Paph. delenatii questions... - Orchid Board

The Orchid Boy · #1 12-19-2011, 11:51 PM

I have a few questions about paph. delenatii.
I found this on a website: "Paph's bloom only once per growth. You'll need to wait until a new growth matures for the next set of flowers." Where is a growth on a paph. delenatii? Pictures would be appreciated.
Also, how do you divide a paph. delenatii? Can you divide it? I've heard of dividing other slipper orchids. Pictures would be helpul.

quiltergal · #2 12-20-2011, 01:48 AM

A new growth on a Paph is a set of leaves (anywhere from 4-6 or so depending on the species) that grow in the shape of a fan. Some people call the new growths fans. The bud will emerge from the center of the set of leaves. Once bloomed that set of leaves will not bloom again. Paphs are sympodial (new growths connected by a tiny rhyzome). They generally bloom better if left undivided. The colony of fans is more robust than a single fan on it's own, and a large specimine can put up multiple spikes. A delenatii will need at least 3 mature fans before it will bloom.

Bud · #3 12-20-2011, 02:30 AM

Thanks for that info, Terry...

camille1585 · #4 12-20-2011, 05:41 AM

I think Terri said it all

The new growth/fan appears at the base of the plant. You can't mistaken it for anything else, Paphs only grow fans (unlike Phals were you have to deal with basal keikis, aerial roots, spikes...)

Terri, I didn't know that they usually need 3 fans to bloom. I got a delenatii vinicolor supposedly 1 year from blooming, and it has a single tiny fan, with no signs of any others popping up in the 4 months I've had it. Looks like I have a long wait!

quiltergal · #5 12-20-2011, 04:12 PM

Camille, they can certainly bloom with less than 3 fans, but I think you have a much better chance of it blooming with more than one fan. Have you repotted yours since purchasing? I find that repotting initiates all kinds of new growth. As a general rule I try and repot all my Paphs and Phrags on an annual basis. They really don't like stale medium much.

The Orchid Boy · #6 12-24-2011, 12:20 AM

I was wondering, when is Paph. delenatii's active growing season when it puts out new leaves and growth? Also what month(s) do most of them bloom? Thank you so much for the help and advice.

billc · #7 12-24-2011, 03:44 AM

Mine generally blooms between Thanksgiving and Christmas and is in bud right now. It tends to start a new growth in early fall right before the current growth starts to bud. The new growth will sort of stall until early spring and then grows all summer until hopefully a new growth and bud starts.
Sorry for the bad picture(no macro in my point & shoot camera) but you can see the new growth starting as an offshoot.

Bill

RosieC · #8 12-24-2011, 04:06 AM

Mine is growing now, I'm not sure there is a set time for when they grow or not.

Like Camille, I bought mine blooming from a single fan. It took a few months to start a new one, but it's growing now. They can be quite slow to grow from what I've seen.

Paphluvr · #9 01-10-2012, 08:29 PM

Orchid Boy,

Attached are two pictures of Paph delenatii. The first shows a picture of an approximately eight growth (fan) plant with two new growths beginning to form buds and two previously bloomed growths. The growths that have previously bloomed will not bloom again and are probably the grows with the yellowing leaves. This is a natural occurance with Paphs, their older lower leaves turn brown and dry up.

The second photo shows a closer view of a spike beginning to form. New growths are capable of producing flower spikes but will not necessarily do so unless the cultural conditions are correct.

Paph delenatii can be divided by cutting the rhizome between growths and it's good practice to include two or more growths in each division. When doing this its a good time to remove any dead roots before repotting.

Hope this helps!

Paphluvr