anitum 'Jona'

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polyantha

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One of my anitums is currently in bloom. The flowers are bigger than the ones of my other plants. One of the adductums is in bud too. All culture questions are welcome.

anitum_3_zpss7fx4ise.jpg~original


anitum_1_zpsizctyddo.jpg~original


Ligt from the front and from the back:
anitum_2_zpscl5mfapt.jpg~original
 
One of the few multi floral paphs I actually like!
That is very nice!

How big is that pot?

And yes, the culture, how do you grow yours?
The growing area, light level, temperature throughout the year, watering, fertilizing ( please go light on this one as I hate others chipping in and mess up this thread debating over it hahaha).
 
Outstanding species and specimen...very slow growing so the least mistake in culture can kill it within few moments. Hard stuff, indeed.
 
Are they that sensitive even after they mature?
All I know is that they prefer more shade and water than other multis.
 
All I know is that they prefer more shade and water than other multis.

Lance Birk's Paph Growers Manual is a good resource for some basic habitat / weather info Happy.

The highest rainfall in Mindanao averages about 120 to 130 inches a year (Birk has 120").

While its not hard to find places in Borneo more than this. P. sanderianum, P rothschildianum get about 150" a year.
 
One of the few multi floral paphs I actually like!
That is very nice!

How big is that pot?

And yes, the culture, how do you grow yours?
The growing area, light level, temperature throughout the year, watering, fertilizing ( please go light on this one as I hate others chipping in and mess up this thread debating over it hahaha).

The pot measures 11cm in diameter, the leaf span is 55cm.
I grow under lights, very blueish light with 4 T5 bulbs @ 80W and 3 250W HQI for 2-3h a day in summer.
Temp 18-22°C in winter and 25-30°C in summer (daytime).
Watering is the most important factor for anitum. Keep it wet, not humid, wet. All my anitums stand in a tray I fill at 1-2cm, let it dry for 1-2 days (after all the water evaporated) and refill it. So it is actually very easy to water them correctly from the bottom.
Fertilizer is also a critical factor, since anitums tend to stop their root growth when you fertilize them. I only fetilize 4-6 times a year with a 1/4 diluted fertilizer and that is enough for anitum to grow perfectly. When I started with anitum 9 years ago, that was the main problem for me and I didn't want to accept that the plant did not grow as fast because I overfetilized it even with 1/4 concentration every other week. When fertilizing only a few times a year you can use a 20-20-20 fertilizer or similar with different N forms and let anitum take what it wants. (And please don't mess up the thread with fertilizer theory etc.etc. That's the way I do it, it is working well for me and might not be the only way to go.)
 
Are they that sensitive even after they mature?
All I know is that they prefer more shade and water than other multis.

No, they are not, if you keep in mind that it needs alot of water and only very few fertilizer. I keep them a little shadier than my other plants, yes. I am now at a point where anitums grow just perfectly and pretty fast too, but it took me 6 years to find out the optimal culture for me. It was hard to keep them alive at first (I have killed one back then and the others were growing slowly), but now I think that they are pretty easy.
 
That's a amazing flower, congrats! Looks like you've mastered the culture of this species. Thanks a lot for the cultural info!
 
The pot measures 11cm in diameter, the leaf span is 55cm.
I grow under lights, very blueish light with 4 T5 bulbs @ 80W and 3 250W HQI for 2-3h a day in summer.
Temp 18-22°C in winter and 25-30°C in summer (daytime).
Watering is the most important factor for anitum. Keep it wet, not humid, wet. All my anitums stand in a tray I fill at 1-2cm, let it dry for 1-2 days (after all the water evaporated) and refill it. So it is actually very easy to water them correctly from the bottom.
Fertilizer is also a critical factor, since anitums tend to stop their root growth when you fertilize them. I only fetilize 4-6 times a year with a 1/4 diluted fertilizer and that is enough for anitum to grow perfectly. When I started with anitum 9 years ago, that was the main problem for me and I didn't want to accept that the plant did not grow as fast because I overfetilized it even with 1/4 concentration every other week. When fertilizing only a few times a year you can use a 20-20-20 fertilizer or similar with different N forms and let anitum take what it wants. (And please don't mess up the thread with fertilizer theory etc.etc. That's the way I do it, it is working well for me and might not be the only way to go.)

Then, I wish to ask if it is correct to treat it as gigantifolium? My giga grows robust after moving into the greenhouse. I put it at the wettest place amongst my growing place, water heavily and under shade. Good ventilation is of course a must.
 

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