is and let the CaCO3 leach out on its own. Otherwise, it will only wash out the bottom of the pot.


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## poozcard (Jul 17, 2011)

only bark + limestone should be fine

I saw niveums grow insitu with a temp between 28-40c
very exposed to light and strong wind of andaman sea


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 17, 2011)

I would eliminate the sphagnum. Keep it in a bark mix that is very heavy on inorganic media- spongerock, lava rock, whatever is available, with some added limestone/dolomite/oyster shell.


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## Rick (Jul 17, 2011)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> I would eliminate the sphagnum. Keep it in a bark mix that is very heavy on inorganic media- spongerock, lava rock, whatever is available, with some added limestone/dolomite/oyster shell.



Mine is doing good in the sphag basket culture method. But the basket drys out much nicer than a pot of moss.


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## Marc (Jul 18, 2011)

Would expanded clay pallets also be an option for inorganic potting material?


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## paphioboy (Jul 18, 2011)

Marc said:


> Would expanded clay pallets also be an option for inorganic potting material?



Widely used in Thailand. LECA + charcoal. Brachys root very well in it. I am not sure if they are using primeagra, hydroton or other type of LECA....


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## Roth (Jul 18, 2011)

Now more and more Thai growers swap to orchiata power grade. I was very surprised during my visit about that, but they like it. They still tend to mix it, but some start to use it pure without additive.

This said, the main difference between niveum and concolor, niveum does not like at all a potting mix with not enough lime. Concolor can stand of it easily. Concolor can be watered much more, and the northern strains of concolor can take cold, where niveum does not like it too much.


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## quietaustralian (Jul 18, 2011)

Roth said:


> This said, the main difference between niveum and concolor, niveum does not like at all a potting mix with not enough lime. Concolor can stand of it easily. Concolor can be watered much more, and the northern strains of concolor can take cold, where niveum does not like it too much.



I agree.

I grow niveum in Hydroton with about 10% small CHC (5-6mm) and added shell grit.

Mick


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## Marc (Jul 18, 2011)

Thanks for the input so far, I'll read all things through again tomorrow and then I'll repot the plant and give it another spot in the house.


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## likespaphs (Jul 18, 2011)

i accidentally snapped the roots off one i just got and put it in a pot of sphag to help generate new roots.
so far, great progress!
may add oyster shell but may just repot in my normal media then add it


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## toddybear (Jul 18, 2011)

I must just be lucky....my niveum blooms yearly (just coming into spike now) yet I have no limestone in the media and it is growing in an east window with just direct sun for a couple of hours in early morning. Shaded the rest of the day. Temp in summer rarely exceeds 23 C and in winter, it can drop to 15 C nights. It grows alongside my parvis and mottle-leaves.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 18, 2011)

When it comes to sphagnum, I'm more concerned about acidity than moisture retention. With your baskets, the sphagnum is basically the pot, not the medium.


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## Roth (Jul 19, 2011)

toddybear said:


> I must just be lucky....my niveum blooms yearly (just coming into spike now) yet I have no limestone in the media and it is growing in an east window with just direct sun for a couple of hours in early morning. Shaded the rest of the day. Temp in summer rarely exceeds 23 C and in winter, it can drop to 15 C nights. It grows alongside my parvis and mottle-leaves.



If you have hard water, you can avoid using the limestone...


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## Marc (Jul 19, 2011)

Thanks for the input everyone, this evening I took the time to repot the plant and I'll show a few pictures to give you an idea what the plant looks like and what I did.

This is how the plant was prior to repotting, a small new growth emerging but very slow as far as I'm concerned. There was also no new root development to be seen through the clear pot.






The following shot shows the bare root plant. Roots still look as good as they did when I repotted it earlier this year.





This is the "mergel" substance I referred to earlier, it's quite soft and it easily crumbles into smaller pieces. Rubbing it with your hand will make fine sand like particles come loose.





This is the potting mix that I made for the plant, primarily bark with "mergel", perlite and coal. I decided to add no spagnum.





And this is the plant after repotting, in a day or two ( it's quite humid here atm ) I'll water it and move it to a brighter part of the house.





I'll keep you updated on how this change works out for the plant.


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## Marc (Jul 19, 2011)

Google 4tw 

I've found the english word for mergel which I was talking about earlier.

MARL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marl

The google'fu is strong in me.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 19, 2011)

Interesting, Marc. The roots look great at any rate. Do keep us updated about your use of marl.


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## toddybear (Jul 19, 2011)

Roth said:


> If you have hard water, you can avoid using the limestone...



My water is very soft!


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 20, 2011)

Isn't marl calcareous clay?


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## Marc (Jul 20, 2011)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> Isn't marl calcareous clay?



According to the wiki article I linked earlier it is. 

The CaCO3 content of Marl can range from 35-65%


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