Paph. parishii

[Justin]

the flowers are very nice...great recovery!

 

[McPaph]

Awesome job. Looks great

 

[Brabantia]

Very nice flowering and what are great the efforts made to recover it.
What is it "shredded foam" is it expensed polystyrene or polyurethane foam like the one used to do the bed mattress? Thanks in advance for the infos.

 

[GuRu]

Three times lovely John, flowers, photos and story!!
Perhaps you should name this cultivar Paph. parishii 'Wendy' in honour to her achievements!!

 

[John M]

Thanks again everyone.

I don't repot plants in this mix any more often than any other mix. The foam is a porous "stiff", white foam that has been ground up. Florists use this ground up stiff foam to fill vases to help hold the flowers. Before it is ground up, stiff pieces in the shape of wreaths and crosses etc., are used in floral aranging for events like funerals, weddings etc. It's porous structure and stiffness and strength make it a great material for use in specially shaped floral displays, when a vase is not suitable. The foam is wrapped in plastic or foil and wetted. Then, the flowers are poked through the covering into the wet foam board beneath. In a pot, water goes right through it and drains away, allowing lots of air right back in. When mixed with the sphagnum, there is lots of water retension and lots of air, both at the same time.

 

[rdlsreno]

Very nice! excellent clone.

Ramon

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

Stunning. A little bit of team work goes a long way!

 

[Ross]

Beautiful flowers and a great story, John!

 

[JeanLux]

Agree to all what has already been written here: bravo John and Wendy!!!!

One precision John please: what does ' hang it up ' mean concretely? much light,yes, but direct sun !?

(I have 2 of them, got one blooming some years ago, but since then they live but do not bloom any more; I have tried low light, higher light, and now catt. light for one ; just see what happens )

Thanks, Jean

 

[John M]

One precision John please: what does ' hang it up ' mean concretely? much light,yes, but direct sun !?

(I have 2 of them, got one blooming some years ago, but since then they live but do not bloom any more; I have tried low light, higher light, and now catt. light for one ; just see what happens )

Thanks, Jean

Hi Jean,

When I hung it up, I was intending to give it more air movement to help the foliage dry thoroughly after watering/misting. The air movement is quite high above the benches; but, it's a lot less at bench level. Also, by hanging it up, I was helping it to get more light too. Less plants overhead shading it would be a help, I thought. I used the potting mix I did without the addition of lime stones, because parishii is epiphytic and grows with it's roots in mosses and bark crevices up in the trees.

I think the bloom trigger for these is cool nights in the late summer. I think light level has less to do with it than temperature.

Good luck!

 

[Rick]

Hi Jean,

I used the potting mix I did without the addition of lime stones, because parishii is epiphytic and grows with it's roots in mosses and bark crevices up in the trees.

I think the bloom trigger for these is cool nights in the late summer. I think light level has less to do with it than temperature.

Good luck!

Birk has these growing primarily epiphytically on the middle and lower branches of trees. Light level low to moderate. The normal blooming season is June/July. April is listed as the warmest month and December the coldest. Winter is the driest time, and peak rainfall is June and July. Elevation is over 4000 ft, so it never gets real warm with 90F days and 60F nights. Winter nights getting to 40F.

Given tropical day/night daylength is close to 12/12 year round, the peak rainy season generally is the darkest season from extra cloud cover.

I bet this paph may be a good one for basket culture.

 

[Erythrone]

Fantastic plant!

 

[toddybear]

Omg! Wow!

 

[chrismende]

Great and heartwarming story! Beautiful flowers and plant!

One Question: how is the foam shredded? I seem to throw a lot of that stiff foam away when I get shipped items - I'd love to find a way to recycle it!

 

[Bolero]

That is awesome! I am going to get some of these. I just found out that their native habitat gets quite cold in places. So I am up to giving these a try. Thanks for sharing something so spectacular.

 

[Gilda]

I love happy paph endings !! Congrats to both you & Wendy for the team effort !! Sometimes it takes a whole village to raise a slipper :wink:

 

[John M]

Thanks again everyone!

Chris; the foam comes already shredded; but, I suspect that it is put through some sort of "chipper/shredder", similar to what is used to chop up sticks and branches. *NOTE* This foam is not the same as the styrofoam that is used to pack electronics, etc. It's structure makes it absorbent. The water does not flow around the pieces, it goes right through it; but, it also tends to drain very well, allowing lots of air back in.