Weeeee, it's HERE!

[The Mutant]

My very first Paph! It's finally here! *doing mad dance of joy*



I'm not happy, I'm thrilled! It's the cermanense (Paph. bullenianum var. ceramensis - I must learn this name!) I booked a while ago and today it finally arrived.

I checked the roots and the foliage, cut off one yellowing leaf, and potted it in a fine bark/sphagnum/perlite - mix. It has a spike, but most likely it'll abort it or the bud will blast. A Paph that takes some coaxing to complete its spikes, that has been shipped through Sweden and spent two days in a box, and then has finally ended up in the hands of an utter newbie... The prognoses for the bud to survive is not good I would say.

Here it is! Oh, I'll purchase a better outer pot for it during the week, the one in the pictures is not ideal I think.

[Daethen]

I like the cache pot it is in. Don't count that spike out, you never know. But it is good that you are ready for it to abort.

[The Mutant]

It was the least awful looking smaller cache pot I had (thank you Jonada for teaching me a new word). It's planted in a clear plastic orchid pot and since the cache pot has holes in it, I figured sunlight would get to the roots and that this maybe wasn't good. Is it okay to keep it in the cache pot?

Newbie? Who? Me? I've no idea what you're talking about!

[tucker85]

Congratulations on the new addition to your orchid collection. I bought my first paph a couple of months ago and it's in bud right now.

[Daethen]

I don't think the sun will hurt it at all. Mine are in clear plastic with no cache pots and doing fine. We were all Newbies once. Spikes can take forever to mature.

[The Mutant]

Thanks Tucker! I really hope I'll succeed with this one.

Originally Posted by Daethen

I don't think the sun will hurt it at all. Mine are in clear plastic with no cache pots and doing fine. We were all Newbies once. Spikes can take forever to mature.

Okay, I'll keep it in the cache pot then. I believe the Paphs will teach me the virtue of patience, especially this guy since it's a bit tricky to get to bloom according to the seller (an experienced Paph grower). And, yes, I wrote Paphs, I've ordered two more, but I'm not expecting them in at least a couple of months.

[ElenaMarie]

Congratulations! I love the excitement of a new plant. Kind of like Christmas morning for adults. Good luck!

[The Mutant]

Especially when it's an entire new genus it's even more exciting than usual.
But imagine when my megagigantic order from Schwerter arrives - then it truly will be Christmas...

[Susie11]

Good luck with your new paph. I have also got my one and only paph -so far- into bloom well, I can see a tiny new growth coming from the crown and it can only be a spike so hopefully in a few months I will have my very own first bloom. I will have to get many many more now!

[The Mutant]

I can say the very same to you and I really hope it'll bloom for you.

I've ordered two more Paphs that will be shipped to me as soon as the temperatures are a bit warmer.