what is, in your oppinion the best potting mix for Paphs?

[Ferrari]

I live in South Florida, if that changes anything..ohh and grow outside.

[Diane]

I like large bark or a large bark and clay pellet mix.

[Annie]

Hard to say....I personally am not a fan of "one mix fits every grower". Especially in this instance (I'm in the N'East and you're in Florida). If it were me, I would probably try a medium bark/charcoal/perlite mix or something I had a great deal of good luck with up here which was a CHC/Diatomite/Charcoal/Perlite mix. You want something that is going to be able to almost dry out and not stay too wet. Outdoors in Florida makes that a *wee* bit tricky.

Curious to hear what Jason would recommend on this one...

[uncasteeb]

Are they in a covered area ?
If they are i would use a normal inside mix but keep an eye out for them drying out to quick.
If they are open to the elements then i would use a mix that dries pretty quick(add some type of LECA so it does not break down)
& water more often in drier spells.
A lot depends on other variables , humidity , air movement , amount of light they get etc etc.

[Hoa Tony Nguyen]

The medium bark/charcoal/perlite mix appears to be a standard mixture to grow paphs. The two best orchid growers (they grow almost everything exceptionally well except certain kind of orchids, but I won't tell) in my orchid society, use that medium for their paphs with certain modifications of course. They add some large or medium coconut husk chips to the mix to improve the water-retentive property of the medium. They also add some limestone pieces or oyster shells (to supply the calcium) to certain paphs. I have found that this mix works well for me. I only have to water these paphs once a week and maybe twice during the summer. The exact percentage of the ingredients, you might want to work it out for yourself but I think a mix containing 2 parts medium bark chips, 1 part medium charcoal, 1 part medium perlite, 1 part large or medium coconut husk chips should be OK and a good place to start. When I pot the plant, I always put the mix with more perlite and charcoal at the bottom and the mix with more coconut chip at the top of the pot.
Cheers. Hoa.

[Jmoney]

I haven't used that many mixes for paphs. from bark-based to CHC-based to s/h solely out of necessity. I still like the CHC. that said, however, if you're growing outdoors in Florida you have to think about things like moisture and rot. CHC stays moist for quite some time and is supposed to last longer, but you might want to mix something less absorbent, whether it be charcoal or fired clay pellets (or even lava rock although that might accumulate salts more). It also depends on how often you water--if you're a habitual overwaterer, and don't go on extended vacations, you might want more rock/charcoal in the mix. if you're lucky to remember to water once in a while, something more absorbent, like more CHC.

Bark was the standard for a long time but it has been harder and harder to get good-quality bark. I switched to CHC because I got a batch of bark (from a reliable vendor, no less) that turned into mush very quickly and killed a bunch of my plants.

[Tony]

I use a mix of fine bark, perlite, and charcoal with just a little sphagnum for water retention. I grow my multiflorals outside, seedlings and Maudiae types are indoors.

[Gin]

Guess I am a square peg in a round hole , some of mine are in bark and sponge rock doing fine ... I have a couple in Spag. doing great one has 3 bloom spikes , I would go with the fast drain and dry considering where you live . Gin

[Piper]

All of mine are in sphag and clay pots. Makes for a lot of watering, but the plants really dig it.

McJulie

[Diane]

So much has to do with your environment and your preferred watering schedule.