Alyssa, a picture or two would really help!

oops, just saw this today! and actually, the wind took care of this for me :( the plant got blown off its shelf and the bloom spike snapped. I trimmed it down to about an inch. here's a picture:

will the bloom being cut off initiate new growth?

Here is what it looked like a few days after bringing it home:

I agree with westoh, your Paph looks very healthy based on the leaves. Bummer the wind knocked it over, but it made your decision a no-brainer! lol

Have you checked the roots yet? If not, maybe now is a good time to carefully remove it from the pot and take a peek. If it's in all sphag, it might be the best time to repot it in a different media. Roots pics would be great!

Great! I'll do it when I get home. All I have for different media is airstones, almost like pumice? Not sure the real name. Would that work if I mix it with sphag 50/50?

Personally I like to stay away from sphag because it's too wet of a media and prohibits air flow around the roots. I'm not familiar with airstones...perhaps someone else can answer this.

You can, if you want, stop by a local Home Depot or Lowes and pick up a small bag of Better-Gro Special Orchid Mix. If you do, be sure to soak it first. This is only a suggestion. Perhaps there is a better blend for Paphs! Let us know what you decide!

This is what they look like:

A local grower recommended them, said his orchids love it. I put a cattleya, my Den. Aggregatum, and an Onc. Twinkle in it but I mixed the twinkle with a bit of sphag. I live 2 minutes from home depot so I'll have to go check out the Better Gro! Thanks :)

They look interesting and very porous...I like these and may want to learn more about them. If your other Orchids are doing well in them, why not? I'm just not sure how much sphag to use....possibly very little? I'm looking forward to hearing what others say about this! Thanks for the pic Alyssa!

I gave it a quick google, they're Growstones! The name brand, I remember the bag (I was given a brown bag full, otherwise I'd just send a picture of the label). It's a soil aerator, almost like pumice. Cheap in bulk, maybe $10-15 at home depot. Like I said, a grower near me recommended potting orchids in this stuff. He says his plants love it and it really promotes aeration and drainage, but I'll probably be watering my Oncidiums and Dends every other day.

Yes, they look like overgrown pumice! lol True, because they don't have any wicking ability, unlike LECA (clay pebbles), you'll be watering a lot!

Are you mixing the Growstones with sphag 50/50 for your other Orchids? If that's what's working for you Alyssa, then stick with it, unless you're ready to try something different. I know there are so many different growing methods, and what works for one person may not work for the other. Stick with what's working for you and your climate!

This will be my first time trying it! I'm new to growing orchids in general, so I'm still trying to figure it out. But if someone in my area uses it and it works, I guess it's worth a shot. Thanks a bunch! :)

Alyssa, I thought about this last night, and realized I had done research on Growstones a few months ago while trying to find the best source for LECA. I learned that Growstones are made from recycled glass. Sure, it sounds "renewable" and I actually thought they were very aesthetically pleasing, but I remember reading that Orchid growers didn't really prefer them because Growstones cause pH concerns. So I decided against using them, to my disappointment.

Here's one thread I just stumbled upon that can be a starting point for your research on whether you want to continue using Growstones or another media.

https://www.orchidsforum.com/threads/growstone.12012/

Question everything ...

Wow, thank you so much! I'm glad you've showed me this, now I think I want to remove them... I will probably grab some of the Better Gro mix and use that instead, or maybe try adding some growstones to it... not sure yet! But I appreciate you sharing that thread with me :)

Paphs like to be on the wetter side, unlike many other orchids. What is the humidity in your grow space? They need indirect light like a Phal and much less light than the Oncs and Dens you have. I grow my Paphs and Phrags similarly - small bark mixed with a little sponge rock (which is the same as your airstones) topped with a layer of sphag in a plastic pot with drainage.

The Better Gro mix at big box stores is way too chunky for Paphs. You need something like Orchiata https://www.orchidweb.com/products/bark-orchiata-~2936.html

The vendor you got your Paph from should have it for purchase or tell you how to get it.

Humidity around here in spring is usually 70-80%, sometimes more sometimes less. I'm growing them on my screened in porch. When they aren't outside, they're shelved under grow lights in my house. I mist the leaves of a few, like the Oncidiums, my Phal, and the Dens.

The vendor I got it from is 2 hours away, not the trek I want to make for a bag of bark! Lol, luckily a different grower a little closer to me has it in bulk. I'll see about picking up a bag and adding some Growstones. The paph stays wet for maybe 2-3 days before the top layer of moss is dry, then I wait another day or two and water again.

Little update:

I got a bag of the Better Gro orchid mix labeled for hybrids/dendrobiums. The one with fir bark, charcoal and coarse perlite. I took the Paph out of the moss, and to my surprise there was bark that decayed so badly it was black and muddy. Needless to say, the roots were nearly gone. There were 2 very tiny green ones in the middle, so i'm hoping they grow. Didn't snap any pictures in my panicked repotting, but it's in the coarser mix now and I will water it when almost dry.