Paph. armeniacum

[Tom-DE]

It has decided not to wait till Spring...the flower is still developing...NS is about 10cm for now. This division has only two growths but new growths are showing up now. The bigger division may be in buds now also and it should bloom in Spring 2024.
Last time(first bloom, April 2022), it had a very large flower(more than 12cm NS) although the flower form wasn't great--see last photo. I divided the plant after its first bloom.

 

[terryros]

It has decided not to wait till Spring...the flower is still developing...NS is about 10cm for now. This division has only two growths but new growths are showing up now. The bigger division may be in buds now also and it should bloom in Spring 2024.
Last time(first bloom, April 2022), it had a very large flower(more than 12cm NS) although the flower form wasn't great--see last photo. I divided the plant after its first bloom.

The natural habitat conditions for armeniacum show a marked drop in temperatures, particularly night time, beginning in September, associated with decreased rain. This leads to flowering in Feb, Mar, Apr. What did you do to get success with your plant?

 

[Tom-DE]

The natural habitat conditions for armeniacum show a marked drop in temperatures, particularly night time, beginning in September, associated with decreased rain. This leads to flowering in Feb, Mar, Apr. What did you do to get success with your plant?

I understand this species normally blooms in late winter to early spring...
I am in the NE region of the U.S. .....a cooler and drier winter rest is what I normally do to encourage flowering/set bud for the following year...why did it decide to bloom now? I have no idea. It set bud in early August outside in my yard and it didn't stop growing after I moved it inside.

 

[terryros]

How long did it stay outside and what day and night temperatures was it experiencing out there? Did you change watering/feeding during the fall. I am getting detailed because I have an armeniacum hybrid that has been a struggle to bloom.

 

[Tom-DE]

How long did it stay outside and what day and night temperatures was it experiencing out there? Did you change watering/feeding during the fall. I am getting detailed because I have an armeniacum hybrid that has been a struggle to bloom.

I have remaining ~25 plants now, mostly Paphs, (*I sold my mixed collection,~1000 plants, a few years ago). I grow these 25 plants outside from May to Oct. In the fall, normally the second part of Oct., I move them back inside(windowsill) when the nighttime temperature drops down to the mid-40s. For just a few of them that require/like a cooler and drier winter, I put them by the windows in the garage, where it routinely has temperature down to the upper 30s...
I don't do much when they are outside--feed them once in a great while with MSU fertilizer(for well water)and water them if Mother Nature doesn't do the job for me. In my area, the night temperature (starting from mid-August) will cool off to the mid-50s to mid-60s while the daytime temperature is in the mid to upper 70s or low 80s...@watering/feeding in the fall--nothing special...although I water them less often since it is cooling off and things take longer to dry out.
and O/C, the temperature in June and July are higher.
Hope these are the details that you wanted...good luck and be patient perhaps.
*Some armeniacum hybrids are even more difficult to bloom IMO.

 

[GuRu]

I.......--see last photo. I divided the plant after its first bloom.

Maybe dividing the plant had an influence of producing this flower now ... earlier than usual ?

 

[terryros]

I have remaining ~25 plants now, mostly Paphs, (*I sold my mixed collection,~1000 plants, a few years ago). I grow these 25 plants outside from May to Oct. In the fall, normally the second part of Oct., I move them back inside(windowsill) when the nighttime temperature drops down to the mid-40s. For just a few of them that require/like a cooler and drier winter, I put them by the windows in the garage, where it routinely has temperature down to the upper 30s...
I don't do much when they are outside--feed them once in a great while with MSU fertilizer(for well water)and water them if Mother Nature doesn't do the job for me. In my area, the night temperature (starting from mid-August) will cool off to the mid-50s to mid-60s while the daytime temperature is in the mid to upper 70s or low 80s...@watering/feeding in the fall--nothing special...although I water them less often since it is cooling off and things take longer to dry out.
and O/C, the temperature in June and July are higher.
Hope these are the details that you wanted...good luck and be patient perhaps.
*Some armeniacum hybrids are even more difficult to bloom IMO.

Great information. You are giving everything a great, and natural, winter rest – it is just coming a little sooner than the natural habitat.

 

[Tom-DE]

Maybe dividing the plant had an influence of producing this flower now ... earlier than usual ?

I doubt that. the repotting/dividing was done almost over a year and a half ago(June/July 2022). None of the divisions set buds in the fall that year or blooming the following spring(Spring 2023).
For this blooming, everything was on schedule except the flower bud just kept on going after I moved the plant inside...normally the flower bud will just sit there doing nothing over the winter months. My other bigger plant/division is in the low bud stage now and it is doing nothing at this time of the year. Go figure!