Thanks John,
Yeah plants are doing well overall! The parishii blooms were a bit hard to stake up. The stem with the buds would bend almost completely pointing down without me holding them up. I wonder if they would have perked up on their own or if the spike would have ended up with the flower bearing part going straight down?
Thanks again, still looking forward to that koopwitz division!
If I remember correctly, that plant and other parishiis that I've had in the past (with the exception of one plant back in 1989, which had a VERY pendant stem that drooped and curled it's way below the level of the botton of the pot), have always had an upright stem....to the point of the lowest bud. Then, the portion of the stem with the buds curls right over. That is normal as the stem grows. However, as each bud opens, the bit of stem before it lifts up; so, only the bud portion remains curled over. I noticed your staking of the flower stems in the photo and wondered if I should suggest that you just let the stem elongate naturally, because in the end, it will be mostly upright and then, just one stake with a hook just below the lowest flower is all that will be needed to give the whole thing a good stance.
I almost never stake a multi-flowered Paph stem until at least the first flower has opened. Then, I usually only provide support up to just below the lowest flower...or, even lower than that....just enough to hold the stem at the angle that I want it at. Then, the plant is free to find it's own "happy place" for the flower-bearing portion of the stem. After I've installed the short stake, supporting the non-flowering portion of the stem, I then sometimes get a stem that stands bolt upright, anyway. But, sometimes I get a stem that has a very elegant arch, beginning with the first flower, gently curving up and over and finishing at the last flower.
Here's a photo of this plant last year. Notice that the stake is just a 16 guage florist wire and it doesn't come close to the lowest flower. The stem originally grew out at about a 45 degree angle. As the flowers opened, it would've sagged even lower. However, once a couple flowers were open, I added the florist wire stake and positioned the stem where I wanted it. The plant then continued to elongate the stem and open up the rest of the flowers. As you can see, in the end, the plant set a very nice stance for the flowered portion of the stem and it only had a little bit of help/guidance from me.
