A terrible day with paphs.

[ron-in-norcal]

Originally Posted by The Orchid Boy

I was going to get an armeniacum but then I started reading up on them and they seem much harder to grow than a sanderianum. Micranthum and armeniacum are probably the two hardest paphs to grow. They want it quite cold at night, especially in winter, bright light, fast drying media, higher humidity, and they can have really long or really short rhizomes and I've heard they do best in a basket of some sort. Even the expert paphs growers have trouble with these.

Glad to know that! The cold night temps might be OK here in San Francisco, since it gets chilly but not freezing in winter, and not that warm at any time. But, they do sound like some serious work!

[NYCorchidman]

Ok, forget about armeniacum then. lol

I just like how small the plant is while the bloom is still quite big and the color is just sooooo good.

I am still not a big fan of parvi, but I grabbed this one (Armeni White) because I liked the leaves. The flower color was just amazing to me when first opened, but then it got washed out completely to pure white. This one being a primary hybrid is supposed to be easier to grow, but so far quite slow growing. Maybe that's normal, or maybe I'm not doing something that this one needs.

[The Orchid Boy]

I have one paph hybrid that I don't care for. It grows too fast and usually only grows 2 leaves per fan/growth. I prefer primary and natural hybrids and species. I also like any paph that takes time to grow a decent fan.

[NYCorchidman]

Some grow very fast, like Spicerianum for example.

By the way, I'm confused by what you said.

[The Orchid Boy]

I'll try and explain. I have on paph hybrid that seems to grow so fast that its leaves aren't as nice and it doesn't have as big of fans. It may just be a bad cultivar, I don't think it's my conditions. Sorry for the confusion!

[TamiP]

I bought a Shin-Yi Heart off ebay and it just got here and the bud fell off. No big deal, it's an awesome plant. My question is, should I cut the budless stock off or leave it? My first Paph and I'm clueless!

[aliceinwl]

All my Paphs seem to re-absorb their stalks and it gradually withers and dries. Once it's dry and crisp, I cut for aesthetics.

[TamiP]

Thank you Alice! I will wait. Poor plant I can't help it, I keep petting it. Yes, I'm a weirdo! LOL

[aliceinwl]

I understand ;-) I love Paphs too. A lot of these have such nice variegated leaves that they're super attractive even when not in bloom. So far all of my mottled leaf Paphs have been reliable annual bloomers. Your hybrid looks like a nice one!

[TamiP]

With the long wait for flowers I wanted something I loved looking at even without flowers. I can't wait to get more and am looking at some other species with mottled leaves. It's a little bit of an obsession I guess.