Paph. concolor did well this year

[raymond]

wow very nice plant

 

[Happypaphy7]

I'm curious how this plant is doing now?

 

[Paphluvr]

I'm curious how this plant is doing now?

Wow, I was surprised to see this old post pop up. Unfortunately, all good things must come to on end. I finally had to break it up and have sold some divisions. I'll probably never get it back to that size again. I think the water at my previous residence (half way up the Thumb and eight miles inland from Lake Huron) was more conducive to the growth of this plant

 

[Happypaphy7]

I was curious.
Thanks for the update!

 

[Murray F]

Very nice and very well grown

 

[BrucherT]

Patience is the key! On this one I'd probably go up at least 1½-2" in pot size in order to be able to get new mix into the pot. On very large pots I use a Rands Aircone trick and drill extra holes in the large pot and invert a small pot (also modified) in the middle.

Now the fun part. Carefully add a small amount of mix to the pot and, with your fingers, work it down into the roots and toward the center while maintaining the proper position of the plant. While supporting the plant, give it several sharp raps on a hard surface to settle the mix into the pot. Using your fingers to get the mix between roots is encouraged. Continue to add, work and rap until the pot is nearly full, remembering to support and maintain the position of the plant. It's a bit tricky on a large plant to maintain the correct height because the leaves are covering everything you do, but you want the final addition of mix to cover the base of the plant so that new roots can go directly into the mix. I also firm this last addition down a bit. Depending on your mix, the use of a rhizome clip is optional. In my case I'd probably damage the plant by using one.

Hope this helps!

Don

I’d like to add a trick I’ve used. I like to think I “invented” it because I’ve never seen anyone else mention it but maybe others have developed the same procedure.

With a plant like this where it’s so hard to work mix down around the base, when it comes time to repot I let the plant dry out until it’s a little wilted. Just a little, enough to be more pliable.

Then I take some newspapers, 3 sheets thick, and lay the plant on the long corner such that the leaves will be rolled up inside the paper with the roots hanging fully free. I roll it up gently but as tightly as the leaves allow without squashing, with the leaves all pointed upward. I secure with tape and then it’s very easy to pot the plant because I have full access to the full root ball.

When potting is done and the mix firmly settled, I use scissors to trim off the paper; the leaves fall right into place, usually without a need to rearrange. By the time I’ve given that first drink the plant looks like it’s been there all along.

 

[Paphluvr]

BrucherT, this sounds like a good idea, but the leaves of concolor are rather succulent and tend to grow more horizontal than upright. I have broken off leaves just watering if I'm not careful when moving them around. I think this would work well with species with thinner leaves and a more upright growth habit. Your method sounds a lot like what I do with the leaves when I ship plants. I slowly and carefully lower the plant into a conical newspaper sleeve which folds up and compacts the leaves and keeps them from breaking during shipment. Thanks for the input!

 

[richgarrison]

BrucherT, this sounds like a good idea, but the leaves of concolor are rather succulent and tend to grow more horizontal than upright. I have broken off leaves just watering if I'm not careful when moving them around. I think this would work well with species with thinner leaves and a more upright growth habit. Your method sounds a lot like what I do with the leaves when I ship plants. I slowly and carefully lower the plant into a conical newspaper sleeve which folds up and compacts the leaves and keeps them from breaking during shipment. Thanks for the input!

of course when this cropped up, i flipped to the original post. and smiled when i saw the reference to Great Lakes Orchids. When i started collecting in the 80's, anytime i travelled i'd look for orchid growers to visit. We have family in Ann Arbor, and visited them in 87. bought a few plants from great lakes. One was a laelia rubescens that i still have.

From what i recall they were nice folks. i suspect long gone?

 

[Paphluvr]

of course when this cropped up, i flipped to the original post. and smiled when i saw the reference to Great Lakes Orchids. When i started collecting in the 80's, anytime i travelled i'd look for orchid growers to visit. We have family in Ann Arbor, and visited them in 87. bought a few plants from great lakes. One was a laelia rubescens that i still have.

From what i recall they were nice folks. i suspect long gone?

Very much so. I'm not exactly sure when they closed but if you were there in '87 is suspect it was shortly before their demise.

 

[whitpaph]

This plant is a descendent of a plant that I purchased from Great Lakes Orchids about 45 yrs. ago. It's carrying eight spikes, six presently in bloom, and all but one bi-floral. It gets no special attention other than light levels higher than normally given for Paphs. and being kept slightly dryer.

What is it growing in?

 

[BrucherT]

BrucherT, this sounds like a good idea, but the leaves of concolor are rather succulent and tend to grow more horizontal than upright. I have broken off leaves just watering if I'm not careful when moving them around. I think this would work well with species with thinner leaves and a more upright growth habit. Your method sounds a lot like what I do with the leaves when I ship plants. I slowly and carefully lower the plant into a conical newspaper sleeve which folds up and compacts the leaves and keeps them from breaking during shipment. Thanks for the input!

Yes I understand and and that is why dry out the plant until it’s wilty, less crisp and easier to direct leaves UPWARD in the roll of the paper. The leaves of a hydrated plant are definitely in danger of a snap.

 

[Happypaphy7]

My Mystic Isle (niveum 75% godefroyae 15%) has such thick succulent like leaves. I don't think I would dry them to a point where they become wilty to repot them. That means the plant has to be without water over a month. It would be eaten up by mites by then lol

When shipping, I don't ever bend leaves. For this reason, large plants are only given away or sold locally. When I ship brachys or larger plants, I use large enough box to allow enough room, then fill the space with either shipping peanuts or shredded papers.

 

[Paphluvr]

What is it growing in?

See reply #13 in this thread.

 

[Paphluvr]

Happypappy7, you much have one heck of a hourd of shipping peanuts, I haven't seen them in any shipment in years. I used to use them mostly for aeration in the bottom of the pots or the center of very large root balls.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Happypappy7, you much have one heck of a hourd of shipping peanuts, I haven't seen them in any shipment in years. I used to use them mostly for aeration in the bottom of the pots or the center of very large root balls.

It is harder to find now. I once ordered a huge (literally almost as big as a person!) bag of it and used it for a while.
I do not use it for potting plants but only for shipping plants, although I usually go for papers for packing. It all depends on the plant size and shape. I just avoid bending any leaves or plant parts as much as possible.