Good Year for Micranthum & Armeniacum, Finally Paphiopedilum armeniacum in bud

[Happypaphy7]

Sorry, no exciting photos, but I am very excited to report that one of my armeniacum is in bud. Rather odd timing wise, but I've seen it happen with others. Plus, flower is welcome any time!

Last year, I thought I would try my luck with micranthum and armeniacum although I wasn't sure about growing them with my winter being too warm for them.
I got a couple of nice looking armeniacum with stolons from Big Leaf.
They did well for a short while until the summer heat came when they both succumbed to rot. I admit they probably got stressed out over heat and therefore weakened.

After some thoughts, I bought three more, this time, all single growth but of flowering size, from Springwater orchids late last year into early this year.
I was going to give up on them if they died again.
None have died so far, yay!!!
They seem slow under my not too great conditions, but one is sending up a spike with a swollen bract, so there is definitely a bud inside it.
So this is very exciting for me.

Now the other species, I bloomed my first micranthum earlier this year although I only get credit for not blasting it since it was purchased in very low spike.
Then, one more of my micranthum is about to flower in the next couple of weeks, odd timing again, and another one is sending up a spike.
Both of these are throwing runners, and I'm rather puzzled since I don't want to disturb them now.

I have not killed any micranthum. So in my very limited adventure with these two species, I say micranthum is easier.

Now, if I could only bloom Fumi's Delight!
One of mine was in bud earlier this year, but then it got blasted.
Now, another Fumi's Delight is sending up a spike.
These guys love to drive me crazy!! haha

 

[SlipperFan]

Good luck with them all!

 

[Mark Karayannis]

Waiting for photos. Good luck

 

[ksriramkumar]

good luck.

 

[Ozpaph]

I love the huge flowers on such small plants.

 

[xiphius]

Nice! Congrats! I am still waiting for my micranthum to bloom. It has been sending out runners like crazy, but hasn't flowered yet (at last count I think it had about 6-8 growths/runners). At least the plant seems happy though! I think I may be keeping it a little too wet in the winter...

 

[Happypaphy7]

That's the thing with these guys.
I mean it's how they grow naturally, and with proper care, one could have a big specimen in no time due to this growing habit, but it would take up lots of space if I were to provide each one of what I have with a large shallow pan to accommodate the runners.

I just found another runner poking above the pot on one of my micranthum and another Fumi's Delight. and Norito Hasegawa.

Puzzled...

 

[Happypaphy7]

Nice! Congrats! I am still waiting for my micranthum to bloom. It has been sending out runners like crazy, but hasn't flowered yet (at last count I think it had about 6-8 growths/runners). At least the plant seems happy though! I think I may be keeping it a little too wet in the winter...

With regard to keeping them a little too wet in the winter, well, obviously, your plants sound like they are growing well under your care, so I wouldn't worry unless they are rotting, which they are not, apparently.

I believe more harm is done with severe dryness. Not just these paphs, but with other plants that go through winter rest in the wild, dry rest has been so misunderstood by many, it seems.
These plants all get drenched in the morning dew even when there is no rain for days, plus the air is often a lot more humid than it is under cultivation.

I think low temperature is the driving force in letting them know the change of season and thus helping them prepare to flower in the following season.

Reduced water just makes perfect sense because they simply are not doing any active growing during this much cooler time.
In cultivation, they rely on us for water.
Without heavy morning fogs and dews, and often lower than ideal humidity for home growers like myself, proper watering is essential for their good health and growth.

 

[xiphius]

You're probably right . They are definitely large enough that they could flower if they so choose. So, fingers crossed! They seem very happy. They really lagged for me until I introduced a top layer of live moss, then they kind of exploded. They really seem to love live moss at the base. I tend to keep mine fairly damp and grow in a seedling mix (fine bark, charcoal, perlite, moss). The live moss on top never dries.

Up until earlier this year, I grew my micranthum in rose pots (since I had read that others had success this way), but when I unpotted them this year I found that all the runners had plunged to the bottom of the pots and were circling the bottom looking for a way out! So when I repotted them, I put them in an 8 inch tub so they have plenty of room to spread out and tried to re-position as many of the runners as possible to be near the surface. Growing them about the same now, still with a top cover of live moss.

I recently ripped off the moss cover and restarted it to keep it from getting too unruly (since the moss grows much faster than the micranthum!). I was very pleased to find that two runners are finally starting to push up along the side of the pot (rather then plunging down). Also, there was a new large runner going along the surface which I moved to the top of the moss so I could monitor it better.

Roots while repotting a few months ago:

Newly repotted in the tub setup with moss installed:

Plant now, with new runner and new shoots popping up around the rim:

I don't know what kind of moss it is, but I have been growing/using it for several years now. Some kind of native IN moss I collected on a hiking trip that will grow on just about anything . I grew it separately until I was confident that it was free from pests. As a trial a few years ago, I used it to mulch a couple plants. They grew incredibly well that year. Since then, I have put the moss around the base of all of my paphs and never looked back! All that I have tried (except the brachys) seem to grow much better/faster with it. In fact, a lot of them put out quite a few roots into the moss and seem to prefer it to the bark.

Haven't grown armeniacum yet, but is definitely on my wish list!

 

[Happypaphy7]

They all look great to me!
I'm sure you'll do just as fine with armeniacum.
Are they different plants or all fell apart from one plant??

Yeah, I need to do something about those runners. Such a challenge for me.

 

[xiphius]

I don't actually know. I ordered this one via mail a while back. What arrived were two strings of very small growths. Whether they are two genetically distinct plants, or two divisions from a larger plant, I do not know.

The smaller clump on the far right is a funny story. When I was untangling one of the clumps to pot it up, a small piece of stem broke off with a couple scraggly roots attached. I potted up the main plants and chucked that piece into a bag, intending to discard it later. Couple weeks later, when I went to chuck it, I glanced in the bag and was surprised to find that the tiny piece was pushing 3 new growths! So I potted it up and it has been growing steadily ever since. I am not one to question bonus plants . So at least that one is a match for one of the other two, can't remember which one though.

Yeah, the runners are a real challenge. When I first started out with this one, rose pots seemed appropriate; however, now I honestly don't understand how anyone could grow them that way long term. It really seems to need space to stretch out. If it keeps growing well for me, in a few more years I am going to have to track down a very wide shallow tub for it (like a small kiddie pool or something).

 

[Happypaphy7]

You got vigorous clones, obviously!
Once they all come into bloom, it will give you better idea as to whether or not they are one big family or not.

True, they love to just spread all over on a fairly large area eventually.
I think I'll either have to periodically chop them off to make the size manageable or I don't know. Not a big issue at the moment as my plants are big.

 

[NYEric]

thanks for the photos, although I see a lot of space-wasting gesneriads! oke:

 

[TyroneGenade]

Those are good-looking roots.

Have you thought about potting them in a large basket instead of a pot?

I am intrigued by your moss. You should put some in the next slipper talk auction. I'm sure the bidding will be intense.

 

[xiphius]

thanks for the photos, although I see a lot of space-wasting gesneriads!

Lol! Guilty... I also grow species african violets. They're much smaller though, so it's not that much room .

Have you thought about potting them in a large basket instead of a pot?

I have, I was afraid that I would have to water it too often then though cause it would dry out faster. Right now, I already have to water it every few days. I may try the small one in a basket at some point just to see how it does though. I have seen some great pictures of them in baskets, so I have often wondered.

I am intrigued by your moss. You should put some in the next slipper talk auction. I'm sure the bidding will be intense.

Hah! For moss?!?! I would gladly share with anyone. It's not like it cost me anything in the first place. Plus, I literally have to throw away handfuls of it every few months anyway.

 

[Nancy T]

I found this to be an interesting thread. Do any other parvisepalum species or hybrids produce runners? I have Paph Lynleigh Koopowitz and Paph Fanaticum. The second growth on Paph Lynleigh Koopowitz is from a runner growing about 5" away from the original growth. The Paph Fanaticum is not yet big enough to make a second growth. What size of tub or pan do people use to accommodate plants that make runners? How often do you check to see if the runners are located at the bottom of the pot?

 

[Happypaphy7]

I found this to be an interesting thread. Do any other parvisepalum species or hybrids produce runners? I have Paph Lynleigh Koopowitz and Paph Fanaticum. The second growth on Paph Lynleigh Koopowitz is from a runner growing about 5" away from the original growth. The Paph Fanaticum is not yet big enough to make a second growth. What size of tub or pan do people use to accommodate plants that make runners? How often do you check to see if the runners are located at the bottom of the pot?

I think it's mostly just armeniacum and micranthum that produce runners actively. I have had malipoense that had a runner, but I doubt that's the main way they grow. I had a few LK and none of mine ever had runners. Nearly all the Fanaticum I had grew runners.

How to best accomodate plants with runners? That's a great question! I know some members use hanging baskets, which is not my preferred method of growing. I plan on using those square pencil cases with small holes on all sides and on the bottom, or shallow vegetable strainers that one can find at Asian markets.

 

[Linus_Cello]

I plan on using those square pencil cases with small holes on all sides and on the bottom, or shallow vegetable strainers that one can find at Asian markets.

What about a pond (water lily) mesh pot?

 

[Happypaphy7]

What about a pond (water lily) mesh pot?

Anything goes, but I prefer not to have stolons shooting out all over the place. That's main reason why I don't like the basket. Plus, anything hanging gives me anxiety almost. lol
The examples I mentioned in the above comment are basically mesh pot but with holes small enough so that the stolons can't pass through easily. I just want extra good drainage and enough horizontal space for them to roam around and shoot above when they hit the dead end.

 

[Linus_Cello]

The waterlily pots have small holes. Or try a hanging basket frame that uses a coir/coconut liner? I’ve been thinking of getting an ameriacum (or hybrid) and trying this myself.