Paphiopedilum King of Sweden

[Nelson Wong]

Here is a Paph. King of Sweden I got from flask and flora.

It was hit by a few mealy bugs several times throughout the bud developing, hence the damage and also the reason why it took 3+ months to bloom.

But the colors are so pretty and the flower is huge! About 4inch across and 4inch dorsal to lip.

P.s. it is still under quarantine because.... mealy bugs...

 

[big923cattleya]

What are you doing for mealy bug control. Once they get to a Paphiopedilum, you have to be relentless in getting rid of them. They get into the media and spread to other pots.
Your plant seems stressed too.
Would be a shame to lose it!

 

[Nelson Wong]

this plant is separated from all the other plants and I spray it with Bonide every 2 to 3 days. It hasn't had an mealy bugs in the past 2 weeks, so I am waiting for another 2 weeks to introduce it back to my greenhouse cabinet.


What about it seems stressed? I do know it has 2 to 3 leaves that are slowly dying back, probably because it needs nutrients to maintain the flower and also it has a new growth in the back

 

[big923cattleya]

I just saw the yellowing lower leaves.
I think it is true that supporting a flower weakens the mother plant to some degree. A new growth could certainly add to the overall health of this plant.
I has been my own personal painful experience to know that mealybugs go back and forth from plant to media when they realized pesticides are being thrown at them.
I would change the media in case you had not considered that.

 

[Nelson Wong]

I just changed the media 4 months ago, I might have to do that again

 

[Bob in Albany N.Y.]

I just changed the media 4 months ago, I might have to do that again

I still STRONGLY suggest you do it again. It is a little more work but worth it in the end.

 

[Tom-DE]

I still STRONGLY suggest you do it again. It is a little more work but worth it in the end.

Why? He just changed the growing media four months ago and the plant barely got established...If there is nothing wrong with the media, you should not disturb the plants.
You don't need to repot your Paphs/Phrags every year or more often...repot it when it needs to, and that is the basic guidance. I have plants that have been in the same old media(fir bark-small and medium, charcoal, and sponge rock, 2:1:1 ratios) for 3 or 4 years and they are still doing well.

 

[Tom-DE]

@mealy bugs or scales, if you have trouble getting rid of them with your current insecticide, you might want to try a new one/ones(insecticide) and rotate them. I prefer the systemic kind like Merit, which also should take care of those on the roots.
If you have mites, you need miticide instead of insecticide.

 

[Nelson Wong]

Thank you! I will get some Merit! Gotta keep my plants alive! Almost all of them are doing well, except the ones hit by mealy bugs. I feel so sad cuz the leaves and flowers are damaged.
Still glorious though! I can't image paph flowers can be 4 inches wide! It's insane!

 

[Tom-DE]

I can't image paph flowers can be 4 inches wide! It's insane!

That is quite common for bulldog Paphs. Many of the complex hybrids (AKA bulldog) have much bigger flowers than that...I used to have a P. Pacific Hemlock (if I remember the name right), and the flower is so huge that the stem could not support the flower. Some people don't care for these types of slipper orchids but many do, myself included.

 

[Bob in Albany N.Y.]

Why?

Everyone is entitled to there own option and mine apparently is different than yours in this case. I feel he should repot because it will replace all of bark (be it only 4 months old) where the mealies MAY be hiding. Plus while you have it unpotted you can easily spray the roots or dunk the roots in your favorite insecticide. Just my humble option. I will not be adding any further comments to this threads as arguing is just not worth it.

 

[Tom-DE]

Nah, that wasn't an argument! In this hobby, unsound, baseless opinions/advice cost people money and time!!!