The most frustrating plants u hav ever owned...

[Heather]

Oh right! Sorry! Momentary lapse in memory. It was Jon, (the OTHER legend!)

Sorry guys! I should keep better records and not rely on my (bad) memory, huh? I sold a few plants around that time and several were to Matt and/or Jon, and it was when Matt's tig was in bloom... I got confused. Oops.

 

[Jon in SW Ohio]

Haven't had it long enough to be frustrated by it. With how well grown it was, hopefully I can work a little magic and sweet talk it into spiking.

Jon

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Frustrating orchids? Maybe most paphs! Well....I should say...the paphs I want most! If they live....they don't bloom. If they bloom, they die...If you really really love them, they don't bloom or live! Basically, most multiflorals frustrate the hell out of me. They live...they don't bloom. What's next? Parvis...my favorites! malipoense lives forever...doesn't want to grow larger, won't even tease me with a blasted spike. emersonii does nothing...then blooms, then dies. micranthum does nearly nothing...then maybe tempts me with a bud...then blasts...then dies. armeniacum tries to copy malipoense, but can't make it in the long-life department. Funny thing is...tigrinum was great...blasted the first few years, then became a reliable bloomer for many years...until I divided it to the point of no return....now it frustrates me because its unaffordable! Of course, give me an ugly hybrid with cupped blooms and bent petals, and you know it will never die and never fail to bloom.....Take care, Eric

 

[smartie2000]

....I'm opposite of you then...To be very honest I've only been involved with Paphs for a year and I love them. I did hours and hours of reading to familiarize myself and try excelerate my knowledge (I'm still learn though) with this wonderful genus of orchids. Probably my favorite now. My first paph was a parvi and brachy they have the prettiest leaves. Then I started buying ton of other paphs very rapidly...so many shipments. So far I haven't killed anything....we shall see over the years if I kill something. I have an armeniacum in bloom right now and I will have to get malipoense because you say they are good

...hmmm the most frustrating paph I have will have to be my Paph. Michael Koopowitz. I have a mature single growth plant that keeps loosing its leaves and not growing new ones fast enough. And its not sending out a new growth either....I don't know when it might expire, I hope it won't. I'm confident it won't, I hope I don't break my confidence. It's loosing its value as I grow it if you are placing value by leaf size. I think I need to figue out what I'm doing wrong with the Paph MK. I dont get it my strap leaved seedlings are fine.....

 

[patrix]

fo rme it is the coelogynes too but the Latoria dendrobiums and a few others of that sort are growing but not blooming. There is another Hamellsawara (sp?) a Zygo hybrid that I have had difficulty with but am having more success

 

[Tony]

Maybe the worse of all the slippers though, is P. tigrinum. At least the other reluctant bloomers don't get your hopes up... but this species gets your hopes up and then it just sits there for months and months and then nothing!

Mine is growing like a weed right now, I can actually measure the growth from day to day. Hopefully this means I have a good one that will be a strong bloomer, but if not, I have the other 25 in compots... :arrr:

 

[Rick]

...hmmm the most frustrating paph I have will have to be my Paph. Michael Koopowitz. I have a mature single growth plant that keeps loosing its leaves and not growing new ones fast enough. And its not sending out a new growth either....I don't know when it might expire, I hope it won't. I'm confident it won't, I hope I don't break my confidence. It's loosing its value as I grow it if you are placing value by leaf size. I think I need to figue out what I'm doing wrong with the Paph MK. I dont get it my strap leaved seedlings are fine.....

I have an MK X rothchildianum. I've had it for almost 5 years and its hardly grown at all. But I did see a new leaf coming up this month

 

[NYEric]

I have an Encyclia "thingie" that I've had almost for the 8 years that Iv'e been growing orchids. I think the tag disintegrated years ago. I have killed many an orchid but not this baby. It has survived major scale attacks yet it drops leaves if I bump into it. Hasn't looked like it wants to flower, but on the bright side at least it's alive and growing.

 

[MoreWater]

Definitely dendrochilums in the orchid world - they always start declining as soon as they arrive. Any suggestions for a "fool-proof" setup in an apartment would be very much appreciated.

Following closely are maxillarias. I suspect a greenhouse would solve this one. These things also always refuse to grow, or even sit still, and just keep shrinking.

For non-orchids, any non-hardy aroid. Haven't kept one alive yet

 

[lothianjavert]

Hard to say which ones are the most frustrating!!

I think the Laelia crispa ranks up there... grows like crazy, but the bugger won't bloom!! It sits next to my carneas and rhynchostylis and THEY bloom, but nope, not the crispa.... (and it is HUGE)

I have a couple of sanderianum hybrids that just seem to NOT want to bloom. Paph. curtisii x sanderianum is now up to 3 beautiful, shiny, BS growths.... nope, no spikes.....

Also Mokara Chak Kuan Red. It's HUGE. It's never even attempted to bloom. I even tried coaxing it with summers outside. Grows like crazy out there, but nope, no blooms.

masdevallia veitchiana and masd. coccinea. I LOVE them. but, I kill them. My growing room is just too warm for their liking.

 

[philoserenus]

well i know u guys are mainly focusing on orchids but the title did say "plants" afterall ok? haha, so dun blame me. roses! those darn bushes. they are similar to Eric Muehlbauer's orchids, they either bloom but die or just grow and dun flower! or they do neither and just die on me! i can never get over the idea y i tried soo many times b/c i realize that roses and i dun get along except for pre-cut ones. arg!!

 

[Frederick]

Frustrating paphs

because they die on me?
--fairrieanum (my second one is about to croak).

because they just sit there--look happy--just won't grow?
--primulinum x sanderianum, roths 'Borneo' x victoria-mariae, Shin-Yi Fireball

because they grow but won't bloom?
--Iantha Stage (2 clones, unbelievable but true), Lord Derby (12 growths-trashed), the usual suspects (roths x parvi), and an awarded Mme Martinet (murdered).

The other plant I cannot grow though I love it. It grows anywhere even by the road-side, is unbelievably beautiful (as in Monet's garden at Giverny) but NEVER in my garden : papaver somniferum. I've tried everything in the book with no success. Ideas anyone? (I almost forgot--sweet peas.)

Happy growing all the same [sob--sob--sob].
Frederick

 

[Ellen]

I would have to say it's an Acacallis cyanea that's mounted on a piece of treefern. Everybody raves about this plant, but for me it's been nothing but trouble. It's sulked, rotted, dried out, and been eaten by critters (don't know what). Finally, just when it was putting out some new growth, it got badly sunburned and all the new growths died. The worst thing is that it's still alive, and I keep thinking it's going to survive and grow. Some orchids should just die and get it over with.

 

[bwester]

bulbo. saucerocephalum. killed everyone I've tried to grow, the species hates me

 

[goldenrose]

Miltonias!
Love the colors, the waterfall patterns but they hate me.

 

[Jorch]

Miltonias!
Love the colors, the waterfall patterns but they hate me.

Same here Rose, I couldn't keep those gorgeous waterfall Miltonia alive for more than a year!

Other frustrating orchids of mine are all chinese/asian cymbidiums, and my maxillaria tenufolia. I hate them as much as they hate me. :sob:

 

[Mrs. Paph]

Lc. Haw Yuan Angel...stinkin thing from Wallyworld...it was dirt cheap and I guess it just jumped into my cart. Really healthy, if a little short (shorter than it's growing now anyway) - pumped out tons of nice growths for almost 4yrs, but no blooms! Pretty sure it was ND...low humidiy and not enough change in temp seasonally, and no doubt not enough light. I didn't count for sure, but it had to have been near 50 growths, luckily it's fairly miniature compared to some Catts I've seen...anyway, I cussed it out last March, literally Ripped a chunk of growths off that were hanging out of the pot, bout 3rd time that year, repotted and kept them, and left the other 40-something growths w/ my last place of work when I moved - it bloomed for them several months later, in a GH rather than a dorm room, and it bloomed for me the same time, after being cussed out again and left out on my porch w/ the Phals this summer til the temps started going down and....Buds! And all from those 3 errant growths I ripped off the original and grew outdoors in TX for a couple months! Crazy plant, but smells Wonderful, so as long as there's room it'll have a spot in my collection

Only shows one of the three flowers, but you get the idea - it's been much less frustrating lately, but it does top my list so far for annoying plants...

 

[rdlsreno]

My Stone Lovely It will flower but will bud blast!

Ramon

 

[NYEric]

Isabelia virginalis!

 

[practicallyostensible]

All bulbos. :sob: