Favorite beginner and/or fragrant pahs?

[Christina Anderson-Abella]

Hello.

I have a T12 48" fluorescent light apartment setup, some northeastern exposure, and a fondness for watering (though I'm able to just mist a lot, if necessary ) I'm a beginner without any paph growing experience, but I love the look of the flowers and, especially, the mottled leaves. What can I start out with that would be really, really easy to bloom and rebloom??? Also, are there some fragrant paphs I could grow?

Thanks.

Christina

[nyorchids]

for fragrance go with delenatii they have mottled leaves and are quite easy to grow! malipoense is also fragrant but allitle harder to grow. and the last of the fragrrant paphs is kolopakingii but it gets huge!! like 2-3ft long and the spike can be up tp 6ft

[Oscarman]

What does Paph. kolopakingii smell like? I did not know it was and learned something new today - thank you.

[nyorchids]

the smell is similar to malipoense but stronger in most cases

[ScottMcC]

the easiest bet is to go to Fox Valley Orchids (it's inside Hausermann's, right by the cashier) and ask them for advice...they're very friendly and knowledgeable, and won't steer you wrong. The only trouble with paphs is that they get pricey in a hurry!

[Heather]

I think kolopakingii smells of honeysuckle. It is the only really fragrant multifloral. They do, however, get very large (3 foot leafspan or larger is the norm.)Easy to grow and generally has the most flowers per inflorescence of any of the multis as well.

[Heather]

Originally Posted by ScottMcC

he only trouble with paphs is that they get pricey in a hurry!

Especially if you are buying from Fox Valley!

[Tony]

For ease of growth and flowering, you really can't beat Paph Maudiae and similar hybrids. If you prefer species, sukhakulii, wardii, fairrieanum, callossum, and related plants are all pretty easy. Multiflorals are nice, but they tend to be slow growing and need to be pretty big before they bloom. You either pay premium prices for blooming size plants, or play the waiting game with seedlings, neither of which are the best choice for a beginner.

[Marco]

I'm with Stan (nyorchids). Go for the delenatii. You can find them almost anywhere, they're easy to grow and cheap. I heard they smell like raspberries.

Here's a link to some info.

http://www.slipperorchids.info/paphd...tii/index.html

[littlefrog]

I have some big kolopakingii that are quite cheap, considering that they are probably 5 or 6 years old at this point. I'd love to sell some to make room.

But, I wouldn't recommend it as a beginner paph. I'm a little hesitant on delenatii too, but I suppose it would work. For me, a good beginner paph is a Maudiae type paph (mottled leafs) or a bulldog (complex breeding). They are both easy growers and bloomers, and a good way to get your paph fix. Plus they are usually cheaper... If you must have a multifloral, get a St. Swithin or Julius, they are pretty bulletproof.

If you must have a species... Delenatii isn't a bad choice. Stay away from armeniacum and micranthum, as pretty as they are they can be difficult to grow. I'd probably recommend insigne or one of the similar species (affine or gratrixianum). Callosum or lawrencianum are excellent. Paph. wardii grows really well for me and is almost unkillable, but some people tell me the buds tend to blast. As a first multifloral species, I'd go out on a limb and recommend rothschildianum.

Difficulty is relative though. I think that pretty much any paph is easier to grow than many other orchids. Pick something you like the looks of.