# Paphiopedilum brown leaves



## Brabantia (Sep 15, 2015)

The plant I show you is Paph sukhakulii x Paph kolopakingii.
Since many years I try to use the weakly weekly method for feeding my paphs and more and more often I observe this phenom. Bleaching and browning of leaves. I use a 4-1-1 fertilyser containing Ca and Mg in same concentration as Klite. I feed two times per week at 20 ppm nitrogen.One time per month I use a liquid seaweed extract at the recommended concentration. Is this erwinia or translocation of metal elements? I cultivate this plants since tree years and it progresses very very slowly. What is your opinion about these facts.


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## eOrchids (Sep 15, 2015)

It's a natural occurrence. The lower older leaves die back to make way for new growths / leaves.

From the looks of it, the dieback is occurring on the oldest growth which is completely normal.

Hope this ease your concern!


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## phraggy (Sep 15, 2015)

Yes old die back of leaves nothing to worry about --- just pull them off if they come easily and clean the plant up!!

Ed


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## naoki (Sep 15, 2015)

It does look like the re-allocation of mobile nutrients to me, too. The point of Brabantia is the shorter leaf retention period with lower fertilization rate. Right? Is the media pure bark?


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## Stone (Sep 16, 2015)

I see nothing wrong with it (except that it's in coconut:evil


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## Brabantia (Sep 16, 2015)

naoki said:


> It does look like the re-allocation of mobile nutrients to me, too. The point of Brabantia is the shorter leaf retention period with lower fertilization rate. Right? Is the media pure bark?


I use a mix made with 70% bark (8_15 mm) 30% CHC and à few clay balls


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## Brabantia (Sep 16, 2015)

Stone said:


> I see nothing wrong with it (except that it's in coconut:evil


Why do you dislike coconuts?


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## Brabantia (Sep 20, 2015)

Brabantia said:


> Why do you dislike coconuts?



No comments?


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## Stone (Sep 20, 2015)

Brabantia said:


> No comments?



Sorry Brabantia I just saw this. Some people do alright with it but I have had mycelium growing through it and not very good roots. It also stays too wet for me. (I like to water a lot!)


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## Happypaphy7 (Sep 23, 2015)

Normal aging is my first thought as well, unless the yellowing just keeps on going into other leaves. 

How are your other plants looking? That should be more helpful as different plants do different things under the same conditions and it's not always your "faults" when some plants go wrong. 

By the way, has this plant flowered? I wonder what it looked like?

I love coconut husk chips. Most of my paphs grow in them and they love it!


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## fibre (Sep 23, 2015)

The brown leaves are of an not matured growth. IMO not enough nutrients. I would at least double the fertilizer.


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## Brabantia (Sep 25, 2015)

@Happypaphy7: no this plant has never flowered. The roots system is not bad but not extremely developed. And yes other plants like Paph villosum or Paph gratrixianum have also sometimes showed this problem. 
@Fibre: not enough fertilyser: Yes this is also my opinion. 
But ... I water each plant manually (because I cultivate in a veranda) and consequently I cannot water three or four times per week using a low dose of fertilyser (as for example:10 ppmN four times per week). 
I fertilize one time per week at 30 ppm Nitrogen and I add tap water to adjust the pH (6.3 - 6.4). The conductivity measurement of this solution shows a value of 370 µS. Amn't already too high in conductivity?
My conductimeter is calibrated with a 0.005M KCL solution (718 µS at 25°C).


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## fibre (Sep 25, 2015)

I water once a week too. I use only tap water of 280 ppm (mainly caused by Calcium) . I add a fertilizer 0.2 - 0.5 g/liter (Hakaphos blau 15-10-15+2) every second week and I get about 500 ppm then. Every other week I use an organic fertilizer (OPF) at half strength. My mix is pure Orchiata for most of my Paphs. I reduce the fertilizer in winter. This regime works very well for me and most of my Paphs.


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## Erythrone (Sep 25, 2015)

Brabantia said:


> @Happypaphy7: no this plant has never flowered. The roots system is not bad but not extremely developed. And yes other plants like Paph villosum or Paph gratrixianum have also sometimes showed this problem.
> @Fibre: not enough fertilyser: Yes this is also my opinion.
> But ... I water each plant manually (because I cultivate in a veranda) and consequently I cannot water three or four times per week using a low dose of fertilyser (as for example:10 ppmN four times per week).
> I fertilize one time per week at 30 ppm Nitrogen and I add tap water to adjust the pH (6.3 - 6.4). The conductivity measurement of this solution shows a value of 370 µS. Amn't already too high in conductivity?
> My conductimeter is calibrated with a 0.005M KCL solution (718 µS at 25°C).



What about the temperature last summer? Was it very warm? Maybe your plant needs more watering in summer? The "grayish" color of the foliage looks suspect to me.


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## Brabantia (Sep 25, 2015)

Erythrone said:


> What about the temperature last summer? Was it very warm? Maybe your plant needs more watering in summer? The "grayish" color of the foliage looks suspect to me.


Yes this summer many days were very hot. Up to 33 °C (90° F). The plants were watered three time per week at this moments. Never they were dried.


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## Kostas (Sep 25, 2015)

Are you sure the roots are ok? The slow growth and this premature waisting of leafs is similar to one of mine that was loosing roots(snails... Ate the roots, they got infected and died back. I found it with 1 root at repotting but it looked worse, I think from combined heat/sun stress with root loss


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## Erythrone (Sep 25, 2015)

Kostas said:


> Are you sure the roots are ok? The slow growth and this premature waisting of leafs is similar to one of mine that was loosing roots(snails... Ate the roots, they got infected and died back. I found it with 1 root at repotting but it looked worse, I think from combined heat/sun stress with root loss



Good idea to take a look at the root system again...


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## Brabantia (Sep 28, 2015)

This morning I take the plant out its pot ... I find two plants. Each plant have roots but effectively not white tips on these. Just some new roots trying to grow. On one of these two new growths appear. I repoted these two in a new substrate made with fine bark/perlite/shredded CHC and a few pieces of synthetic foam.


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## Brabantia (Oct 11, 2015)

fibre said:


> I water once a week too. I use only tap water of 280 ppm (mainly caused by Calcium) . I add a fertilizer 0.2 - 0.5 g/liter (Hakaphos blau 15-10-15+2) every second week and I get about 500 ppm then. Every other week I use an organic fertilizer (OPF) at half strength. My mix is pure Orchiata for most of my Paphs. I reduce the fertilizer in winter. This regime works very well for me and most of my Paphs.



Which is the idea behind the use from time to time of an organic fertilyser?

Any comments about my last pictures?


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## Erythrone (Oct 11, 2015)

My 2 cents....I think the root system is not that bad (there are living roots after all!!!), but as you wrote it would have been better to see growing tips. I guess that you found 2 plants because the "link" between the 2 parts has rotted. I would fertilize lightly for the next few months (or not at all) and pour water with very low salt content.... Sometimes, when the roots growing just doesn't want to resume, I put the plant in sphagnum moss (in a bag).... And most of the time it works... The challenge is to find the right potting mix after the few months (or years... ) it's been grown in sphagnum...


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## Erythrone (Oct 11, 2015)

Brabantia said:


> Which is the idea behind the use from time to time of an organic fertilyser?



My 2 cents (again...)
Like Fiber I love to alternate synthetic fertilizers with organic ones. What is the idea? Well... I strongly believe we still don't know what is the best fertilizer for many orchids. Most of us are growing many different species/hybrids with different requirements too... Growing conditions are very different from an area to another... and our plants often dislike high salt contents... Since inorganic fertilizer has minerals that are highly soluble, I think it can be stressfull for some orchids that are very salt sensitive. That's why I love to alternate K-lite and MSU with stuff like Daniel's, Agrogreen, fish emulsion, etc.


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## fibre (Oct 11, 2015)

Brabantia said:


> Which is the idea behind the use from time to time of an organic fertilyser?



It simply works well for me. P. helenae for example


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## Brabantia (Oct 11, 2015)

Thank you all for your invaluable advices.


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