How to Bloom a Paph. Druryii

[A de Lioncourt]

I had this thread in the beginner section for a while, but it didn't get too many looks or any responses so I thought I'd try here.

I've had this guy a couple of years now, and he seems to be growing well, lounging around in the sun and sipping a fertilizer cocktail, but I can't get it to bloom.

I keep it at ~60F night-~70F day during the winter, and about 70-80 in the summer. In the winter, I water very little, just keeping the moss slightly damp, and in the summer I water and feed regularly. I keep it in the higher light part of my setup.

I appreciate all suggestions from people who have experience with this orchid.

[kiki-do]

I don't have that particular one, but I water mine more than that. I had one bloom starting to open and it dried up and fell off before opening. I was told it needs to be somewhat moister than what I was doing.
This isn't much help, I know, but it's all I have. Hopefully others will know what to tell you.

[A de Lioncourt]

Originally Posted by kiki-do

I don't have that particular one, but I water mine more than that. I had one bloom starting to open and it dried up and fell off before opening. I was told it needs to be somewhat moister than what I was doing.
This isn't much help, I know, but it's all I have. Hopefully others will know what to tell you.

This is quite true for most paphs, but it's my understanding this one in particular grows in a more monsoon type of climate so in the winter the only water it gets is from dew fall. The higher temperatures and increased rain in summer are what brings it to flower, but I cannot seem to make it work.

[Phantasm]

My one and only Paph druryi is easy to grow and bloom. It has about 6 or 7 growths and is a steady grower. My greenhouse gets cool (down to 50F or so) in the winter and early spring, and as the days get longer with a bit more sunlight the plant spikes. My plant is in spike now and will be blooming in April. It seems to be happy ......

[A de Lioncourt]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

My one and only Paph druryi is easy to grow and bloom. It has about 6 or 6 growths and is a steady grower. My greenhouse gets cool (down to 50F or so) in the winter and early spring, and as the days get longer with a bit more sunlight the plant spikes. My plant is in spike now and will be blooming in April. It seems to be happy ......

So you think mine is spending too much energy in the winter by being too warm?

Do you change your watering habits with seasons?

[cowboy51278]

For me, more often than not when I have a plant thats being stubborn about blooming its either a light issue or a temperature issue. I grow a lot of paphs (never had a Druryii though) and in the begining I had a hard time getting them to bloom. I would toss them back and forth, darker light, higher light....and I would get growth after growth but never a bloom. It wasnt until about a year ago that I moved them up to the top shelf in my grow room (obviously the warmest place in the room. about 73 degrees in the afternoon) and had them in an area where I could shut the heat off to that room at night. So the temps dipped to low 50's on most nights. Before ya knew it, bammo. I had spikes coming up everywhere. So if you know you have the lighting figured out, tinker with the temps a bit. See what happens.

[Royal]

Temp differential is most likely the issue. Whether you are growing on the colder or warmer side, about a 15 degree swing from day to night temps is what most Paphs encounter in nature.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by A de Lioncourt

So you think mine is spending too much energy in the winter by being too warm?

Do you change your watering habits with seasons?

I don't think it's spending too much energy, but it needs to be colder in the winter similar to Paph insigne and complex paphs to initiate the blooming. My plants all get less water in the winter, then more as the growing season progresses. This helps to avoid fungal and rot problems with the colder temperatures........

[kielley]

I'm hardly an expert although I bloom a few paphs and cattleyas. I've always thought it was increased seasonal daylight more than anything that iniatiated paph bloom. If you are growing under lights, the amount of light is always the same unless you change it. You may have to adjust the amount of light by time and/or intensity to simulate the natural phenomenon. As an aside: providing temperature differential when growing catts under lights is often effective in stimulating bloom when the existing setup proves to be too uniform.

[LauraN]

I have a druryii myself and it has yet to bloom for me either, the other paphs that I have are all showing signs of blooming, but so far nothing on the druryii... I have a druryii cross that finally has 2 buds on it, so I am holding out hope that it will finally grace me with a flower soon!