My first paph. - Any advice?

[steph]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice on my first paph.

It's name is Paph. (glaucophyllum x chamberlainianum) x glanduliferum. I bought it at an orchid show a few days ago and the grower said that it blooms sequentially and that one of the blooms on this plant fell/broke off (it was discounted so I didn't really care). There are 3 mature growths (1 with a spike and 2 that are done flowering) and 3 new growths. The potting medium looks like coconut husks and perlite with a bit of sphagnum moss on top.

I tried to find information on the Internet about this particular paph, but there wasn't much. Does anyone know what I should expect? For example, how many blooms per spike, how fast it grows, how long it flowers for, etc.

My three main concerns right now are:

1. Does the plant look healthy?

2. When should I repot? Can it wait until next spring or should I repot it right away? Or maybe wait until it stops blooming? I probably should've asked when I was buying the plant, but it didn't occur to me then.

3. How do I know when it needs to be watered? What I do for my phals is I look at the roots through their clear pots and when the roots turn silver, I water them... but I can't do the same for the paph...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[slipperfreak]

Okay, first thing's first...

That is not a (glaucophyllum x chamberlainianum) x glanduliferum. Such a cross would have different flowers and plain green leaves. This cross has Cochlopetalum (sequential multifloral Paphs) and Parvisepalum (Chinese Paphs) in it. A cross like this tends to be easy to grow, moderate to fast growing (for a Paph), and will grow under standard Paph conditions.

The plant looks perfectly healthy. You can probably expect an average of 3 flowers per spike, and they should last around a month or so each. I would repot it once it's done blooming.

To tell when it's ready to be watered, lift the pot and push your finger into the mix. If the pot is quite light and the mix is nearly dry, it's time to water. Though it won't kill your plant to do so, it's best not to let them dry out completely.

[steph]

Thank you for the quick reply and for explaining the incorrect label.

I did find it odd that none of the pics on the web resembled my plant, so now it makes sense. It's quite a bummer because I was really excited to buy a plant that wasn't a NOID from a big box store. Oh well.

Am I correct to assume that there is Paph. delenatii crossed in there since the flower is pink and looks a lot like Paph. Delophyllum, Paph. Dellaina or Paph. Annabellchen?

Any guesses on the ID of this paph?

[dounoharm]

quite a nice flower tho! enjoy it!

[slipperfreak]

Originally Posted by steph

Thank you for the quick reply and for explaining the incorrect label.

I did find it odd that none of the pics on the web resembled my plant, so now it makes sense. It's quite a bummer because I was really excited to buy a plant that wasn't a NOID from a big box store. Oh well.

Am I correct to assume that there is Paph. delenatii crossed in there since the flower is pink and looks a lot like Paph. Delophyllum, Paph. Dellaina or Paph. Annabellchen?

Any guesses on the ID of this paph?

Yep the Parvi parent of this cross is probably either delenatii or a delenatii hybrid like Joyce Hasegawa. It actually looks a lot like a cross I used to have, which was Joyce Hasegawa x victoria-regina. Unfortunately though, these crosses all look so similar that it's really tough to know for sure what it is.