New Paphiopedilum bloom doesn’t look quite right.

[Wade Coleman]

Hey everyone, so I purchased a paph. (Pinocchio x Lowii) about a month ago and it was in tight bud when I purchased it. Now the bud is opening up, but something just doesn’t look quite right. It’s almost like there aren’t enough parts to the bloom. I see what I think is one of the petals and the lip, but I don’t see a dorsal sepal and the fused lateral sepal looks like its split in half... This is my first ever paphiopedilum, so I’m not sure if it’s just unfamiliar to me and I should just wait for it to fully mature, or what. The last picture is what the bloom should look like.

[Ray]

That clearly falls into the category of "sh** happens".

Something happened during the blossom development that led to deformity. It might be a one-off situation that will never again be repeated, or it might be a dud plant.

Personally, I'd notified the vendor about the problem, and let them know that I'll keep it through one more blooming, but if that is repeated, I'll want my money back.

[estación seca]

Changing temperature and humidity while orchids are in bud can have a big effect on flowers. Letting a plant in bud get dry just once can also do this sort of thing. If it went from a greenhouse with wonderful conditions to a drier home this could happen.

[Wade Coleman]

I got in contact with the seller and he said it may be due to a pesticide. He said to cut the flower and wait for the next bloom. It’s a sequential, so it shouldn’t be too long. It came from a nursery in Hilo on the Big Island, so the conditions there aren’t much different than the conditions here in Oahu. We’ll just wait and see what happens