# Paph. micranthum in sheath



## masaccio (Dec 14, 2021)

My micranthum is in sheath. There is a slight swelling at the base, which doesn't seem to be getting larger. Is there anything special that should be done at this point? I'm assuming it's good to go with normal light, temps and water. Thanks.


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## Happypaphy7 (Dec 14, 2021)

Congrats!!
Do not change anything. Just let the plant do its thing. My very limited experience (only bloomed a few micranthum but indoor on windowsill) has been that the sheath appears in late summer into fall, and it doesn’t do anything until late winter when it suddenly develops into a spike and bloom in just a matter of two months or so. 
I have one micranthum in sheath with a plump base at the moment. 
cheers for us!


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## masaccio (Dec 14, 2021)

That was so helpful, Happypaphy7. Thanks so much. If you hadn't told me, I'm sure I would have assumed something was wrong. 
As an aside, I love this little plant. I bought it "blooming size" a couple of years ago. That was incorrect (as I can see now from the size of the leaves that it's producing compared to those when it arrived), but it has been such a tolerant, well-behaved grower, and it's so cute even out of bloom. Of course I wanted it to bloom - a micranthum flower is one of my personal benchmarks and I'm delighted. But I would have kept it "forever", flower or not. 
The really neat thing is that I didn't do anything special. No winter cooling, no (intentional) reduction of water. LED lights have been a great equalizer for me, especially re: paphs. Thanks again.


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## Karp60 (Dec 14, 2021)

That is very good to know mine is still a very much baby, but when time comes…..


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## Tom-DE (Dec 14, 2021)

Paph. micranthum will take 6 months or sometimes longer to develop the flower bud... be patient. It is a beautiful plant but the flowers normally don't last very long tho, about 10-14 days. Congrats!

If you like micranthum, try P. armeniacum also, same culture in general...it also takes a long time to develop the bud but the flowers last at least over a month...


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## Happypaphy7 (Dec 14, 2021)

John & Karp60

Please be aware that micranthum varies quite widely in the plant size, so it is very hard to tell if the plant is a baby or a mature blooming size.
I've had a plant that was barely 3-4inch wide from one end to the other end of the entire plant while others had a leaf that was over 7inch long!


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## Karp60 (Dec 15, 2021)

Happypaphy7 said:


> John & Karp60
> 
> Please be aware that micranthum varies quite widely in the plant size, so it is very hard to tell if the plant is a baby or a mature blooming size.
> I've had a plant that was barely 3-4inch wide from one end to the other end of the entire plant while others had a leaf that was over 7inch long!


Oh,good to know. I will check it more often, just in case.


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## cnycharles (Dec 15, 2021)

Congrats! Mine never lived long enough to set or open a bud


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## BrucherT (Dec 15, 2021)

masaccio said:


> My micranthum is in sheath. There is a slight swelling at the base, which doesn't seem to be getting larger. Is there anything special that should be done at this point? I'm assuming it's good to go with normal light, temps and water. Thanks.


Love to see photos.


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## masaccio (Dec 17, 2021)

Tom-DE said:


> Paph. micranthum will take 6 months or sometimes longer to develop the flower bud... be patient. It is a beautiful plant but the flowers normally don't last very long tho, about 10-14 days. Congrats!
> 
> If you like micranthum, try P. armeniacum also, same culture in general...it also takes a long time to develop the bud but the flowers last at least over a month...


Thank you. And thanks for the armeniacum referral too. I'll do that.


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## masaccio (Dec 17, 2021)

BrucherT said:


> Love to see photos.


Sure.


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## Happypaphy7 (Dec 17, 2021)

Can’t tell if that’s 2.5in or 3.75in diameter pot but either way it is slightly a large plant I’d say. 
I have one in this same stage for about three months now, and the plant is about half that size with two new growths well on the way. 
I feel that little bump at the base finally


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## masaccio (Dec 17, 2021)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Can’t tell if that’s 2.5in or 3.75in diameter pot but either way it is slightly a large plant I’d say.
> I have one in this same stage for about three months now, and the plant is about half that size with two new growths well on the way.
> I feel that little bump at the base finally


The pot is 2.5”. The tag specifies var. North Vietnamese. From Normans, late 2018. It’s put on some heft. The original leaf span was under 4”. The current leaf span from the last pair of completed leaves is 6.5”. Not repotted yet. I’m excited too. I was contemplating various exotic methods of winter resting/cooling.


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## Happypaphy7 (Dec 18, 2021)

Good luck to us!!


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## BrucherT (Dec 18, 2021)

masaccio said:


> Sure.
> View attachment 31204
> View attachment 31205


What a gorgeous plant!


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## masaccio (Dec 18, 2021)

BrucherT said:


> What a gorgeous plant!


Thanks. I think so too, and it's been a totally "no drama" plant.


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## masaccio (Dec 18, 2021)

Happypaphy7 said:


> Good luck to us!!


Yes! Totally worth the wait.


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## SuperPaph (Dec 18, 2021)

Your plant is very healthy, only one question. Did you cut the older live at the base, maybe in yellow?


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## masaccio (Dec 20, 2021)

SuperPaph said:


> Your plant is very healthy, only one question. Did you cut the older live at the base, maybe in yellow?


Absolutely.


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## Ozpaph (Jan 7, 2022)

what's happening?


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## masaccio (Jan 7, 2022)

Ozpaph said:


> what's happening?


The sheath is getting a little bigger and taller but no sign of anything inside yet.


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## GuRu (Jan 7, 2022)

masaccio said:


> The sheath is getting a little bigger and taller but no sign of anything inside yet.



You need a lot of patience to watch a micranthum flower spike grow. Just sit and wait !
I think I saw the sheath of my very first P. micranthum, which I may flower, emerge in early August last year. Hopefully the flower will open at the end of this month...but I'm no so sure. Just sit and wait !


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## masaccio (Jan 7, 2022)

GuRu said:


> You need a lot of patience to watch a micranthum flower spike grow. Just sit and wait !
> I think I saw the sheath of my very first P. micranthum which I may flower emerge in earla August last year. Hopefully the flower will open at the end of this month...but I'm no so sure. Just sit and wait !


No problem. It's only one of many, after all. It can't be worse than hookerae.


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## NYEric (Jan 10, 2022)

Good luck.


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## masaccio (Mar 10, 2022)

Progress. Wake me when it's over.


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## dodidoki (Mar 10, 2022)

masaccio said:


> Sure.
> View attachment 31204
> View attachment 31205


Wonderful plant.Can you update please?


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## masaccio (Mar 10, 2022)

Thanks! The picture included in my post earlier today was meant to be the update, but the change is easy to miss. Here's a larger view. The maturing bud has split the sheath. This development only took two months since my last post on 1/7. Also the sheath itself has increased quite a bit in size. Thanks for your comment!


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## KyushuCalanthe (Mar 10, 2022)

That's a happy looking plant! Best of luck with flowering it. I've been growing, hit and miss, P. armeniacum for around 10 years, and finally think I may have found what it likes. It is in a basket and kept outdoors year round, however in winter it is kept out of the rain under a small porch. Voila! Last fall it grew two sheathes that have been waiting for warm weather to develop. Fingers crossed.


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## masaccio (Mar 10, 2022)

They look great. Looking forward to the pictures.


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## Carmella.carey (Mar 11, 2022)

A paph that blooms from sheeths I've had paphs spike from new leafs that looks like a sheeth but that's a proper sheeth.
Patrick


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## BrucherT (Mar 12, 2022)

masaccio said:


> Thanks. I think so too, and it's been a totally "no drama" plant.


I haven’t grown one so I’d love to know how you do it. Definitely been on my list for a very long time. I have a (decades-ago) wild-collected division waiting for me but haven’t been able to coordinate pickup for various reasons.


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## masaccio (May 7, 2022)

Well, here it is. To review, purchased "blooming size" December 2018, in sheath December 2021, fully open flower April 27, 2022. The tag reads Paph. micranthum var. North Vietnam. For me, the flower is pleasing and worth waiting for. 3.5" top to bottom, 3.0" side to side. Base of plant to top of flower 9.5". Disappointed that the staminode is off-center. That's probably my fault. 
BrucherT, I'm not doing anything special for it. It grows happily in a mixed collection, general paph guidelines. I have increased air movement over the past few months, which I believe has been generally beneficial for all my plants. Balanced with RH of course, and attentiveness to slightly more pronounced watering needs.


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## monocotman (May 7, 2022)

Nice and dark!


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## Cklinger (May 7, 2022)

Stunning!!


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## BrucherT (May 7, 2022)

masaccio said:


> Thanks! The picture included in my post earlier today was meant to be the update, but the change is easy to miss. Here's a larger view. The maturing bud has split the sheath. This development only took two months since my last post on 1/7. Also the sheath itself has increased quite a bit in size. Thanks for your comment!
> 
> View attachment 32884


Plant is just stunning.


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## Carmella.carey (May 7, 2022)

Beautiful, breath taking and astounding
Patrick


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## masaccio (May 8, 2022)

Thanks everyone!! I certainly won't see another one for years. It has a new growth but it just started maybe a couple of months ago. Tiny. Looking forward to repotting it when the flower fades.


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