What's Everyone's Experience with Paphiopedilum vietnamense?

[annica.jarvela]

Forgot to say about the daylenght. I also keep it in winter around 13 hours, but after spring Equinox it gets longer and longer. Then after summer Solstice it starts to shorten again slowly.

 

[BrucherT]

In April around 12 years ago I bought a P. vietnamense on an orchid exhibition in the Palmengarten in Frankfurt Germany. The plant was, with several other species (mostly without label), that all were in bad condition (damaged leaves, no flowers or buds) on a bargain bin. As I saw the broad leaves I was convinced to know what it was. Costing only ten Euros, the plant was very cheap, so I took the risk. At home I planted it in a mixture of coarse pumice, charcoal and bark and placed it on the windowsill (southwest exposition northern hemisphere) next to my other plants. A new grow emerged three to four months later. Around two years later, the plant flowered for the first time. Since then, this plants flowers regularly around every two years (two years ago with three flowers, this year with one flower). I have transplanted it only twice in the meantime, always in the same mixture. Since then, this plant produced several capsules (mostly hybrid pollination).

I have sown these seeds on a coarse mixture of pumice and pine bark, that I first sterilized in zip log freezer bags (in the microwave), then infected with soil particles from other pots where orchids germinate, after some months of resting to let the fungus develop its mycelium. It usually does not work with all bags, but with my restricted space, I get enough seedlings. They can stay in the bag for around two to three years.

In my personal experience the species is not difficult at all. As I have experienced so often, the main problem in successful culture of Paphiopedilum is to eradicate pests like Tenuipalpus pacificus and Brevipalpus spp. These mites are present in so many professional cultures where they are held down so that they cause only minor damage. When such a plant comes into a new culture (especially where the air is drier), these pests explode and destroy. Because of that, every new plant in my culture is put into a sealed bag, poisoned and stays there for at least four months.

All the best,
Ralph

You seal bags in plants for 4 months?????

 

[BrucherT]

Maybe obvious, may also be spurious — I don’t know — but I don’t see it mentioned so…RE: bud blast, I stop feeding when a plant in bud is between half and 3/4 way to looking “ripe.” Water only until the bloom is done or a week after I cut it off, whichever comes first. Fertilizer, even K-Lite/RO, seems to lead to bud blast and/or noticeably shorten the flower’s life.

 

[annica.jarvela]

Dear Brucher T, I`m just being stupid, but I hope you mean that you cut off watering and not the flower stem. Also, if your Paphs flowers last for two months as mine usually do, except the multi florals of cause (one fl.), you can`t mean that you are not watering your plants so a long time!

 

[BrucherT]

Dear Brucher T, I`m just being stupid, but I hope you mean that you cut off watering and not the flower stem. Also, if your Paphs flowers last for two months as mine usually do, except the multi florals of cause (one fl.), you can`t mean that you are not watering your plants so a long time!

Oh you’re not being stupid at all; rereading my comment, I am chagrined that it doesn’t seem at all to say what I mean!

I’ll try again: when my orchids bloom, I only give plain water — either tap or pure RO — and no added nutrients/fertilizer, until the bloom is done or until I cut that inflorescence off. Except with sequential Phragmipedium; with them, I keep the fertilizer steadily coming but I increase the pure-RO pot flushing frequency.

If I don’t do this, I notice the flowers start to go bad much faster.

 

[Happypaphy7]

I'll have to disagree with you on that.
I am a light fertilizer myself but I don't see any correlation with fertilizing and bloom lifespan.
My strongest case against you for this is that my family members who water their orchids (mostly Phalaenopsis but also bulldog type hybrids and maudiae hybrids) with their tap water that is very hard at TDS over 400 ppm, yet, the flowers last as long as they should, two months on average.

 

[annica.jarvela]

I must join Happypaphy7 with this. I don`t fertilize very strongly either, and with some orchid species I should probably fertilize more often, but I do think that the flowering plants also need some strength when flowering. Why would it reduce the length of flowering? It must be some other reason it`s happening for you. I can`t say for sure. Sounds odd, but you know best your conditions and must do what best suits you.

I usually do it after I have fertilized, that next time I let my plants soak in pure water for an hour or two and then take them to the sink and flush the material in pots thoroughly through with pure tap water (being careful not getting the plants wet. I have so good water here. We have our own drilling well.

 

[Russ1992]

Very interested in @Ray 'S take on this regarding dropping the fertilizer when In Bloom (Nirvana ref).

 

[Ray]

Very interested in @Ray 'S take on this regarding dropping the fertilizer when In Bloom (Nirvana ref).

Me?

 

[BrucherT]

I know, I have always heard the opposite and it makes total sense that plants in bloom need more food, not less…but again and again, as soon as I feed, down goes the bloom. Vs. just had a Cumbidium quiebiense hold 4 flowers for 5 months, watered only with tap. I finally cut them off. All anecdotal and maybe, as you say, specific to my conditions. Chicago tap water, RO filtered from 270 to 430 ppm down to 6 to 23 ppm, K-Lite at 1/8 tsp/gal.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Developing the whole spike and buds will take a lot, but I don't think maintaining what's already been built cost all that much.
I tend not to fertilize plants in bloom unless they are constant bloomer like African Violets or something that has a very long blooming season like roses and certain crops like tomatoes.

 

[annica.jarvela]

That's atleast partly so Happypaphy7, but when producing seeds they need a lot of nutrients, as the tomatoes you mentioned. All vegetables, they don't grow the parts we eat for us, they produce them to make seeds and reproduce or propagate themselves.

 

[annica.jarvela]

Forgot to mention that same goes with orchids. Unfortunately they don't just flower to please us, but to produce seeds. But you all know that already.

 

[Ray]

I feed my plants regularly all year. I have no noticed any blooming issues. I find it hard to imagine that they are unique in that regard, but I don’t grow Paph. vietnamense.

 

[Happypaphy7]

That's atleast partly so Happypaphy7, but when producing seeds they need a lot of nutrients, as the tomatoes you mentioned. All vegetables, they don't grow the parts we eat for us, they produce them to make seeds and reproduce or propagate themselves.

Well, actually, they do grow fruits housing the seeds for us (or more precisely speaking, for specifically targeted animals to eat them and spread the seeds in the process) as that is how some plants spread their seeds. In case of tomatoes and many other cultivated crops, the fruits are just monster sized compared to the wild form and yes, that is intentionally done for our own purpose for sure. To grow such a massive structure, they will surely need to be fed throughout the whole growing season.

 

[spujr]

I mentioned this in another thread before but, this species was the only one I had some success using semi-hydro (not dissing this culture, only saying that I haven't had much success).

Below are pictures 1 and 2 years after flask. Unfortunately I got a bad case of mealies a year ago and lost them all.

 

[annica.jarvela]

Very nice looking seedlings spjur, sorry that you did loose them all.