Back in the club - I have slippers.

[koshki]

Thanks, John and Rose! I am going to ponder this one a bit, and wait until after everyone comes in doors to see how much room under lights I really have.

 

[John M]

Katherine, delenatii is NOT difficult. It used to be, shortly after it was discovered; but, that was many decades ago. This was because all delenatiis in cultivation were decended from a single plant. Originally, only two plants were collected from the wild. One was given to Kew Gardens and they described the new species and pressed their plant for storage in their herbarium. The other plant was given to Vacherot and Lecoufle, who wisely took better care of their plant and propagated it. However, due to the extremely limited gene pool, causing severe inbreeding, many weak and difficult to grow plants were the result, until a concerted effort was made to select only the most vigorous of clones to propagate with and resist the temptation to use weaker and more finicky clones. Eventually, through selective breeding, vigour was been enhanced to the point where delenatii became an easy grower. Also, new wild genes have been recently introduced into the worldwide captive population with the rediscovery of this species in the wild.....further invigorating the species in cultivation.

Paph. delenatii is a great choice for a greenhouse, windowsill or under lights. Unlike the other Parvisepalums though, it does not want any limestone added to the mix. Also, unlike other Parvi's, it likes a neutral to slightly acidic medium, instead of a slightly alkaline one. Feed sparingly, as you would most other Paphs. Grow with warm days and cooler nights....ideally, about 75F to 80F days and about ~60F to ~65F nights. I wouldn't hesitate to get one of these if you like it. They're a very good choice for a new Paph grower.

John (Sirius), I hadn't realized that you were without any orchids at all! Welcome back to the world of Paphs! 'Glad that you're able to get back in the game.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

100% agreement. Delanatii is definitely among the easiest of paph species to grow and bloom. A multigrowth one will bloom more than once a year. I grow them basically more like phrags than paphs, but without as much water.

 

[Ernie]

Very soon, I will also be adding...

Paph. superbiens
Paph. henryanum
Paph. victoria-regina (chamberlainianum)

John, please pm or e-mail me. Thanks!