Yet another question about paph.

[Tanya]

I got this NOID paph that produced a spike, well, a beginning of a spike last month. I can see the tip of the sheath emerging from the center of the plant. But it didn't show any progress after it showed its tip since last month. I took a good look at it this morning and found out that the sheath had died, its brown and somewhat dry and it came off easily when I pulled it off. There is no sign of rotting, of the sheath or the plant, the sheath just dried, thats it. What would have caused the thing to dry and died? Is it the humidity, or the fert that sometimes dribble down to the center of the plant? Is it common for paph to produce spike and new growth/lead at the same time? All the others in this same clump of paph are bs but instead of a spike they are producing new leads. Even the one that managed to begin a spike have a lead growth almost as big. I am also thinking that maybe the light is too bright. Its on the window sill and I think the spike stopped growing when I removed the lace curtain thinking that its no longer needed now that the sun had shifted its path.

Any thoughts? Thanks

[Jmoney]

it is very common (and desirable) for paphs to spike and grow a new lead at the same time. greatly shortens time to next blooming. I find that those paphs that don't put up a lead while blooming will often rest for quite some time after blooming before starting to grow again. The production of new growth appears sporadic. Even on the same plant sometimes it will produce new growth while spiking, other times after the "rest". Big healthy plants will tend to produce a lot of new growth though.

Paphs are usually not as fickle as, say, phals when it comes to bud blasting. I say usually because it happens, and sudden environmental changes are one of the biggest culprits. High humidity will not cause it if air movement is good. However, the single biggest reason for bud blast is probably water in the crown. If you have good air movement, water sitting there in the morning has time to dry off and usually presents no problem. Water sitting in the crown in the afternoon/evening/night has a very high likelihood of causing bud blast.

Other reasons may include plant maturity (tried to bloom while too young and then realized it does not have the energy), sudden changes in plant health (i.e. root rot), and others.

[Tanya]

Thanks Jason. Now, I've got some experimenting to do .

[LJA]

Might be a fertilizer issue too, if you're using something that's particularly high-nitrogen. That'll tend to promote green growth at the expense of spikes. In all likelihood though, I think it's as Jason said, where water remained in the crown.

[e.muehlbauer]

All of the above mentioned apply as possibilities (although I doubt nitrogen is an issue...developing paph spikes will need it...). However, there is a very sensitive time when a paph initiates a spike...during this time, the bud is clearly visible...either in sheath or just starting to poke out. This stage may even last a few weeks, and it is when a spike is most vulnerable. Anything can be a factor in bud blast at this time...including a variation in moisture level and increases in temperature or decreases in air movement. I lose a lot of paph buds because many are just initiating spikes when they are brought in for the winter...the climate change hits many of them hard, particularly the complex hybrids. I also find that summer time is also rough on the few paphs that spike in the heat...But...once the stalk begins to elongate, the danger zone is passed. While paph buds can blast at any point, 95% blast in the early stages. Take care, Eric Muehlbauer

[Tanya]

Thank you all for the response. I think its the sudden change in temperature and moisture that is to blame. There was a sudden drop of temp. from 28C to 18C and the humidity dropped from 58 to 42%. I have created a mini g/h out of plastic shelves and plastic bags for the paphs and some of my smaller phals. We'll see if it works, so far, I don't see any sign of rotting yet.