# Paph St Swithin 'Summer Storm' HCC/AOC - maybe next time



## emydura (Jul 16, 2017)

I have had this clone for around 15 years. I first got it as a small division. It flowered in 2006 on a very small single growth which you can see below. I think the flowering took so much out of it that it struggled to recover. It grew at a snails pace. Eleven years later it has put up another spike. Again the growth is tiny (similar to below) and it only has a small new lead. So today I made the heartbreaking decision to save it from the same fate as before and nipped the buds off. It looked like it was going to have three flowers as well. It is such a beautiful clone that it is not worth risking. Hopefully in three years or so it will be strong enough to sustain a flowering.


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## ksriramkumar (Jul 16, 2017)

Wow. Beautiful.


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## Ozpaph (Jul 16, 2017)

Sorry to hear that. I find it a pretty good grower, not sure why yours is recalcitrant.


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## Mark Karayannis (Jul 16, 2017)

It is really a good one. Worth trying again


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## emydura (Jul 16, 2017)

Ozpaph said:


> Sorry to hear that. I find it a pretty good grower, not sure why yours is recalcitrant.



I have seen some big plants of this clone from you Brisbane growers. So it looks to be a good grower in general. But even for vigorous growing multi-florals, if you start off with a weak division it can be extremely difficult to re-establish them. I've been trying for 15 years with this plant and I still have a way to go.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jul 16, 2017)

Perhaps just an old clone thing with reluctant old patents used??
Does the original plant where yours came from still exist?

I know a person whose SS took 20 years to bloom, and that was a few years ago. Since, then, it bloomed about twice more with a couple of years' interval.
His plant is large typical size. 

I like small sized plants. 

Btw, I would have kept the spike and enjoy the flowers as there is no guaruntee when it will bloom again.


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## blondie (Jul 16, 2017)

That is a stunner really nice, love the overall flower.


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## emydura (Jul 16, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Perhaps just an old clone thing with reluctant old patents used??
> Does the original plant where yours came from still exist?
> 
> I know a person whose SS took 20 years to bloom, and that was a few years ago. Since, then, it bloomed about twice more with a couple of years' interval.
> ...



I believe it is quite vigorous. Stephen said above that his plant is. I think this clone is in a lot of collections here. I've seen small divisions of this plant go for over $300 on ebay.

I think in the long run it was better to stop it flowering. On such a small plant, it wouldn't have been a high quality flowering anyway.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jul 16, 2017)

I see.
Are other plants of this sake clone smallish also?
Flowers are very nice!


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## emydura (Jul 16, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> I see.
> Are other plants of this sake clone smallish also?
> Flowers are very nice!



No.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jul 16, 2017)

hmmm strange, then. Isn't it? 
You grow other plants well.
So something is definitely going on with this one.
Maye it has mutated into a small growing and loose bloomer. 

I have a division of a paph (parvi) whose parent plant is a great grower and a good bloomer, but it has been very tough in the last couple of years. 

Then, other plants like Cymbidium goeringii and Neofinetia falcate can be nearly impossible to keep alive when divided too small. 

Yours is at least growing and blooming.


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## Spaph (Jul 16, 2017)

Really nice.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 16, 2017)

Love it!


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## emydura (Jul 17, 2017)

Happypaphy7 said:


> hmmm strange, then. Isn't it?
> You grow other plants well.
> So something is definitely going on with this one.
> Maye it has mutated into a small growing and loose bloomer.
> ...



I think it is just a matter of getting a division that was too small and weak. The plant I bought was just an old flowered growth and a small new lead. The new lead grew slowly and eventually flowered on a very small growth. It really wasn't strong enough to sustain this flowering and the plant declined from there. Fortunately it didn't die which they can often do in this situation. I didn't want to tempt fate and let it flower again on a small growth.

Multi-floral divisions should be a minimum of three growths if you want the plant to grow on easily. Otherwise they can take a long time to recover. My Susan Booth 'Paracombe' fell apart one year when I repotted it. There were three clumps with one a single old flowered growth with no new leads. It took me 6 years to get that division to flower and another 3 years before it was a strong plant. It has three growths now and is growing strongly. It is a very easy plant to grow but it took a long time to re-establish it. The other two bigger divisions grew on easily and have flowered regularly.


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## SlipperKing (Jul 20, 2017)

I agree David, smart move. Cut the spike and do it early. Nice flower BTW.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


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## emydura (Aug 30, 2020)

Three years later (where did the time go) I have flowered it again on a much bigger growth. Not a massive flower but I love the colour and form. I much prefer this to the big spidery unbalanced St Swithins. Still a small plant so it has much improvement left in it (in another three years). 


St Swithin 'Summer Storm' HCC/AOC


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## Djthomp28 (Aug 30, 2020)

Congrats! Very nice flowers and that growth looks strong too. I applaud your patience and discipline.


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## Pinebark (Aug 30, 2020)

Patience rewarded. Congrats


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## SouthPark (Aug 30, 2020)

emydura said:


> Three years later (where did the time go) I have flowered it again on a much bigger growth. Not a massive flower but I love the colour and form. I much prefer this to the big spidery unbalanced St Swithins. Still a small plant so it has much improvement left in it (in another three years).



Very nice indeed. The great thing about technology, and modern digital cameras etc ....... is that they provide us ways of capturing some of that beauty - and preserving it, and sharing it on the internet.


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## Ozpaph (Aug 30, 2020)

I agree, its a nice dark clone and worth having.


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## blondie (Aug 31, 2020)

Fantastic the back plant is like a loooking really healthy and stunning blooms


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## SouthPark (Aug 31, 2020)

emydura said:


> I much prefer this to the big spidery unbalanced St Swithins.



The appearance of your Paph. Saint Swithin flowers is fantastic! Just a tiny question --- can I ask what you mean by big spidery unbalanced?


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## KateL (Aug 31, 2020)

Yes! It really is a beautiful flower and it looks like it appreciates your continued tlc.


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## emydura (Sep 1, 2020)

SouthPark said:


> The appearance of your Paph. Saint Swithin flowers is fantastic! Just a tiny question --- can I ask what you mean by big spidery unbalanced?



Sometimes the petals get so long they don't present nicely. They start going out horizontally, then they suddenly drop down. A bit all over the place. Having said that, a lot of them are damn nice too.  Such a variable hybrid.


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## setaylien (Sep 1, 2020)

emydura said:


> Three years later (where did the time go) I have flowered it again on a much bigger growth. Not a massive flower but I love the colour and form. I much prefer this to the big spidery unbalanced St Swithins. Still a small plant so it has much improvement left in it (in another three years).
> 
> 
> St Swithin 'Summer Storm' HCC/AOC


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## setaylien (Sep 1, 2020)

It's a real beauty! With some improvement in growth and one or two more flowers it could be worthy of an AM. Good luck and good growing!!!


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## DrLeslieEe (Sep 1, 2020)

I think the plant is in Australia?


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## SouthPark (Sep 1, 2020)

emydura said:


> Sometimes the petals get so long they don't present nicely. They start going out horizontally, then they suddenly drop down. A bit all over the place. Having said that, a lot of them are damn nice too.  Such a variable hybrid.



Thanks for explaining! The flower you have is super tidy ------ I like the one you have too. Thank goodness somebody made the cross ----- the Saint Swithin ! Fantastic cross. Totally agree with you.


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## SouthPark (Sep 1, 2020)

DrLeslieEe said:


> I think the plant is in Australia?



DLE ---- true! The plant is in Canberra, Australia.

It does get very cold in Canberra sometimes. Not as cold as Toronto though hahaha.


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## NYEric (Sep 2, 2020)

Thanks for sharing. SS is one of my favorite multies. I wish they were easier to bloom.


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## Guldal (Sep 2, 2020)

Is there anything not to like about your plant, David?! I especially love the dark, stark, contrasting colouring of the flowers, and theirs and the plants size!
All the best from Copenhagen, David!


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## emydura (Sep 3, 2020)

SouthPark said:


> DLE ---- true! The plant is in Canberra, Australia.View attachment 22017
> 
> It does get very cold in Canberra sometimes. Not as cold as Toronto though hahaha.



Yes, that's the spot. When they were working out where to put the capital city in Australia, they couldn't decide between Sydney and Melbourne so they built a new city in between. I just wished they could have chosen a warmer location. Canberra is the coldest city in Australia, but also gets bloody hot in summer. Not the greatest climate to grow Paphs, but I do my best. 

But definitely not as cold as Totonto.


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## emydura (Sep 3, 2020)

NYEric said:


> Thanks for sharing. SS is one of my favorite multies. I wish they were easier to bloom.



That is surprising as I don't think it has a reputation as a difficult to flower hybrid. I haven't found it hard to flower myself.


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## emydura (Sep 3, 2020)

setaylien said:


> It's a real beauty! With some improvement in growth and one or two more flowers it could be worthy of an AM. Good luck and good growing!!!



I would have to grow it well. It was awarded in 1990 so it is quite an old clone now. There were a lot of great St Swithin clones in Australia around that time that are still sought after.


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