Paph. Judge Philip flower without spike, what's happening???

[phillygrower]

I bought this Paph. Judge Philip a year ago from Waldor Orchids. Its a great multifloral paph and it's been growing like a weed with TONS of new growths. I was excited to see a but forming but now it's opening and it looks as if no stem was ever produced.

What is happening to this plant? Is it sick or did it just make a mistake?

Has anyone ever had this problem with their paphs before?

Any information you may have is appreciated.

[silken]

That is odd! I'm certainly no expert, but my Judge Philip (that I eventually killed ) grew regular if not real tall stems. Have you been giving it a lot of SuperThrive or other growth hormones? That can cause abnormal growth behavior.

[phillygrower]

I do use super thrive, usually 1-2drops per gallon once a week added to weak fertilizer. I was wondering if that could be it. When i purchase it the plant had a tall stem so I know its not a "faulty plant" but an issue with with particular bloom.

[silken]

I wouldn't worry about this one spike if you have seen it bloom normally. I would consider it a fluke or cultural. 1 to 2 drops of S.T. shouldn't be overdoing it but maybe this plant is more sensitive to those hormones than some. I would try cutting back on it or not using it all the time and see what happens next time it blooms.

[tucker85]

Very strange. I haven't seen that happen before. Try decreasing the Superthrive to once a month. And don't use Superthrive at all if you're using another growth simulator like seaweed extract or KLN.

[orchidsarefun]

a good resource

PAPHIOPEDILUM: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Personally I have found that paphs require very little fertiliser.....

[Call_Me_Bob]

This happens once in a while at the greenhouse. It's jsut a fluke, the next blooming should be fine! SuperThrive could have effected it, but I cannot say for sure. I know that SuperThrive shouldn't be administered when plants are getting ready to bloom, because it can cause deformities in the flowers. Maybe this is related.

[phillygrower]

Thanks for the help everyone. Does anyone know if Judge Philip will bloom year round or is only a spring bloomer? At the moment I have several plants with primulinum as a parent that are in bloom or coming into bloom now, I guess this is their time of year? I'll make sure to cut back on ST during bloom seasons, but i have to say that since i've been using it in conjunction with Dyna-Gro my paphs have been growing like wild!

[PaphMadMan]

This happens sometimes with multi-floral Paphs. Often this is followed by a nearly normal spike emerging from the same point. Essentially, the bottom flower of the spike gets ahead of itself and blooms before the spike elongates. It is very unlikely that anything you did or could control caused it, and even less likely that it will happen again. Your plant is obviously robust, healthy and well grown.