Paph blooms fail to open completely

[josterha]

Hello,

I have a Paph. Nulight plant which is currently blooming (one growth in bloom and another in spike). On the open bloom, the flower has not opened entirely. The Dorsal sepal is more-or-less perpendicular to the lip. It has been open more than a week but the sepal has not opened in any more erect posture. Any idea as to what could cause this? Last year, I bought the plant while in bloom and the flower was normal apart from a rot spot in the slipper due to water getting in there at the big box store. I did clip the spike to a wire support, but only after the bloom started to open. Anyone familiar with this hybrid knows that it has a large, imposing bloom of the Winston Churchill Toad-on-a-Stick" variety. I wanted to be sure that the stem was not overtaxed with the weight of the flower. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John