Paphiopedilum (Supersuk x Raisin Pie) x sib

[estación seca]

Somebody gave me a gift card, so went into Trader Joe's today not expecting to see any good orchids. To my way of thinking, those are to be spent on orchids, beer, Sekt or Belgian chocolate bars.

In addition to some really nice NOID Phals, they had 3 Paphs, a dark red-chocolate Oncidium, and even a Catt hybrid and a Miltoniopsis hybrid! I've seen plenty of Oncidiums there in the past but no slippers, Milties nor Catts.

This $8 Paph had a name tag, so it came home with me. I only have a few seedling Paphs so I am learning about them. I suspect judges would prefer straight-out petals and a larger standard, but I like the droopy mustache look on this flower. Plus the lip is big in relation to the rest. Each petal is about 2.5" long, and the lip is 2.5" long from the base of the staminode.

There is one fan, and another growth sprouting right now. It's in a flimsy plastic pot (with drain hole) in loose sphagnum. It was bone-dry when I found it and the flower was a little limp. It stiffened up with a good drink. I can't imagine it was grown like that; it looks like they took a plug, wrapped some sphagnum around it and crammed it into this container. I will repot it but not tonight.

Paphiopedilum (Supersuk 'Eureka' AM/AOS x Raisin Pie 'Hsinying') x sib

[turock]

Wow, that's a cool one! Wish they had such an interesting assortment of options at my local Trader Joe's alternative...

[DeaC]

From time to time we all need a good drink to stiffen up! But a nice find you've got there

[No-Pro-mwa]

Way to go, such a nice find. I'm so jealous of you who find these good deals.

[estación seca]

I don't go into TJ often. When I do it's to get those 500 gram Belgian chocolate bars as gifts, or pick up some of their cheap Sekt for a great mixed drink. They've had only NOID phals and NOID Oncidium hybrids in the past, many really beautiful.

But the closest branch of my bank is in the same plaza, and sometimes I get paid by check. So I go in there.

It was a real surprise to see name tags on a few of the plants. This was the only of 3 Paphs with a name. The other two were a green Claire de Lune type and something species-ish with hairy moles on the petals.

The red-chocolate Oncidium, the Miltonia and the small waxy yellow Catt with a red lip had neither name tag nor fragrance, so I didn't seriously consider them.

[Leafmite]

I have seen this one come in at OS meetings and even brought one in, myself, for re-homing for someone who no longer wanted it. It seems to be a popular orchid.

[RosieC]

Nice!

[gngrhill]

I have one of those I got in bloom 3 years ago and it has never rebloomed for me. I would be curious how you plan on keeping it to see if I need to do something different. Congrats on finding such a great buy at TJs. Our TJs doesn't have anything but noid Phals now. They used to have some unnamed, but nice stuff. I got my Miltoniopsis there, and Colmanara, and Oncidiums all 3 years ago. Now nothing but Noid Phals.

[PaphLover]

I love the big pink lip.

$8?!!!! I pay $30 and up for my paphs.

You lucky duck! Great find.

---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:58 PM ----------

I have a breeding question regarding this paph:
Because I love the dark paphs, I knew that the Raisin Pie is a dark paph and in looking up the Supersuk I found that is also quite dark…so my thought would be that the offspring of these would be dark as well. This lip appears quite pink…a lovely pink, mind you. I wouldn't expect a second blooming to change dramatically to the darker shades of the parents. So what's going on? Is it the "x sib" that's mixing things up or does dark x dark sometimes = lighter shade?

Teach away, experts!

Also, is it considered rude/ hijacking to ask such a question in estación seca's thread? Should this be asked elsewhere?

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by gngrhill

I have one of those I got in bloom 3 years ago and it has never rebloomed for me. I would be curious how you plan on keeping it to see if I need to do something different. Congrats on finding such a great buy at TJs. Our TJs doesn't have anything but noid Phals now. They used to have some unnamed, but nice stuff. I got my Miltoniopsis there, and Colmanara, and Oncidiums all 3 years ago. Now nothing but Noid Phals.

Of the three different Paphs they had, this was the only one with a name tag. The tags were sporadic through the approximately 100 plants they had for sale, almost all of which were NOID Phals.

I'm going to put this plant into semihydroponic culture. I got Paph rothschildianum, Onyx and Pinocchio seedlings in June and July 2015 from Carter & Holmes. I put them into S/H on arrival. They have done really well for me, constantly (slowly) putting out new leaves. I water at almost every watering with R/O or rain containing 1/8 teaspoon / 0.625ml powdered pure water formulation MSU fertilizer per gallon / 3.78 liters of water, 13-3-15-8Ca-2Mg. This works out to approximately 21ppm nitrogen. I flush with R/O or rain about monthly.

The roth came with four mature leaves 8" / 20cm long. It had a fifth leaf of about an inch / 2.5cm emerging. That leaf matured to 8" / 20cm long; the next leaf is the same size, mature; and the third emerging now is about 3" / 7.5cm long. It gets a little direct morning sun and is more sun-tolerant than some of the Cattleya seedlngs I've bought. The plant only holds four mature leaves at a time plus one emerging. I don't know whether this is poor culture on my part or this is how it's supposed to be. Experts?

The other two hybrids likewise are maturing their 3rd leaves since arriving here last summer and going into S/H. They are not nearly as light-tolerant. I burned dime-size brown spots in all the leaves of the Onyx (spotted-leaf) but it's still growing fine. The roth and Pinocchio were right next to the Onyx and didn't get burned.

Originally Posted by PaphLover

I love the big pink lip.... This lip appears quite pink... a lovely pink, mind you. I wouldn't expect a second blooming to change dramatically to the darker shades of the parents. So what's going on? Is it the "x sib" that's mixing things up or does dark x dark sometimes = lighter shade?

Teach away, experts!

The lip is a little darker than the photo, which I took at night by incandescent flood lights. I would call it pinkish - light brown. The tip of the pouch is darkest and the sides near the rim are quite pale.

Originally Posted by PaphLover

Also, is it considered rude/ hijacking to ask such a question in estación seca's thread? Should this be asked elsewhere?

You can't offend me. I'd be interested in the answers as well.