FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Coming winter and especially Christmas and Paph not late to congratulate me















More new blooms coming.







Enjoy Cheers,
D

Hi Dimitar
very nice Paphs man , great size too , mine are very dismal this year ?? not enough attention paid to them , yours are so great a big too well done my friend

Stunningly beautiful, Dimitar, and great photos. I have three Paphiopedilums that I grew from purchased seedlings, but they have not bloomed yet: a "bulldog" type large-bloomed paph of Winston Churchill parentage; a P. venustum, and a P. John Sadler (hybrid between venustum and mastersianum). I wish I knew what might encourage them to bloom. They are producing divisions, but none of the divisions have bloomed so far. However, I'm a very patient person when it comes to plants, so as long as they are growing well and appear healthy, I'm happy.

Thanks so much for sharing those great photos of your beautiful Paph.

Thanks for the compliment! Yes, this Paph is beautiful and with large flower.

Hi Steve,
it is hard to make it bloom for the fist time; when the plant becomes mature and blooms for the first time - it will do this every year. It is very important the regular fertilization. The key to my success is that I dilute the fertilizer 5 times than the description said. In summer I dilute it over 10 times than the description. In other words, I use quite diluted fertilizer. The substrate is very important too.Influence on flowering and when the plant is watered. I do this always in the early morning only and I use only rainwater. This allows excess water to evaporate until the evening.
The sphag is killer number one of Paphs. I don't use it. I prefer to use barks and stones. That works well for me. Especially for the Paphs they prefer everything to be mild. Mild light, temps, humidity and regular watering and fertilizer. The fall of the temps 7- 10 days before the blooming season, encourage it to bloom. I hope this helps.
Cheers,
D

Amazing flowers Dimitar!

dimitar wrote:I hope this helps.

Yes, it helps a lot. Thank you very much for your comments about growing Paphiopedilums. Mine are growing in a mixture of orchid bark (evergreen bark pieces), perlite, sand and coir, with perhaps a little sphagnum peat moss.

You said that sphagnum is a killer for Paphs. Could you explain or elaborate a little more about that?

Thanks again for your advice, for describing how you grow and care for Paphs, and for all your comments.

Steve_D wrote:.

You said that sphagnum is a killer for Paphs. Could you explain or elaborate a little more about that?

Well, managing the control of humidity around the roots is difficult especially for beginners. This substrate retains water longer and can easily lead to pre-water and rot. Sphagnum moss is a difficult substrate for use by amateurs.The substrate of Paphs maintain a constant damp and therefore perishable, which requires more frequent transplanting compared to other types of orchids. However, plants don't like big temperature differences while blooming especially around the roots. Sphag maintain a low temperature around the roots and deprives the plant of fresh air and at the same time
too much fertilizer is superimposed and hovered around the roots. Most of the plants suffer from excessive salinity of the substrate, and if the plant is placed entirely in sphagnum these salts have no way of or could hardly wash.
Of course, I don't foist my way of keeping my plants at all, but I share what my experiences are. Everyone has the right to try and find the best way to grow his plants.What doesn't work for me, may work for others ... who knows!?
I am a supporter of mixed substrates like orchid bark and stones and they work well for me. If you love to water more often, but not to hold excess water around the roots, will put more in the combination of not reserving water elements and use the larger particles. If you like dry mode will select a combination predominantly reserving water components and small particles.
Steve, If you have any questions I'm here and I'll be happy to answer
Cheers,
D

nice plants you got there dimitar

dimitar wrote:Well, managing the control of humidity ...

Thank you Dimitar for all of your comments about sphagnum moss and Paphiopedilums, and the various problems that can occur. They are very helpful.