Paphiopedilum dianthum

[papayj]

I acquired this plant around 2016. And for four years, it was potted in mixture of sphagnum moss, perlite and bark, and it languished terribly: it neither grew nor die, just sat there suffering almost endlessly. It seemed whatever were the reasons, it failed to establish a healthy root system.

However, after experimenting with semi-hydro set up and came up with some really good results with other plants, I finally repotted this poor thing in semi hydro setup last autumn.

And it finally began to grow.

Now, after four years, it gave me its very first flower.



Just one flower, but I am more than happy to see it.



It is now growing healthy root system. I guess it needed stable moisture around its roots, since it gets quite dry during autumn and winter...