true miniature paphs

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philoserenus

the beauty of nature
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i am just wondering wat are some true miniature paphs species or primary hybrids that are relatively easy to grow. i had no idea that paphs can be sooo small until i saw an appletonianum in flower.

in my mind, helenae and barbigerum comes to mind. now appletonianum too.
 
For species, Paph fowliei grows easily into a specimen plant. I also consider henryanum, fairrieanum, godefroyae, and niveum to be compact growers.

For hybrids, crosses featuring barbigerum or helenae as a parent crossed to other smaller species can be nice. See Rose's example of Paph Barbi Doll (barbigerum x fairrieanum)
 
Hi Nik
Very surprised to see you refering to P. appletonianum as a miniature.
In the past we made miniature complex using concolor, now of course we have the exciting P barbigerum and helenae. Lots of stuff coming out of lab!!
One important trait is the length of stem and things like appletonianum stem is far too long.
Although it has a medium stem, our Copper Spice is a beautiful mini complex.
I will send some pics later
Regards
Paul Phillips
Ratcliffe
 
What about thaianum, I got the impression that they are pretty small. Also, micranthum plants are fairly compact, aren't they?
 
i am just wondering wat are some true miniature paphs species or primary hybrids that are relatively easy to grow...

What about thaianum, I got the impression that they are pretty small. Also, micranthum plants are fairly compact, aren't they?

I wouldn't call appletonianum a mini, compact yes. Micranthum can be compact but are they relatively easy to grow/bloom?
 
thank you for correcting me that P. appletonianum isn't mini. then the plant must be mislabeled... hmm...

as for the micranthum, definitely a compact plant with a huge flower, but i've read they are quite hard to bring into bloom. this is one that i took a pic of last year at a local show Paph Micranthum.

The paph thaianum looks cute, something i can consider. is it one of those calcium liking ones? and if so, wat can i put into the bark mix to make it calciferous--dolomite?
 
Apoligies, folks, I didn't notice the bit about being easy to grow. My micranthum is still alive and seems to be doing well but I'll have to wait and see how it does in the long term. I suppose these things depend on your conditions, too.

thaianum aren't easy to grow! :(

Does it mean you killed one? :poke:
 
Paul, Please make sure I'm on the list for some of those Copper Spice x helenae seedlings!! I think this line of breeding is going to be really interesting to watch.

Cheers,
S
 
helenae and tranlienianul are true miniature. Not sure though wether they are legal in Canada
 
niveum var. thaianum is still smaller than helenae and tranlienianum
 
i dunno about helenae, but Cloud's sell tranlienianum, so i'm pretty sure those are legal here ^^ i definitely like the look of tranlienanum. something i can consider for sure

where would i be able to look if i wanted to know if a certain plant is legal in canada or not? is there a list somewhere online?
 
Koopowitz covered this in several articles. Any species or hybrid that a mature, 3 growth plant will bloom in a 3 inch pot and total height is less than 9 inches and overall leaf span less than 8 inches, could be considered compact. As a side note; in my mind, true mini doesn't start until you are at or under 4 inches - this Paphs simply don't do well, so I think the 8 to 9 inches and fit in a 3 inch pot is an acceptable rule. At this size a teacup could be used as a pot or cachepot. Easy to grow is relative, I find parvi's easy and callosum types difficult - because I grow fairly cool. So ease of growth should be ignored as far as defining the type.

My picks for the list would be
armeniacum
micranthum
concolor (not all races, there are some larger growers too)
niveum
godefroyae
thaiianum - have never seen it live, so this is from what I've read
appletonianum - some clones are more compact than others I have a small clone labeled as wolterianum that fits the bill.
barbigerum
helenae,
henryanum
hermanii
charlesworthii & fairrieanum & spicerianum all can get too big for the mini category, but there are some clones that are more compact than others.
tranlinianum
primulinum
wilhelminiae - some clones are smaller than others.
fowliei of course - smallest of the barbatum-callosum group
purpuratum & barbatum, some clones will bloom rather compact.
wardii - you can usually keep a 2 growth plant blooming in a 3 inch pot, eventually they get big.
Paph lynniae is too big, but it is the smallest of the lowii group. Almost on the list.
Paph philippinense, there is a dwarf race that just barely fits the ticket

22 species on my list, and I am sure one could add a few more. Of course from this list there are hundreds of hybrids using these species, many will be amendable to growing as teacup Paphs.

I have been a student of bonsai for a long time, and it has taught me a few things that do cross over into orchids. In bonsai - the real effort is put into thoughtful presentation. The cross over into orchids is that you should groom your plants, and choose pots to show the plants better. It is possible to deliberately keep some of these Paphs healthy & blooming and force them to stay more compact. Growing a bit brighter will force tighter foliage. Don't overpot, take the time to wind overlong roots into the smaller pot. Remove more of the previously flowered, older growths. Caution on removing old growths, make sure front growths have developed roots, often the front growth or two don't have roots. Choose your pot size so that the roots system fills 50% or more of the volume. These are some tricks to keeping the Paphs tight and compact. Experiment !!! Remember - adjust watering schedule to the plant. Only a healthy plant will bloom, so be careful. Too extreme on this and the plant won't bloom, defeating the purpose of the excercize. Consider foremost that you are growing for an attractive presentation. In terms of hort skills, this is the next level up, once you have learned how to keep the same plant growing for 5 or more years, now it is time to really work on good presentation.

I have a 5 growth Paph armeniacum in a 4 inch tall, 3 inch diameter hand made ceramic pot. I deliberately wound the rhizomes around to make it fit, rather than simply potting up and letting it spread out. So far it has only bloomed one flower at a time, but when it does more, it will be quite a showpiece. Most of the above, with a little encouragement could make nice specimens in 3 inch or smaller pots. Give it a try.
 
helenae and tranlienianul are true miniature. Not sure though wether they are legal in Canada

Yes they are, one can check canadian growers' websites. Most ( if not all) are legal & available in Canada.
 
Didn't we have a few photos of thaianum posted somewhere on the forum (or maybe I see on a website) looks like they flower on 2 inch leaf span when you look at the scale of things around it (like cigarette, finger, pot..etc..).
 
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As Leo stated, Harold Koopowitz has a really good chapter on miniature Paph breeding in his recent book. Every Paph enthusiast should own that book.

David
 
A couple of neat non-paph mini slippers include Phrag fisheri, and Mexipedium xerophyticum (but this one can be a real rambler).
 

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