Paphiopedilum delenatii v. vinicolor double header

[JustinR]

I got this one as a freebie tiny seedling with some other plants from Assendorfer about 2 years ago. It has grown well and now flowering for the first time. It is complemented by a lovely tea rose fragrance.

 

[monocotman]

Exceptional!

 

[spujr]

Very nice, the blueish background goes well with the flowers!

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Great freebie!

 

[Just1more]

So beautiful! I just love the blooms

 

[NEslipper]

Always a classic, congrats!

 

[GuRu]

These flowers are really good ones....an the plant was a freebie .... not the worst deal.

 

[Brabantia]

Beautiful flowering. I have also the same clone from Assendorfer.
When I fertilize this plant I'm always a bit puzzled. I know that in nature papiopedilum delenatii thrives on a slightly acidic substrate. So I'm wondering whether I can fertilize it with a fertilizer containing calcium and magnesium such as Rain Mix Akerne or use a fertilizer containing less Ca and Mg such as 15-5-15 Cal Mag? The latter being very acidic, I still have to add 8% tap water to adjust the pH to a value of 6. Would a fertilizer without Ca and Mg be more suitable? Your opinion please. Thank you in advance for your answers.

 

[JustinR]

Beautiful flowering. I have also the same clone from Assendorfer.
When I fertilize this plant I'm always a bit puzzled. I know that in nature papiopedilum delenatii thrives on a slightly acidic substrate. So I'm wondering whether I can fertilize it with a fertilizer containing calcium and magnesium such as Rain Mix Akerne or use a fertilizer containing less Ca and Mg such as 15-5-15 Cal Mag? The latter being very acidic, I still have to add 8% tap water to adjust the pH to a value of 6. Would a fertilizer without Ca and Mg be more suitable? Your opinion please. Thank you in advance for your answers.

Hi Brabantia, interesting to hear that you have the same plant, it would be interesting to see how it compares when in bloom. Rainwater is indeed slightly acidic and that is what I primarily use.

I am also using RainMix but I fertilize at a very low level, about 60 -100 ppm every second watering. In between pure rainwater. I guess that the RainMix level of Ca / Mg is not that high compared to tap water so it probably does not affect the pH much, certainly at the low levels which I apply. By comparison, my tapwater is already about 120 ppm without any additives, I guess tap water impurity is primarily calcium.

I also use a potting mix with sphagnum, from DCM. Some of the paphs (but not all) seem to like this mix, I repot into a fresh mix every year. That potting mix also contains about 3 months of nutrients according to the packaging.