Crop insurance is available to commercial nurseries through such entities as Hortica (formerly Florists' Mutual). I'm not aware of any coverage available to non-commercial growers.
Thank you for the wonderful feedback, Darlene. We were all delighted with this year's event and were thrilled to meet so many first-timers who came from near and far to attend. As you point out, Florida can be a challenge for Phrag lovers but many Florida orchid growers do grow them very well...
This is my experience as well. I heartily agree with everything Ken has said here. John has always been wonderful to work with and every plant, flask and compot I have received from John have all been first class.
Those lights didn't need batteries - they were powered by mosquitos!
The lady sitting next to me is Karen Muir, with Orchid Digest. Karen is the primary organizer of the Paphiopedilum Guild held each January, with the upcoming (2017) meeting in Santa Barbara; next year (2018) in Hilo.
I think we had just about the best selection of vendors and plants ever put together in the history of the International Slipper Orchid Symposium. I was very happy to meet so many Slippertalkers and hope to see even more next year.
This cultivar was awarded in Orlando at the Central Florida Orchid Society show in April 2015.
It has a sister seedling, Paph. rothschildianum 'Krull's Asheville', AM/AOS that was awarded at the Western North Carolina Orchid Society show in March 2014.
This cross was made by Frank...
Several years ago Ray Rands brought in some plants from Borneo that were labeled as Paph. lowii and designated as var. 'white dorsal'. This flower is exactly what those looked like.
Different conditions seem to trigger different levels of "fragrance", ranging anywhere from patchouli to rotting corpse. It's not as pervasive as some bulbos, but get close enough and it becomes obvious.
Love this species with its pendant glaucous leathery foliage,
The juxtaposition of these two plants - one of nature's most beautifully fragrant orchid species right next to one of its nastiest - is amusing.
It's remarkable how often plants grown directly from flask in ideal conditions will grow and mature faster than those acquired by almost any other means. It has been my experience that it is really important to do everything possible to keep up that momentum because if any adverse conditions...
I'm glad you like it. I think you have a really good cross there.
This is either the second or third flowering for this plant. They started flowering relatively soon - about 3 years out of flask with several stragglers still unflowered almost 6 years later. This is probably due to the...
Paph. (Ichiro Suzuki 'Red Pepper' x bellatulum 'New Red Moon')
Thought you might like to see an example of a flower from the same grex as the pollen parent. I got this flask from Sam at the 2010 International Slipper Orchid Symposium. This one is very typical of the others that flowered from...