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Plantsman05

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Hey guys! I'm fairly new to growing orchids and I wanna buy a paphiopedilum species and I don't know which one I should get. I can tell rare species are preferred, with some of my favourites being Rothschildianum, Stonei, fairrieanum, sukhakulii and micranthum. I like most of the species though, if not all, so any suggestion is appreciated!
 
I'm from Petah Tikva, Israel. It's a city close to Tel Aviv if that tells you anything. Mediterranean climate, warm intermediate conditions.
 
Of the species you have listed here the cheapest and easiest to grow is Paph. sukhakulii. I would consider all the others to be species you should only try after you gain some experience with growing Paphs.
 
Of the species you have listed here the cheapest and easiest to grow is Paph. sukhakulii. I would consider all the others to be species you should only try after you gain some experience with growing Paphs.
Thanks! I'll search on the web for some more species to share which ones I really like other than these.
 
Wow! Brings a smile to my face.

http://slipperorchids.info/
Haha, thanks. There seem to be quite little of species there, some are pretty nice but besides micranthum none of them is one of my favourites. I knew all of them but never went deep into how Paphs are divided into groups. I do think we have some hybrids with them and maybe even some of the species here.
 
You’ll have to keep your humidity up but I’m sure you’re not the only Israeli growing Paphiopedilum. Have you sought other growers there?
If you have air conditioning and a humidifier, I would think you could get the conditions to work. I use large aquaria to give a little microclimate situation. 2 inches of gravel in the bottom, water to just under the gravel surface, leave the top open to air.
I would also think a rothschildianum would be possible if you can set it outdoors in a moderately protected spot and water daily during moderate weather, bringing it into a bright window for extreme hot/dry.
 
You’ll have to keep your humidity up but I’m sure you’re not the only Israeli growing Paphiopedilum. Have you sought other growers there?
If you have air conditioning and a humidifier, I would think you could get the conditions to work. I use large aquaria to give a little microclimate situation. 2 inches of gravel in the bottom, water to just under the gravel surface, leave the top open to air.
I would also think a rothschildianum would be possible if you can set it outdoors in a moderately protected spot and water daily during moderate weather, bringing it into a bright window for extreme hot/dry.
Thanks! I've contacted a grower whom I've bought some orchids from, and humidity would probably not be a very big problem besides times of extreme weather, like during the hottest days of summer in which humidity can drop to 20%. The biggest problem, which can be pretty easily avoided, is temperature. Because I surely can't grow cold growing species, like armeniacum, micranthum, etc. Outside, but the warmer growers could probably suffer from the lowest temperatures we have here, of about 10-13 degrees Celsius, and some could probably suffer from the 40 degrees Celsius we can get in extreme cases. I do succeed in growing Brassavola nodosa on a mount, while only spraying it once a day and the roots look awesome.
There are some common paph hybrids available in some nurseries but I'd definitely prefer a species and not a hybrid.
Is air conditioning a big issue? I'd put it in my balcony, which is closed from three sides with walls and I think it's north east facing but I'm not sure, so there isn't too much air circulation there and the amount of light there is pretty low, and I'd consider it as full shade or partial shade.
Usually humidity is at 40-60% and higher than 50% in many occasions.
Sorry for the long message haha
 
Some of the first Paphs, I flowered, were appletonianum, concolor, godefroyae, superbiens/curtisii and primulinum.They ought all to be manageable.And I would say, that sukhakulii is also a good bid for a starter species.

With all the wonderful plants, though, that I've killed off over the years, I somehow regret, that I, right from the begining, plunged in at the deep end (i.e. species), and didn't start out with a few nice primary hybrids (as Maudiae - maybe a couple differently coloured ones; St.Swithin; Leeanum; Ho Chi Minh; and the likes) to learn the tricks of the trade and familiarize myself with growth medium, feeding etc., whilst enjoying the help provided by hybrid vigour!

And why not from the begining search out a local orchid society or if possible a nice orchid nursery owner, both of which/whom could help you out with guidance and advice?!
 
You might try P. phillipinensis, it can take the heat but would need some protection in Winter. P. rothschildianum might also work. But these multiflorals are big plants that can take many years to get to flowering size. I agree with Guldal, it's not a bad idea to start with some hybrids that include the species that you like, they might be easier to grow. I'm speaking from experience having killed a lot of 'em over the years :D
 
Thanks you two. The grower whom I buy orchids from will bring many plants in like two weeks, and so I'll only know which options there are when all of the plants arrive.
I've read at the Israeli orchid society that Multifloras would require more light- that means they couldn't grow in my balcony without artificial lights, which I don't currently have. Therefore, I'd prefer species which like low light.
The society doesn't really have a very informative article about growing paphs outside, and so I'll ask the grower for advice once I meet him.

I do wanna jump straight to the deep water, because imo nothing's better than experience:) so I'd prefer to start with a pure species, though definitely not one of the hardest species to grow.
And about a long time till they bloom- I have time and I have patience:) so that isn't a problem.
 
Does your balcony get any sunlight? I imagine in Israel the sun would be pretty intense so you wouldn't need too much of it especially if it's outdoors then it's going to be getting bright shade at the very least. I wouldn't call myself an expert but the multiflorals I have seem to be able to cope with fairly low light levels here in the Dutch Winter.
 
Well, I've gone over the Paph species list, and made a (pretty long 😅) list of my favourite paphs, Parvis excluded:
P. adductum
P. Gigantifolium
P. Lowii
P. Philippinense
P. Platyphyllum
P. Praestans
P. Supardii
P. Charlesworthii
P. Druryi
P. Exul
P. Fairrieanum
P. Gratrixianum
P. Henryanum
P. Acmodontum
P. Appletonianum
P. Argus
P. Callosum
P. Ciliolare
P. Lawrenceanum
P. Parnatanum
P. Sangii
P. Sukhakulii
P. Superbiens
P. Urbanianum
P. Wardii
P. Wentworthianum
Godefroyae is nice too.
 
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Does your balcony get any sunlight? I imagine in Israel the sun would be pretty intense so you wouldn't need too much of it especially if it's outdoors then it's going to be getting bright shade at the very least. I wouldn't call myself an expert but the multiflorals I have seem to be able to cope with fairly low light levels here in the Dutch Winter.
Yeah, my balcony does get sunlight. Most of it is in almost full shade, but a small part has half shade, in which I've succeeded making some full sun lovers, like Pancratium Maritimum, bloom.
 

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