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I was watering today and though this may be a question to pose to the forum. For 20+ years I have been growing Paph’s And it’s Paphiopedilum Rothschildianum that has had my main interest over those years. I can’t think of a Cross that I have not had or do not currently have in my collection.
So here is my question to all the would be Roth fans out here. For me my Charles E X Borneo is by far the best in the class for ease of growing, To get them to flower is another storey all until its self. Both of my Charles E X Borneo I have had sense the mid to late 80’s So there a very mature plant.
When I compare the flowers to what is currently out there I see so much of the Old cross’s in the new stuff it amazes me.
If you have had long term Roth’s that you can add to this please do. What cross do you prefer and which gives you the best for plant growth and ease of flowering.
Again Old cross’s are fine as I have more interest in them.
Can we see your Roths and how you grow them?
There are alot of crosses now, I'm just geting into them. So as far as long term experince I don't have any. They can certainly take up some spacing though!
How many years did it take you to bloom you first Roth?
I believe that it took some where in the 2 to 3 year range for my first blooms off of the early plants that I got. Over the years the Charles E X Borneo can be difficult to Bloom, I currently have one plant with 5 mature growths and it appears that each of those has multiple new growths on them. Whether or not it will bloom, Well only that Roth knows that.
I grow my Roth’s in a Grow room that I have built in my basement. I maintain about 80 to 85 degree in there and have various lighting schedules that I have found to work for me. I use HID lights, I have 2 400 watt MH and 2 400 watt HPS. I vary the amount of light with the time working in my light cycle, And what type of light they receive as well.
My humidity runs in the 70 to 85% range. For a growing media I have used just about everything out there. Something that I tried before and had good luck with was mixing Crushed lime stone with Fur bark. Its about a 4 to bark to 1 part lime stone. My Roth’s loved that.
Your right that as your collection grows they will take up SPACE and a lot of it. Well as I figure this board out I will try to get so pictures on here.
Best of luck with your Roth’s, And don’t be afraid of the old Cross’s
Thanks for your encouragement, Forrest. But I am leary of the old crosses, I hear they can take up to 15 years to bloom
I would love to have a lady Isabel cross
Your right some of the older Roth’s out there can take years to bloom. I have some that took 10 plus years to bloom. My question about the new Roth’s out there is with the selective breeding that has been done for Bloom size and color, What have they lost. And yes I am sure that ease of bloom has been taken into account as well. But I wonder too what has been lost with this.
As for the lady Isabel cross, I have never had a hybrid as I am a Species fan in the Paph’s,
Paphiopedilum Rothschildianum
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