Venustum blooming questions

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Shadow

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I bought it few years ago, I don't remember exactly when. Probably, in 2006. It was NBS or BS already. But it has never bloomed for me. It is growing and growing new leaves continuously and at the moment has excellent roots and 7 mature leaves but I would like to see flowers too. It grows on the windowsill with additional lighting. Winter nights about 13-15 degrees Celsius (depending on the temperature outside the window. What would you suggest me to do to make it actually bloom?
 
I don't know what to say ... maybe you can try to forget it a few weeks during the winter?
mine blooms at least twice a year and I do nothing special ... it just grows, and bloom.

Or maybe you're not lucky and it's one that can't bloom !!
 
Mine is really easy too. Blooms as soon as the leaves are big enough without any special treatment.
 
You could move it to slightly more light. I switched to a bloom booster fertilizer this fall and have lots(for a newbie) of buds and blooms on my paphs. Last winter I used the high nitro all winter because I grow in bark and got growth but no blooms. You could threaten the plant with a new home.
 
Thanks, I think I'll try to give it more light. I can move it to the shelf with intense lighting, but it is quite warm shelf - not less than 18 Celsius in winter night. Do you think it will be too warm?

I switched to a bloom booster
Do you mean Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster or something similar?
 
Thanks, I think I'll try to give it more light. I can move it to the shelf with intense lighting, but it is quite warm shelf - not less than 18 Celsius in winter night. Do you think it will be too warm?

That's how I grow mine, and it seems to like it! ;) ok, nights temps drop quite a bit too...
 
Are you sure it's BS? How many leaves does it have?
I have 3 different plants, 2 are albums & one is finally in bud! This plant has 4 pairs of leaves, the other two have 3 pairs. Don't know if that's a sign of maturity? It is a husky looking plant in comparison to the other two. Being in the barbata group, I'm not sure that increased light could make a difference, could it stress the plant? My plant in bud is in a shadier spot than the other two ........ hmmmm
 
I'm quite sure it is BS. Leafspan is 22-23 cm and the amount and size of leaves remain stable: 7 - 8 since it was bought. Newer growing, older dying. Nothing else happens.
 
This species puts on new growths fairly readily, so if it was an adult plant when you got it, I would have expected 2 or 3 new growths around the base of your original plant by now.

Turnover of leaves without blooming and adding new growths could be a sign of nutritional deficiency or low humidity.

Barbata types (like venustum and purpuratum) like high humidity (>70% RH) which could be in short supply indoors near windowsills, and the plant may be chronically stressed.

Generally nutrition with weekly feeding should be just fine unless you have more metals in the system tieing up the important nutrients.

Are the new leaves normal or pleated (folded) at all?

If your humidity is low, don't try to compensate by watering more (that usually kills the roots), but try to enclose the plant a bit and try some methods to increase the air moisture around the plant.
 
if it was an adult plant when you got it, I would have expected 2 or 3 new growths around the base of your original plant by now.
It doesn't have new growths and never had. :(
Barbata types (like venustum and purpuratum) like high humidity (>70% RH) which could be in short supply indoors near windowsills, and the plant may be chronically stressed.
I have a humidifier nearby and the humidity level there is 65%. Is it too low?

Are the new leaves normal or pleated (folded) at all?
They are normal.
 
I started to use RO water with additional mineralisation since this August and now I'm fertilising every watering using fertiliser with higher P-K (for autumn - winter season). May be it (venustum) will like it more than tap water. Well, vietnamense definitely appreciates it - I have one in bud at the moment.
 
I started to use RO water with additional mineralisation since this August and now I'm fertilising every watering using fertiliser with higher P-K (for autumn - winter season). May be it (venustum) will like it more than tap water. Well, vietnamense definitely appreciates it - I have one in bud at the moment.

That's good, then I wouldn't change my feeding regime. What are your daytime highs? I think a nightime low of 18C would be fine. I don't think venustum comes from especially high elevations that are particularly cool, with daytime highs around 25C common.

I do think you should try to get the humidity higher. Given that it's still just a single growth plant , I wouldn't push it too hard to bloom this year.
 
I acquired one last year with 5 growths and 3 in bloom. It now has 4 new growths; two of of which bloom. None of the old growths have died. I don't do anything special
Grown inside under lights
Temps range from low 80's (day) to mid/low 60's (night).
R/O water with MSU formula fertilizer.
Humidity from 50% to 70%​

Once you get yours to make new growths, it will start to bloom. Is it possible it is drying out too much between waterings? I tend to have better results if I keep mine wetter than I think they should be. I have started putting them in larger pots, like 6.5" diameter, and filling the bottom half of the pot with packing peanuts giving me a large shallow area of potting mix (bark mix plus chopped sphagnum). Then I can water the heck out of it without having a pot of soggy mix.

Gary
 
Is it possible it is drying out too much between waterings?
No, I'm checking what paph need to be watered every second day, so I'm quite sure it was not stressed because of drying out.

By the way, I have 2 bellatulums, from the same source, both bought as BS 3 years ago. One of them bloomed three times already and grows fast and steadily. Another one has about 10 leaves and putting out bud only now and extremely slowly (1mm per month I think). Strange?
 
....By the way, I have 2 bellatulums, from the same source, both bought as BS 3 years ago. One of them bloomed three times already and grows fast and steadily. Another one has about 10 leaves and putting out bud only now and extremely slowly (1mm per month I think). Strange?
Unfortunely not. :( and there's a good reason some are not used for breeding!
Just wait, it will probably be a super bella! if not, well .............
 

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