They also have different staminode, lip, petals, flower substance, and plant habit. They are definitely related but also very different species.
Orchids 2023
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They also have different staminode, lip, petals, flower substance, and plant habit. They are definitely related but also very different species.
Yep.look at the staminodes.
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Nice colours on the first plant, Justin. The second one has good form. I'm happy for you that they are flowering nicely! 
Here is my lowii (top pic) and currently blooming haynaldianum (most details outlined above by others can be seen to tell differences):
tnyr5
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* waits for roths*....
....*twiddles thumbs*....
....*taps foot*
....*twiddles thumbs*....
....*taps foot*
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Just such colour on your lowii, I would wish for. Soo beautiful flowers. How many are there, DrLeslie?
You all, who grow the multifloras so well, could tell us/me, how you grow them. Used material(s), watering, light, temperature and so on. Pretty please!
You all, who grow the multifloras so well, could tell us/me, how you grow them. Used material(s), watering, light, temperature and so on. Pretty please!
So what’s a good Toni Semple? A lowii with bigger spots?
I would think large, circular paddles would be something to breed towards. I love the alba ones. Thanks for the explanations.
Lol peak roth season here isn't until April. Most buds are still in the crowns. Have a couple getting there in the next few weeks though!
Some of the bigger lowii plants are looking good! This is lowii 'Albino Beauty' x 'Mem. Agnes Hebling', a really fantastic cross. I have another plant opening soon that is even better than his one.
Here is a flower from my monster lowii plant. Fingers crossed this plant will have 11 flowers on two spikes. I will have to try a whole-plant photo when it is in full bloom. The inflorescences should reach nearly 4' long.
Thanks… the lowii had only 4 flowers.
My MF’s in orchiata/perlite/charcoal topped with moss. Kept moist, never dry, medium light and warm Ts all year.
I feel like a medium level MF grower under these conditions. The others here are much better growers than me lol.
I am not so great. Grow indoors, AC in the summer, gas furnace in the winter with humidity below 50%.
We have good tapwater low in salts. I feed with Miracle Gro orchod food 30-10-10 but I can be lazy about feeding. My biggest challenge is watering frequently enough.
I also grow in Orchiata but am very lazy about repotting. Plants are lucky if they get repotted every three years.
In these conditions multiflorals grow fine but roths take at least 10 years minimum to bloom from flask, often longer. I hope to bloom some stonei from flask this year which I deflasked 17 years ago.
For me roth flower count averages 3 per spike on a first bloom seedling, but can sometimes get 5 flowers on a mature plant. The biggest roth I have bloomed was 31cm, but it is more common for me to get 25 cm on most plants in my suboptimal indoor conditions.
We have good tapwater low in salts. I feed with Miracle Gro orchod food 30-10-10 but I can be lazy about feeding. My biggest challenge is watering frequently enough.
I also grow in Orchiata but am very lazy about repotting. Plants are lucky if they get repotted every three years.
In these conditions multiflorals grow fine but roths take at least 10 years minimum to bloom from flask, often longer. I hope to bloom some stonei from flask this year which I deflasked 17 years ago.
For me roth flower count averages 3 per spike on a first bloom seedling, but can sometimes get 5 flowers on a mature plant. The biggest roth I have bloomed was 31cm, but it is more common for me to get 25 cm on most plants in my suboptimal indoor conditions.
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I had to read this thread today from the beginning. There are so many pages already.
Thank you, Tony, Justin and DrLeslieEe for your growing info! That is genuinely kind of you.
Is the Miracle-Gro orchid food the best IYO, or do you recommend something else? Others are welcome to comment also. And the strength of the fertilizer and do you use the same all year round
Some use year-round 20-20-20 and some use different types for growing and flowering. I`m always a little unsure of when to change from growth to flowering fertilizer.
Justin, your lowii`s are also very good-looking.
I`ve read that all the MF`s, grow more or less slowly until they are getting close to maturity, and then they start to grow fast. Also, after flowering, they should grow like other paphs. One grower is saying that roth `Tokio Titan`x `Spread Eagle` is fast growing. First seedlings grown in 6 cm pots have flowered already.
Also, people, you are welcome to point out when I make mistakes with my writing.
Thank you all for informative conversations.
Thank you, Tony, Justin and DrLeslieEe for your growing info! That is genuinely kind of you.
Is the Miracle-Gro orchid food the best IYO, or do you recommend something else? Others are welcome to comment also. And the strength of the fertilizer and do you use the same all year round Some use year-round 20-20-20 and some use different types for growing and flowering. I`m always a little unsure of when to change from growth to flowering fertilizer.Justin, your lowii`s are also very good-looking.
I`ve read that all the MF`s, grow more or less slowly until they are getting close to maturity, and then they start to grow fast. Also, after flowering, they should grow like other paphs. One grower is saying that roth `Tokio Titan`x `Spread Eagle` is fast growing. First seedlings grown in 6 cm pots have flowered already.
Also, people, you are welcome to point out when I make mistakes with my writing.
Thank you all for informative conversations.
Everybody grows differently. I can say that discovering First Rays LLC RO filters, K-Lite fertilizer, Kelpak and other potions changed my orchid life. But some growers love Miracle Gro. I used to use it but salt buildup torpedoed a lot of plants. I do supplement sometimes with Cal-Mag and powdered oyster shell dressing. But my plants grow really nice roots and foliage and I’ve bloomed so many more species since Ray Barkalow got me into K-Lite.I had to read this thread today from the beginning. There are so many pages already.
Thank you, Tony, Justin and DrLeslieEe for your growing info! That is genuinely kind of you.
Justin, your lowii`s are also very good-looking.
I`ve read that all the MF`s, grow more or less slowly until they are getting close to maturity, and then they start to grow fast. Also, after flowering, they should grow like other paphs. One grower is saying that roth `Tokio Titan`x `Spread Eagle` is fast growing. First seedlings grown in 6 cm pots have flowered already.
Also, people, you are welcome to point out when I make mistakes with my writing.
Thank you all for informative conversations.
K-Lite has changed my Phrags and Phals from ho-hum to
doing great.
doing great.
Something about my conditions did not work well with K-lite. Things seemed great the first year or two, then I started seeing signs of deficiencies. New growths were shrinking and I had a hard time keeping old growths on plants, they would waste away leaf by leaf going chlorotic and dying off. Flower counts were low with most first bloomers only giving two or occasionally even one flower. I changed up my feeding program last year based heavily on Xavier's work published here and in his pdf books. The biggest changes were incorporating ammonium and urea based nitrogen sources and tweaking the micronutrient ratios. My plants are holding their old fans now and flower counts have improved dramatically, my haynaldianum that has always bloomed 2-3 flowers per spike has 6 this year and my first bloomers have averaged 3-4 flowers.
I'm not sure what cultural differences account for it but K-lite either seems to be a big hit or a big miss with no in-between.
I'm not sure what cultural differences account for it but K-lite either seems to be a big hit or a big miss with no in-between.
So what fertilizer(s) are you using?
A full custom blend from raw ingredients. The screenshot below is my basic blend, using Xavier's work and tweaked to suit available materials (ammonium nitrate for example is one of his major components but next to impossible to source in the US as a private grower).
This thread is what led me to start considering changes, the symptoms he describes matched much of what I was seeing in my collection over time.
Multipart thread, mineral nutrition of Paphiopedilum
This thread has a link to his pdf that is another excellent resource. I've incorporated several more of the techniques described within like periodic use of dithane and supplemental boron drenches.
Paphiopedilum culture and propagation
I'm not crusading against k-lite, people can get really emotional here when that argument comes up, but if you're not happy with the results you're getting then this may be a beneficial direction to explore.
I think everyone needs to experiment and test for their growing zen.
I have tried most ways and even chatted personally with Xavier. He grows his plants amazingly and may bloom roths super fast 3 years from flask!
I have tried most ways and even chatted personally with Xavier. He grows his plants amazingly and may bloom roths super fast 3 years from flask!
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This is really interesting. K-Lite has worked for me for several years and I’m happy with it but I do add other stuff occasionally. Annual fish emulsion, seasonal Cal-Mag, Kelpak.
Since I am afraid my ability to obtain and process these chems in any way resembling a correct representation of the above, I’m curious what commercially available product(s) approximate the above? I’ll still be K-liteing but experimenting an occasional switch-up intrigues me.
There isn't anything off the shelf that I know of, the micronutrient mix in particular is unusual and not likely to be replicated in general purpose ferts.
Xavier and I both grow in rockwool and I suspect that may be a key reason I started to see issues that many others using more traditional organic mixes don't always experience. To at least some degree an organic mix can cover deficiencies in feeding as it decays that a more inert mix like mine will not.
