# Paph druryi



## DirGo (Nov 11, 2021)

In my "new member Introduction" BrucherT asked me about my druryi's, so here we go... To be honest, they are a challenge, some years they will accept any bug, pest or desease around as if they were magnetic. They loose vigor and need time to recover. Then suddenly they grow like crazy and flower. I still haven't found the golden trick. What I find intriguing is that this species seem to develop some waxy very sticky brown substance near the base of the leaves. Not sure if this is a good or a bad sign. Anyway, I have two plants, both have flowered.

first plant
April 2013 (front and side) , poor photo's / nice shape
February 2020 after a few aborted flowers/years flowered again (front) poor shape / nice photo... I prefered the 2013 combination 



second plant
May 2021 (front, then front and side exactly one week later) amazing how much last minute reshaping this flower made.


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## P.K.Hansen (Nov 12, 2021)

Such a beautiful paph. I'm surprised I haven't killed mine yet.


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## JustinR (Nov 12, 2021)

Well done with your druryi's!. I've also got a pair that I bought as seedlings about 10 years ago, they are still seedlings. They seem to be both hard to kill and equally hard to get them growing well. Last year I switched to a more moisture retentive medium which they seem to prefer in my conditions. They also seem to be a bit fussy about when they get repotted.


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## richgarrison (Nov 13, 2021)

you guys are both scaring me and validating past experience... bought a hobby flask from Bill @ woodstream... lost them all...

just received a pair from Bill based on his last mailing (i believe these are from the same grex i already killed out of flask ;-) ) 

we'll see... good roots and some brand new roots coming on ... 

Any hints to culture? looks like similar conditions to my fairieanums... maybe warmer..


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## Ozpaph (Nov 14, 2021)

I think they like dryer


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## Karp60 (Nov 14, 2021)

May photos are my fav.


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## DirGo (Nov 14, 2021)

richgarrison said:


> you guys are both scaring me and validating past experience... bought a hobby flask from Bill @ woodstream... lost them all...
> just received a pair from Bill based on his last mailing (i believe these are from the same grex i already killed out of flask ;-) )
> we'll see... good roots and some brand new roots coming on ...
> Any hints to culture? looks like similar conditions to my fairieanums... maybe warmer..



Hi Richgarrison, I don't think my culture is ideal but if I learned anything over the years, it's never let past experience (your own of from someone else) scare or stop you from trying and learning. Every plant has it's own genes and it's own tolerance to culture. My two plants get exactly the same treatment and they respond very differently. As explained above one plant took me 7 years to reflower, so I am sure my setup is not the best for this specific species but I have to find a setup that works for "most" Paphs in my collection. As I grow in-house it is moderate, never really cool like ideal for fairrieanums. I keep watering all year round but maybe let them dry a bit faster. I achieved that by poking a few more holes in the plastic containers compared to my other Paphs. I think best advice I can give is to measure your parameters (e.g. light in PPFD, fertilzer in µS, temp etc.. and compare that with others who also measure) then make only minor changes to your culture and change only one parameter at a time or you will never know what had good or bad impact on the culture. I read you are growing new roots... for sure you are on the right track, don't make any drastic changes, wishing you all the best! 
(PS: My druryi's receive light: 70-80 µmol/m²s for 10hrs; MSU type fertilizer at 250-350 µS every watering, sadly my home temp has limited day-night variance - 16-18°c winter minimum to anything between 23-38°C as summer maximum)


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## GuRu (Nov 14, 2021)

Dirk, you grow two nice P. druryi. I'm impressed how the second flower changed its shape within one week.
I own one, too and it grows well at the moment but doesn't show any signs of a sheath so far.


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## richgarrison (Nov 14, 2021)

DirGo said:


> Hi Richgarrison, I don't think my culture is ideal but if I learned anything over the years, it's never let past experience (your own of from someone else) scare or stop you from trying and learning. .....



thanx for all that especially the moral support.  

we'll see how these new test subjects work out...


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## hamiltons (Nov 14, 2021)

Denne P.druryi er P.druryi "Fredensborg" fra Hans Christiansen, orkidegartner i Danmark, en dygtig præmieret ven fra Fredensborg i Danmark som har fået opkaldt klonen efter sig


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## TropiCool (Nov 14, 2021)

I had a seedling I could well have named "Cheshire Cat" for its steady shrinkage towards some uncertain vanishing point. I re-potted into pure basalt chips (also known as 'trap rock'). Seemed to like that. It's heading the other way now, gaining size, the leaves are very strong and it has a healthy glow to it. Still a seedling, so the jury is out in terms of eventual flowering. So far though, massive improvement.


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## hamiltons (Nov 14, 2021)

Paplum druryi "indian beauty" from Popow, Germany...


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## BrucherT (Nov 14, 2021)

TropiCool said:


> I had a seedling I could well have named "Cheshire Cat" for its steady shrinkage towards some uncertain vanishing point. I re-potted into pure basalt chips (also known as 'trap rock'). Seemed to like that. It's heading the other way now, gaining size, the leaves are very strong and it has a healthy glow to it. Still a seedling, so the jury is out in terms of eventual flowering. So far though, massive improvement.


Wow. Pure rock eh? This makes sense to me given the in situ pics. What are your other conditions? Greenhouse or home? Thank you.


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## TropiCool (Nov 16, 2021)

BrucherT said:


> Wow. Pure rock eh? This makes sense to me given the in situ pics. What are your other conditions? Greenhouse or home? Thank you.


Home, east window, receiving good morning light. That was 'then', in NW Europe.
Recently moved to the Mediterranean region of Spain (Alicante), and so far it's outdoors under shade cloth, SW exposure. Still looking strong and happy.


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## DrLeslieEe (Nov 17, 2021)

I feel for everyone here. My druryis are finicky, growing some, then receding. It's a constant battle lol.


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## BrucherT (Nov 17, 2021)

DrLeslieEe said:


> I feel for everyone here. My druryis are finicky, growing some, then receding. It's a constant battle lol.


Am I correct in thinking it sounds like druryi is or will soon be functionally extinct? That’s why I went for a flask…8 survivors so far…


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## cnycharles (Nov 18, 2021)

I’d read that it likes sunny, hot and ‘dry’ like a cattleya
Meaning give it full water, airy roots, mostly dry before watering


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## BrucherT (Nov 19, 2021)

cnycharles said:


> I’d read that it likes sunny, hot and ‘dry’ like a cattleya
> Meaning give it full water, airy roots, mostly dry before watering


I’m using full-sized/coarse bark with charcoal and large perlite. Today I see new leaves! It’s scary to let tiny seedlings dry out but it’s working (after 2/3 of them didn’t make it through the first month. Sigh.).


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## cnycharles (Nov 19, 2021)

BrucherT said:


> I’m using full-sized/coarse bark with charcoal and large perlite. Today I see new leaves! It’s scary to let tiny seedlings dry out but it’s working (after 2/3 of them didn’t make it through the first month. Sigh.).


I can imagine! (Letting dry) basket culture with moist breeze and letting get barely moist I think is good from culture info. I had a nice adult druryi I won in auction of deceased owners plants a number of years ago. In my plant stand setting it was in coco husk chip + other in a plastic net pot and it was happy until I had to move a few times and scale entered the scene


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## BrucherT (Nov 20, 2021)

cnycharles said:


> I can imagine! (Letting dry) basket culture with moist breeze and letting get barely moist I think is good from culture info. I had a nice adult druryi I won in auction of deceased owners plants a number of years ago. In my plant stand setting it was in coco husk chip + other in a plastic net pot and it was happy until I had to move a few times and scale entered the scene


I am sorry for your loss! I think we must really protect this taxon in culture. I probably shouldn’t have tried it but I’m giving it my all. I’m surprised about scale killing it…I haven’t lost any plant to scale. No matter how bad the infestation, I just keep attacking until I’ve killed it. I’m guessing yours was sucked dry?


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## cnycharles (Nov 20, 2021)

BrucherT said:


> I am sorry for your loss! I think we must really protect this taxon in culture. I probably shouldn’t have tried it but I’m giving it my all. I’m surprised about scale killing it…I haven’t lost any plant to scale. No matter how bad the infestation, I just keep attacking until I’ve killed it. I’m guessing yours was sucked dry?


Well, there collectively have been a number of factors for waves of decline for my collection over the years… each time I needed to move in more recent times, things would go in boxes. And then be in boxes or a spot ill suited for plants, and at times scale or mealybug would creep in when I was very busy at work or it was native orchid hunting season and I was distracted. Scale may not have been the direct cause the druryi died, waves of plants dying tends to get pushed away from direct memory… most likely during a transition time I did not pay attention and things didn’t get watered in a timely periodic fashion. More recently plants would be okay and then I’d buy a few things that looked clean or ID sprayed and thought things were clean, but new scale came in on new plants and while things were busy and I looking elsewhere the scale was hitting under the water line and many mostly phrags and paphs were too stressed and ultimately died
i think the druryi was being grown by the former owner in a net pot, and after being divided and larger piece transferred to the other person maybe from here, I put it back into the net pot. While I was in one place and paying attention, it seemed to like being grown in airy conditions in a plant cart under fluorescent lights


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## DirGo (Nov 21, 2021)

For me it is always a balancing act with any new plant in collection. Do I want to limit disturbance to only "a location change"? Do I want to keep it in the original media? Do I want to disturb the roots now?

After just too many trojan horses with resistant mealy bugs or other free fauna... I now use a very rigid quarantine plan: I completely remove all media until only plant and bare roots are present. firm rince under streaming water. Then a visual inspect, but also apply a systemic insecticide purely as preventive measure. Repot in fresh container and fresh media and put a red label ("quarantine") to make sure I inspect every time I am near that red labelled plant. I also put it in a separate location for at least 4 weeks, before it can join the collection. Only after a few months I remove the red label.

You might feel it is quite drastic for the new plant, but it has saved a lot of misery for the rest of my collection.
As all of us, I have lost plants, but never as a result of my joining ritual.


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## Karp60 (Nov 21, 2021)

DirGo said:


> For me it is always a balancing act with any new plant in collection. Do I want to limit disturbance to only "a location change"? Do I want to keep it in the original media? Do I want to disturb the roots now?
> 
> After just too many trojan horses with resistant mealy bugs or other free fauna... I now use a very rigid quarantine plan: I completely remove all media until only plant and bare roots are present. firm rince under streaming water. Then a visual inspect, but also apply a systemic insecticide purely as preventive measure. Repot in fresh container and fresh media and put a red label ("quarantine") to make sure I inspect every time I am near that red labelled plant. I also put it in a separate location for at least 4 weeks, before it can join the collection. Only after a few months I remove the red label.
> 
> ...


I am doing a similar procedure total separation of newly acquired plants, but the red label is a good idea.


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## JayeL (Nov 22, 2021)

Yip - sound advice DirGo... I nearly lost all my paphs through a school-boy error of not quarantining a plant that I suspect introduced a severe fungal infection in my greenhouse last summer. Its taken a year to get my the few remaining plants right and only now as we enter summer again do I start seeing any good growth in the leaves. What irritated me the most was that the suspect plant was only an average looking green maudiae...  

Now all new paphs are banned from the greenhouse until growing well. 

JL


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## BrucherT (Nov 22, 2021)

cnycharles said:


> Well, there collectively have been a number of factors for waves of decline for my collection over the years… each time I needed to move in more recent times, things would go in boxes. And then be in boxes or a spot ill suited for plants, and at times scale or mealybug would creep in when I was very busy at work or it was native orchid hunting season and I was distracted. Scale may not have been the direct cause the druryi died, waves of plants dying tends to get pushed away from direct memory… most likely during a transition time I did not pay attention and things didn’t get watered in a timely periodic fashion. More recently plants would be okay and then I’d buy a few things that looked clean or ID sprayed and thought things were clean, but new scale came in on new plants and while things were busy and I looking elsewhere the scale was hitting under the water line and many mostly phrags and paphs were too stressed and ultimately died
> i think the druryi was being grown by the former owner in a net pot, and after being divided and larger piece transferred to the other person maybe from here, I put it back into the net pot. While I was in one place and paying attention, it seemed to like being grown in airy conditions in a plant cart under fluorescent lights


Thank you very much for all the details. This is a great thread! I appreciate it very much. So much food for thought.


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## DirGo (Nov 23, 2021)

BrucherT said:


> Thank you very much for all the details. This is a great thread! I appreciate it very much. So much food for thought.



I also like the many interactions and replies to my post. It was all very useful slipper talk  thanks to all
Dirk


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## Happypaphy7 (Nov 23, 2021)

The species needs good amount of light (open grass field with a lot of dead brown grass in the in situ photos) and cooler temperature during the drier season. Then, during the active season, shaded by tall grasses all around them, tons of water, warm day but cool to cold nights. Even with warmth during the day, the night time temperature drop can be quite significant coming from high elevation. This might be the reason why many people find this species cranky under cultivation since these conditions are very difficult to provide. 
I never dared to try. I'm having enough problems with armeniacum. lol


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