Paphiopedilum gratrixianum

[naoki]

I got this plant as a fairly small seedling of 2.25" leaf length from Olympic Orchids in 2012. I managed to break all roots by accidentally pulling it out after 6 months or so. But it quickly recovered (I used live sphagnum moss). It's been growing ok since then, but it has never flowered until this year. It has about 9 growths (including small starts). It is probably the easiest species to grow, and I assumed that it would be an easy bloomer, too. I wonder if the reluctance of this plant is due to lack of winter like condition in my grow tent. In nature, they do experience freezing temp according to Averyanov's book. But it is a fall bloomer, so winter is unlikely to be the cue.

Link to my Orchid Borealis blog post about this species.


Paphiopedilum gratrixianum on Flickr


Paphiopedilum gratrixianum on Flickr


Paphiopedilum gratrixianum on Flickr


Paphiopedilum gratrixianum (staminode) on Flickr


Paphiopedilum gratrixianum (plant) on Flickr

 

[Secundino]

Beautiful photographs! And yes, some plants are strong but slow ...

 

[SlipperFan]

That is lovely!

 

[Jaicigy]

Beautiful pictures!

 

[GuRu]

Very nice and your cultivaton seems to be very successful

 

[Don I]

Nice one. A lot of my Subgenus Paphiopedilum plants grow quite a clump before they send out a bud. They also expand more readily than the other groups.
Don

 

[Guldal]

Very nice - and interesting colouring! It almost looks like a somewhat semi-aureum form in the picture. Does it also has this golden/burnished look irl...or is it more due to the photo?

 

[naoki]

Nice one. A lot of my Subgenus Paphiopedilum plants grow quite a clump before they send out a bud. They also expand more readily than the other groups.
Don

Good point, Don. I didn't notice it, but if I think about the others I have in this subgenus, most of them clumps up before the first bloom.

Very nice - and interesting colouring! It almost looks like a somewhat semi-aureum form in the picture. Does it also has this golden/burnished look irl...or is it more due to the photo?

I think it is fairly accurate, and it was yellower than the other examples of this species. You can still see the light green at the base of dorsal. A couple leaves are yellow in reality, too (I'm not too concerned about it). Too much light and/or some nutrient issues.

 

[blondie]

Very nice a lovely shape to the flower, nice healthy plant

 

[emydura]

Nice.

Mine flowers when I tell it to. Interesting that you have had trouble flowering it. I find this species to be both extremely easy to grow and flower. I dare say the easiest Paph species. I grow mine pretty warm (minimum temp 16oC) so I don't think it needs a cool spell.

 

[NYEric]

Lovely color, especially the pouch. Thanks for sharing.

 

[naoki]

Mine flowers when I tell it to. Interesting that you have had trouble flowering it. I find this species to be both extremely easy to grow and flower. I dare say the easiest Paph species. I grow mine pretty warm (minimum temp 16oC) so I don't think it needs a cool spell.

Yes, it is strange that this plant waited so long. I wonder if it is somewhat photoperiodic. My plants are in grow tents, so I wasn't changing the day length at all. Last winter I shortened the day length a little bit (from 13h to 11.5h), but I haven't shortened it this year yet.

 

[h_mossy]

Nice paph, and outstanding photos!