Is Paphiopedilum Delenatii okay for beginners?

[Plantcrazed101]

I'm a beginner with orchids, and I got a Paphiopedilum Delenatii...what do y'all think of it as a beginner orchid?

Do I have a chance at growing this one right? It's sitting on an east window, the sun comes in at an angle so that it doesn't hit the plant but the light around it is quite bright.

It gets maybe low sixties temperature wise with the winter here, but I'm in Texas so it doesn't get too cold here.

I repotted it as soon as it arrived ( a couple days ago) in small bark media with a little spaghnum at the top to retain moisture (since my other Paph) is baggied due to losing a lot of it's roots because I watered it only occasionally...it didn't like that at all).

It doesn't have a lot of roots, and seemed to be in too big of a pot, but the roots grew horizontally so that I couldn't put it in small solo cup, I had to put it in a slightly larger pot to fit the roots without snapping.

How do I get this guy to have more roots? It has one fan right now.

[MrHappyRotter]

Hmmm, I would say it's not a bad orchid to start with. In general, for absolute beginners, I wouldn't recommend any orchid species ... hybrids tend to be way easier and by extension, way more likely to be successfully grown by beginners.

However, as species orchids go, if you're prone to watering too frequently, don't have tons of light, but also provide warm conditions, Paph. delenatii is a decent choice.

Resist the urge to repot again. This is absolutely the wrong time of year to repot. For one thing, it's practically winter and the days are only getting shorter. Secondly, most mature sized delenatiis won't have new roots and new growths forming for another couple of months. It's best to hold off on repotting until you know the plant is actively growing roots.

Good luck.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I would have to agree.

For one, I don't know how much of a beginner you are referring to yourself as. If this is the absolute first orchid you've attempted to grow, I'd probably have to say Paph delenatii is perhaps, not the most excellent choice to start with, there are, imo, far easier orchids to begin with.

If you've grown a few orchids, and are looking to find another easy orchid to grow, again, it might be an ok choice to go with, but there are other orchids that could easily fit the bill.

It definitely doesn't hurt to try and grow this species. And certainly not all species orchids are difficult or tricky to grow. I wish you well with your efforts as well.

Just know that Paphs are pretty slow growing, and it could test your patience. I recommend finding another faster growing orchid to occupy yourself with so there isn't an obsession to keep tinkering with this orchid. This is just my , you can take it for what it's worth.

[disalover]

I agree with all of the above. Just one more thing there roots are usually a brownish colour and they don't tend to make lots of roots. I have a 'Paph Ho Chi Minh: which is a hybrid between delenatii and vietnamense, there not that hard to grow. And even if there not flowering they have the beautiful leaves.

[The Mutant]

Aah, how I wish I had listened to the voices of reason above me, then I would've killed less Paphs than I have... maybe.

I started with species (albeit Paph. appletonianum, which has to be the easiest Paph species to grow on a windowsill), continued with species/primary hybrids, and have now, almost three years later, started to contemplate the more complex hybrids out there. To make matters worse, the majority of my collection are/were young plants/seedlings.

I have a delenatii var. dunkel (that foliage is so gorgeous) and it's a relatively easy to grow species I think. I have east facing windows, some extra light during winter, and warm temperatures where I keep this one.

I wouldn't do as I did, however. If I was clever, I would listen to both gentlemen above me, and try to find a nice Paph hybrid to grow, maybe even a NoID so that it's cheaper (Maudiae type, for example).

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you luck with your future slipper orchid.

Beware, however, they're highly addictive...

[BeWyse]

I have grown delenatii a number of years under lights with no problems, but I don't let it get as dry as with my phals. I've found my paphs do like to spread their roots so I use a wide pot and fill the bottom with styrofoam peanuts.

[Plantcrazed101]

Oh boy,. I've already reppoted it...no roots were broken though...the pot it was in seemed really big with heavy mix and I was nervous about over/under watering it.

I do have a lamp by my desk that had a CFL and is on 14-16hrs a day... Temps are around 70 most of the time, should I move it there where it will be warmer until spring arrives?


I will definitely get easier hybrids after this one, but I'm hoping I can make it happy.


Glad (?) To know they don't make too many roots in general.

My Paph is also a dunkel! It looks so cool.



I do have lots of patience as I have an oncidium twinkle, psychopsis and phals to bide my time... Plus 100 African Violets a balcony, hoyas, etc



Does Paphiopedilum delenatii need a "winter rest" of sorts or will it not notice it's winter if there is enough light and warmth?

[disalover]

70 is alright, you have one of the intermediate growers and they like temps from 50°F to 80°F . they do not need a winter rest, they will now it is winter when the temps drop it will also promote blooming.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

They slow their growth down drastically during the winter. Water should be reduced in the winter.

These naturally grow on granites in the wild. They could easily be grown in granite and still be fine.

You don't need to keep them too warm right now. It can handle it down to 55 F without a problem.

Here's a link you can check out for info on this species:

Paphiopedilum delenatii

There are other species of Paphs you can look up to. You may also see info for Phrags on this site as well.

[The Mutant]

Originally Posted by disalover

70 is alright, you have one of the intermediate growers and they like temps from 50°F to 80°F . they do not need a winter rest, they will now it is winter when the temps drop it will also promote blooming.

Okay, this post showed me I had the temperature ranges completely wrong, so I'm growing mine at intermediate temperatures and not warm as I wrote earlier.

Darn these Fahrenheit to Celsius failures!