Paph. helenae 'Charlie'

[Spaph]

Putting the picture back up for John! Can't get enough of this beauty :clap:

 

[John M]

I used the URL to put the photo back on the front page also.

Thank you!

Upgrading my system this week. So, I won't have these "issues" any more.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Why don't you self it and spread the babies?

I would love to have super mini helenae like this with relatively large flower!

 

[Wendy]

Love these wee guys.

 

[fibre]

Why don't you self it and spread the babies?

I would love to have super mini helenae like this with relatively large flower!

Have you ever tried to grow a helenae selfing? Most of those are weak growers and hard to keep alive.

 

[chris20]

Very cute.

 

[abax]

John, 'Charlie' is wonderful!!! The halo is just amazing...so
clear and clean. Well, it's just a perfect helenae and mine
needs to see it to learn how to imitate. Mine bloomed, but
it was a pitiful sight next to 'Charlie'.

Howdedo to its namesake! Hey Charlie!

 

[Dandrobium]

Amazing how the bloom just dwarfs the plant. Very well grown! !

 

[John M]

Thanks everyone.

I have done some breeding with this one to make more helenaes. I did not know that selfings are tricky. Good to know!

Btw, how long are the leaves?

The majority of the leaves are 3 to 4 cm long. There are just a couple longer ones at 5cm.

BTW: The specks on the foliage are tiny bits of algae. The greenhouse film has algae growing on the inside. When it dries and if the plastic inflation is soft, little flakes of dry algae "rain" down onto the plants. I should've given the foliage a spray with clear water before I took the photo.

Angela, Charlie says "Howdedo" right back! LOL!

 

[fibre]

The majority of the leaves are 3 to 4 cm long. There are just a couple longer ones at 5cm.

Thank you John!

 

[John M]

Here's a better photo with more accurate colour.

Original photo from page #1 The photo below has too much of an olive green "wash". Notice the leaf colour.

 

[blondie]

Very nice I do really like it much broader flower than my helenea

 

[Jaljala]

Very nice clump John, the leaves are so short!

 

[PaphMadMan]

With the hard short leaves and broad petals, this has a fair chance to be tetraploid. Assuming it was not from very inbred stock to begin with that makes it a better than average candidate to produce vigorous seedlings from a selfing. I'm not usually a fan of selfing species, but I think this remarkable specimen would be worth a try.

 

[emydura]

Y Although, I have come to the conclusion that I (and most other people), tend to keep their Paphs too wet. The term "terrestrial" is not really accurate. Most Paphs are semi-terrestrial or lithophytic. To my knowledge, none are true terrestrials in the same way that a Cypripedium is terrestrial.

So, in nature, some do dry out completely inbetween each watering, at least, at some times of year and the others that grow where they stay moist at the roots, also get LOADS of air because their root systems are very shallow, growing in the loose leaf litter and debris, not burried deep down in the soil.

So, I've found that overpotting in a net pot, using a fairly fine mix, offers the plants the best of conditions. The humidity and my watering frequency offers enough moisture without it being too wet and the net pot allows for loads of air to reach the roots from all sides.
.

I agree with you John. The conventional wisdom seems to be you grow slipper orchids in deep narrow pots. But as you say, in their natural habitat the roots of slipper orchids would be restricted mostly to the top few inches of leaf litter, not penetrate deep into the soil. You notice when you grow Paphs in pots, the roots initially grow horizontal till they hit the side of the pot and then down the sides where there would be plenty of oxygen. I rarely find Paph roots growing through the centre of a pot. Those that do grow through the middle often rot. I think you are better growing Paphs in shallower wider pots so that oxygen can penetrate right through the mix. I have started growing my Paph seedlings in community shallow trays. It means I can grow them in a finer mix and give them a lot of water without the risk of rotting the roots.

I’m finding baskets pretty effective for the same reason. I have a couple of clones of multi-florals (St Swithin and Susan Booth) where I had two pieces of each. In each hybrid I have put one piece in a basket and one in a conventional pot. At this stage the ones in the baskets have much bigger stronger growths.

 

[bigleaf]

Very well grown, so beautiful.

 

[John M]

Thanks for all your comments everyone.

David; I've found that, of course, when I put plants like Cattleyas in a net pot, the roots come out all over. But, when I put a Phrag or Paph in a net pot, I rarely find a root that I can see through the sides. The sides of course, allow lots of air in and the outside layer of potting mix dries out faster near the sides of the net pot. So, the plants roots grow well; but, they find the perfect distance from the wall of the net pot to position themselves. As long as I maintain a regular watering style, or regimen, the plants can plan for that by locating the new root growth at the correct distance from the inside walls of the net pots. So, in effect, I'm using a 6" net pot; but, the plant keeps the roots in a tight ball deeper inside the pot. I could probably pull the plant out and easily replant it into a 5" pot without squishing the root ball, because the plant naturally keeps the roots about 1" in from the walls of the 6" net pots. That's where the perfect balance of water and air exists to make the plant's roots happy.

I have a really nice, awarded Paph. haynaldianum. I did really poorly with it for a long time. Finally Wendy got it from me and she revived it in her warm, tropical basement grow room. Eventually, I got the plant back and again, it began to look unhappy. Then, I put it into a 6" net pot, in a mix of 1/2 perlite and 1/2 fine grade CHC. I hung it up where it got high light and lots of air movement. I also began watering it almost daily....at least on sunny days. It's grown and grown and clumped up beautifully! It's bloomed many times, at any time of year. It also finally produced a stem with 7 flowers this past summer, the most any haynaldianum has ever produced, the same number of flowers it had when it was awarded it's AM/AOS. I crossed one of the flowers with helenae 'Charlie' in the summer and the capsule took. Now, there is already another flower stem about 8" up out of another leaf fan. Even though this plant has been in a 6" net pot for a couple years, I cannot yet see any roots through the sides of the net pot. They are all staying inside, at what the plant must think of as the "sweet spot", where the mix of moisture and air is just perfect for it's liking. It sure is performing terrifically for me. That's something it never did when I grew it in a standard plastic pot. So, I'm putting all my plants in net pots (recently, I bought a bunch of cases of varying sizes of net pots from 2" up to 6". The small ones will be used for epiphytes and the larger ones for semi-terrestrials. True terrestrials like Cyps and Bletillas will still go into normal pots. I have very good humidity in my greenhouse and I mist/spot water daily. I am definitely NOT a dry grower. So, this method works well for me and I'm producing some of the nicest plants I've ever grown.

 

[SlipperFan]

Interesting info, John.

:smitten: the plant/flower

 

[Markhamite]

Very nice! Love it!