Are Slippers more fragile?

[Janlcook]

My neighbor and I attempt to grow orchids inside under lights. Her Slippers have had A bad case of Spider Mites and now they have rust colored circles on them. She states she doesn't want any more! They are my favorite, and I have been fighting spider mites with alcohol and Dawn, with success. Are they more likely to get pests, diseases, and viruses than other types of orchids? I can't wait to the Slipper Symposium!

 

[TyroneGenade]

No, slippers, in my experience, tend to be tough plants. They are more resistant to pests than other orchids. Unless you are growing multifloral and Brachy types they are pretty robust plants that don't give many problems.

The spider mites must be coming from somewhere... Can you supply more details of where and how you are growing them? I have never had spider mites so I can't advise on how to be rid of them.

 

[Janlcook]

Spider Mites

I am not sure where they come from! I only know that they are microscopic sucking insect that create vein-like threads on the leaves.

 

[SlipperFan]

Most orchids are susceptible to spider mites, scale and mealy bugs, and in my experience, Paphs aren't any better or worse than others. When I had an infestation of spider mites in my Paphs and Phals, I used SucraShield, a product First Rays' Orchids sells. It took care of the problem.

Welcome to Slippertalk, Janicook!

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I have found paphs to be very susceptible to mealy bugs....but it varies from plant to plant. some of my paphs are mealybug magnets, and infestations are never totally killed. Some paphs never get mealies, and some might get them but can be easily controlled. On the other hand, phrags have never gotten mealies for me. Paphs rarely if ever get scale...phrags do get them, but overall slippers are more resistant to scale than any orchid I know. Never got spider on my orchids.

 

[NYEric]

I heard higher levels of humidity combat mites. It's also good for most paphs. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Rick]

I heard higher levels of humidity combat mites. It's also good for most paphs. Welcome to the forum.

I agree.

Spider mites are often symptomatic of overly dry conditions (which can be easy to get indoors with air-conditioning in the summer, and heating in the winter).

Enjoy the forum and peruse the culture section:wink:

 

[emydura]

It is often said Paphs are bit more resilient to a lot of pests compared to other orchids. I always find pests/diseases affect primarily weak and struggling plants. They are like a magnet. Strong healthy plants never seem to have a pest on them.

 

[Trithor]

Mites seem to pose a problem when the conditions are poor. Most commonly low humidity and poor air circulation. When these two conditions are corrected the mites seem to disappear on their own, almost as if humidity and air movement are factors which are detrimental to their survival.

 

[Janlcook]

Thanks for all your replies. Yes, my paphs are inside and the humidity, due to the a/c, stays at around 41 percent! They are going outside as soon as this Ga heat slows down a bit!

 

[NYEric]

Raise the humidity.

 

[Trithor]

Raise the humidity.

Yup, hose down the curtains!
(I am never too sure how indoor growers manage to raise the humidity levels enough without converting the whole living area into a swamp. Perhaps it is just that our climate is so dry that it is difficult to achieve?)

 

[The Orchid Boy]

None of my slipper orchids (paphs, phraga, or cyps) have as of yet been affected by anything. Some of my other orchids have though, especially ones with sheaths of pseudobulbs (cattleyas and catasetums especially).

 

[The Orchid Boy]

Yup, hose down the curtains!
(I am never too sure how indoor growers manage to raise the humidity levels enough without converting the whole living area into a swamp. Perhaps it is just that our climate is so dry that it is difficult to achieve?)

I have had great success turning my room into a jungle with intermediate temps. With temps from 65F-78F and humidity 65%-75%.

 

[abax]

When I grew my orchids on windowsills, I used egg crates to sit the plants
on and kept a Holmes humidifier going 24/7 directly under the windows.
It worked quite well. I think humidity is good for humans and orchids.

 

[Clark]

I have never really been happy growing windowsill or under lights.
We stopped buying paphs.
Inside our home there is lack of humidity, no change in day/nite temps.
So in the long run, the plants just succumb to stress.

 

[NYEric]

None of my slipper orchids (paphs, phraga, or cyps) have as of yet been affected by anything. Some of my other orchids have though, especially ones with sheaths of pseudobulbs (cattleyas and catasetums especially).

"..yet been affected by anything." What does this mean?

 

[Erythrone]

I grow many Paphs and Phrags indoor under lights. Unfortunatly I also "raise" a species of mealie that likes Paphs very much (and likes Catts relatives. And also Clivia, Amaryllis). This mealybug species dislike Phrags although I sometimes find a few in late winter.

I sometimes find brown soft scales on a few Paphs, but never on Phrags.

Western Flower Thrips (larvae and adults) are sometimes very happy to destroy blooms of Phrags. But they don't often damage foliage of slippers. They prefer Dendrobiums in my growing room.

Never got red spider mites on my orchids but a Cycnoches. But I got a flat mite species on my Masdevallias and Oncidium relatives last year

 

[Trithor]

Wheweee! Do the Centre For Disease Control know about you people? Sounds like you lot are breeding the next plague! Mites, thrips, mealies, scale..... a sci fi horror movie:viking:

 

[NYEric]

Mealies are the worst because they move quickly in most stages, luckily i seldom find them on Phrags. Scale are the opposite, slowly and insidiously proliferating inside the foliage of Phrags. Thrips i rarely get because they're so easy to kill while they fly. Unfortunately, the high humidity that thwarts mites is condusive to snails and slugs!