Some easy some hard!

[Stone]

I would definitely include vietnamense in the hard group for me. Some find it easy but not me. Maybe we each have a different ''feel'' when it comes to growing and some species fit better into that than others?
The fact that some people find a particular species difficult while someone else finds it very easy points more to an individual's technique? Or perhaps it's just asking too much to have all the species perform well in the same conditions.
Could another reason be that when we buy a plant, we are just taking a chance as to whether its a strong clone or a weak one and this may lead us to thinking its a difficult species when in fact it's just a crappy plant?
With a lot of the seedlings I buy I do not have any choice between plants.

 

[Brabantia]

Could another reason be that when we buy a plant, we are just taking a chance as to whether its a strong clone or a weak one and this may lead us to thinking its a difficult species when in fact it's just a crappy plant?

YES, the trick is to be able to buy clones selected for their vigour. Some plants obtained in In-Vitro culture (all in fact) have a bad memory of their youth ... too much hormones, not enough vitamin, too much K....

 

[paphioboy]

Could another reason be that when we buy a plant, we are just taking a chance as to whether its a strong clone or a weak one and this may lead us to thinking its a difficult species when in fact it's just a crappy plant?

This, I agree... Different sources carry plants that are X generations removed from the wild. Inbreeding of species (over many generations) could also lead to loss of vigour but sometimes improves it. E.g. the seed-grown mastersianums we have seen on this forum. If you grow plants from wild sources or 1 generation from the wild versus those that have been selected over 4, 5 generations, I think the difference becomes much more obvious. So to generalize how difficult a species behaves in cultivation is just way too broad to make any sense..

 

[emydura]

Anyone who has grown up a flask knows how much variation you will get in vigour across all the seedlings. Some will not grow at all. People often keep the best seedlings and sell the slower growing ones. So the struggling weaker plants are the ones you are often buying.

 

[Brabantia]

Anyone who has grown up a flask knows how much variation you will get in vigour across all the seedlings. Some will not grow at all. People often keep the best seedlings and sell the slower growing ones. So the struggling weaker plants are the ones you are often buying.

I agree, and my experience in I-V culture have confirmed what you say.
The Paphiopedilums multiplication In-Vitro from meristems has been described in the scientific literature. I am curious to know if plants obtained by this method are already on the market.

 

[Camellkc]

For me,
Easy: Most of the muties (except philippinese, stonei, gardeneri and giga)
Hard: stonei, gardeneri

 

[Bjorn]

Think I ought to give my contribution as well
Easy: wardii, insigne, venustum, vietnamense(?)
hard: jackii, tigrinum, anitum, adductum, sanderianum, hangianum, emersonii.

hard means that I struggle with them, but not necessarily do not grow them.

 

[Rick]

I'm really not finding any species as stereotypically "hard to grow" anymore.

Some of my old individual abused plants are not coming around, but just about anything picked up in the last couple of years has been doing pretty good.

I recently picked up some roths and new sanderianum seedling back in December, and they've grown more in the last 7 months than some of my old plants grew in the first 5 years coming out of flasks.

A new hookerae and vietnamense picked up a couple months ago are getting new leaves and roots with no problems at all. While these did poorly for me a few years ago.

Henryanum out of flask were hard, and blooming size would grow like crazy to burn out with erwinia after a few years. Now they are total weeds.

I guess need to refine what the definition of "hard" is.

 

[Trithor]

I think it is to be expected that most of us will find some species easy, while others are hard. Paphs come from a vast geographical area, not only that, but there are massive differences in proximity to the sea as well as altitude. This would logically require them to be kept under different climatic/greenhouse conditions. Not many of us have the luxury of a range of growing areas, but try and make do by moving our plants around our greenhouses to capitalise on micro-climates which may exist.
Species which have a very localised distribution in nature are likely to be more specific in their requirements and so either 'easy' or 'hard', depending on our growing environment and quirks in our cultural practice. In contrast, species which occur over a large geographical are more likely to be forgiving in their requirements and easier to keep as part of a mixed collection, and so perceived by most growers to be an easy species.
Then to confuse issues further, there are obviously easy and hard clones of each species (again, this may be due to slight differences in their genetic coding for optimum growing conditions, so where one grower may find a particular clone to be difficult, another grower with slightly different conditions may find that clone to be easy)
I have found over the years that I need to reassess which I find hard/easy. At my previous house, I found brachys and parvis reasonably easy, but since moving to the new house, I find them to be near impossible, even concolor fails to thrive, while most barbata and multis seem to be quite happy.