I am by no means complaining in the least. I am grateful to be getting the time off from work for me and my children to be able to enjoy 5 full days away from home. I am just trying to figure out how not to come home to a dead plant(s).
One of the things I am a bit worried about is how Vino will fare when we go away on vacation for a week in the near future. I know Petaluma, the Phal, will be fine. Her media is fresh and her pot is a nice size to retain moisture. However, Vino, my newly acquired Paph, is in a small 3.75 inch plastic pot, and the media doesn’t look as if it has been changed in a long while. When I made my purchase, the salesperson watered Vino. The next morning, I did my usual "feel test" by sticking my finger into the middle of the substrate and feeling around. It was barely moist. I knew then there was no way I was going to be able to get away with leaving this plant to fend for itself for a full 5 full days.
I spun this around many times in my head and attempted to come up with ways to seal in moisture like adding sphagnum moss as a topdressing and soaking the pot for a good 10 minutes the morning before I leave. But, if the media could not perform for a full 48 hrs, I doubt these small tweaks would be sufficient to hold out the entire length of the getaway.
Things had to change quickly so I decided to order a small bag of specialized Paph mix from my friends over at Repotme.com. I decided on their top of the line stuff, the Paph and Phrag Imperial Orchid Mix. I really wanted to make my own mix, but by the time I got through formulating my preferred selections, I would be paying over $40 for a bag of media alone, and that is without adding on the cost of shipping. That is way too expensive for me, particularly since I will only have 2 plants at most by the end of the Summer, and right now, I only have the one. The mix I did choose is composed of all ingredients I would’ve picked if I had made my own concoction, but the small bag of the Paph and Phrag Imperial Orchid Mix was much more reasonably priced. It is primarily made up of Orchiata, which is a newer media to the USA stirring up a lot buzz. One of the things that makes it different is the fact that it can be used straight out of the bag without adverse effect.
One of the things I am a bit worried about is how Vino will fare when we go away on vacation for a week in the near future. I know Petaluma, the Phal, will be fine. Her media is fresh and her pot is a nice size to retain moisture. However, Vino, my newly acquired Paph, is in a small 3.75 inch plastic pot, and the media doesn’t look as if it has been changed in a long while. When I made my purchase, the salesperson watered Vino. The next morning, I did my usual "feel test" by sticking my finger into the middle of the substrate and feeling around. It was barely moist. I knew then there was no way I was going to be able to get away with leaving this plant to fend for itself for a full 5 full days.
I spun this around many times in my head and attempted to come up with ways to seal in moisture like adding sphagnum moss as a topdressing and soaking the pot for a good 10 minutes the morning before I leave. But, if the media could not perform for a full 48 hrs, I doubt these small tweaks would be sufficient to hold out the entire length of the getaway.
Things had to change quickly so I decided to order a small bag of specialized Paph mix from my friends over at Repotme.com. I decided on their top of the line stuff, the Paph and Phrag Imperial Orchid Mix. I really wanted to make my own mix, but by the time I got through formulating my preferred selections, I would be paying over $40 for a bag of media alone, and that is without adding on the cost of shipping. That is way too expensive for me, particularly since I will only have 2 plants at most by the end of the Summer, and right now, I only have the one. The mix I did choose is composed of all ingredients I would’ve picked if I had made my own concoction, but the small bag of the Paph and Phrag Imperial Orchid Mix was much more reasonably priced. It is primarily made up of Orchiata, which is a newer media to the USA stirring up a lot buzz. One of the things that makes it different is the fact that it can be used straight out of the bag without adverse effect.
When I do receive my order, I plan to repot Vino right
away. I am going to water my Paph with some diluted fertilizer enriched water, and I do still plan to add some presoaked sphagnum moss at the top. I
think all these steps will not only acclimate Vino quickly to the new
potting mix, but help not make the repotting too traumatic, as well as
accomplish my main intended goal; seal in that precious moisture until I get back from my vacation.
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