I Finally have a Paph! niveum var Ang Thong
 

Well I been a very good girl this time round. I looked and looked, and researched and looked again. Made notes and contemplated all factors and then Finally clicked "Buy!"

The bonus came when the plant arrived a few days ago with a bud! :llama:
I have now been driving my S.O. round the bend with musical renditions of "Paph! Paph! Paph-Paph-Paph!" (Although he just thinks it's sweet how nuts I go for plants :blushing: )

I'm hoping the bud wont die and will bloom fully :crossfing

Anyhow, here is my little beauty!
Paph. niveum var Ang Thong. (Pet name "Audrey 3")
PS. This addiction is all your faults! But I have no complaints ;)

ahh look at that happy paphy!!

just give it some water when it gets thirsty and the bloom wont be any trouble to you :) thats a healthy fat bloom...:)

I started out with 1 and now have .....lost count ,not really but just to be coy about it :)

Triffid,

What a coincidence! I brought home a Niveum this weekend too. It's also in spike. We should compare notes on cultural conditions. I would love to hear about your growing space. You have to post pics when she finally opens up too!

Thanks for sharing and GOOD LUCK!

-J

Looking good. Mine has been open for about a week, and all I can say is, they're just totally sweet and charming. Can't wait to see yours in full bloom.

Kim

Thank you RJSquirrel! :biggrin: Tips are always appreciated! :banana:

jrodpad,
It would definitely be interesting to compare notes. And I will update the thread when ( :pray: ) the bloom opens
This is, like the thread title suggests, my first Paph :cloud9: I seemed to be leaning towards the excessively large (such as P. sanderianum and P. rothschildianum) and the more dainty (such as P. niveum, P. concolor and so on). So I went for the smaller option as I am currently only growing with windowsill space, the extra decision factor being that it is an Intermediate grower.

I live near the coast so relative humidity usually doesn't drop too much overall and the weather trap of the area means low light is rare and only of any real concern during the winter months.

It has two growths and clear evidence that it bloomed last year too. Currently I have it situated near a (south-ish) vertically narrow textured glass window, so light is dispersed but good. As you can see in the second pic it has it's own little gravel tray so the plant sits clear of any water.

I would love to see some pictures of yours! :)

Here are some of the web links I've been perusing.
Paphiopedilum niveum - Orchids Wiki
PAPHIOPEDILUM
Paphiopedilum Culture

Kim,
Thank you. Dainty is just such an accurate description. I was expecting small, but it is just so sweet! Would love to see a picture of yours too! :)


Paph! Paph! Paph-Paph-Paph! :dance13:

that's a nice one. gotta love those leaves.

Niice buy Triffid :) I'd be doing a dance too if I were you! Looking forward to the pics when she opens

(If I may ask, where did you buy from?)

Thank you Fishmommy and Jennyfleur :biggrin: The leaves are brilliant that's true (another reason to get this one).

Of course you may :) It was purchased from
Orchid Species Shop

Second on-line order I've had from them. No complaints on either order!
Plants arrive healthy and well packed and (experience from the first order) if he has a plant in where it's maybe the last one or two and he doesn't think they're at their best he will get in touch and give you the option of wait for a good one or change order to something else. So no nasty surprises in the post!
Like a lot of other UK Nurseries he's also willing to get specific plants in (Law Permitting).
I think Burnhams have also or are getting a new bunch of Paph's in too!


Still dancing :dance: Paph, Paph-Paph, Paph-Paph-Paph-Paph-Paph-Paph!

Triffid,

Here's a pic or two of the one that I brought home this weekend. My growing conditions are similar to yours, I think, in all but humidity. I've got it placed in a bright room with no direct light, but under two short runs of T-5s to balance out the shorter day-length periods that we have to endure here in New England (not to mention that the room only really has east facing windows). It's next to a large humidity tray, but the humidity is pretty low - somewhere in the 40s during the winter and a bit higher 50s-60s during the summer. I wind up watering about every 4 days or as needed, never letting the media fully dry out. I fertilize weakly weekly, flushing with just water every 4th time to wash away the salts that build up. Most of the time I use a 20-20-20 at 1/4 strength, but every now and then I use a hydrolyzed fish/seaweed product that I like just to mix things up. There's a little fan that blows around in the winter and in the spring and summer, the windows are usually open bringing in the fresh air (unless the ac is on, which I try to do as little as possible).

It would be great if we could continue to share pics and compare notes to track how these guys grow, bloom and put out leaves going forward.

Best of luck! And thanks for sharing.

-J

http://tapa.tk/mu/cdc4cc04-6665-7271.jpg

Thanks Triffid :) I've bought 3 paphs from him and all have been great quality..... none arrived in bud though!

Keep dancing :)

-J
Lovely looking plant! :cheer:

I will be doing a similar fertilizing regime to you. But for the first month (maybe two) I will be doing it at weakly every two weeks. Mainly because (even though I'm sure it was well cared for) I do not know the regime it previously had or when it had it's last flush, so do not wish to risk root burn.
From what I've read they are not overly strong feeders so hopefully this will do no harm.
But after that it will be weakly weekly with a 1 in 4 flush.

The past two months our humidity has hit a low of around 70% and a peak of 98% or so. According to records the low lows are around 30-35% but these do not seem overly frequent.
I'm not sure if you can get or have on-line records for where you are but I did a search on "Humidity Records (Insert City/Area Name)" a while back and came across this UK site.

Weather Online UK - current weather and weather forecast worldwide

Wouldn't be surprised if theres something similar for State side.

I Agree! and am more than happy to share future pictures. It will be very interesting to see what differences may occur. Overall, like you say, similar growing conditions except for the Lights!

Best of Luck to you too!
I have a feeling yours may do better in the long run due to the lighting! :)

Still Dancing! (/udb) Paph! Paph! Paph-Paph-Paph

Mutant Bloom? Yes/No?
 

:scratchhead: Erm.... Do I have a mutant bloom on the way?

Tried to find sequence photo's for opening Paph blooms, so not sure if I'm correct in my assumption that this doesn't look quite right or if I'm just being pessimistic and paranoid?

Still happy with it either way :) love the leafs of this one :cloud9:

(Picture literally taken 10 minutes before this post)

hm....looks suspicious but it will still be gorgeous regardless

Thanks for the replay. I will love the plant regardless :)
It possibly could have just been perturbed by the transit. Just have to see if I can get it to do better next year.

Still, I will be interested to see what it ends up looking like.

Looks like it's missing the pouch. If it's a first bloom seedling it's not unusual for them to have deformed or strangely shaped blooms. It will do better next year. :)

Wow! Looks like it's lipless. Interestingly, I saw one like this at the greenhouse. I assumed that it got knocked off from being bumped around - I never even considered the fact that it could be "born" that way. Please continue to post pics when/as it opens, it's really beautiful.

This was from yesterday. Still looks about the same today.

Thanks for sharing.

-J

http://tapa.tk/mu/927396c4-b8ca-9be1.jpg

http://tapa.tk/mu/927396c4-b8e2-2105.jpg

Thanks for the info :) Much appreciated. I'll just have to be a patient bunny and see what it does next year. Hopefully it will just be this year that it does this.
Still it makes me smile :biggrin:


J.
Looking Good! I wait with anticipation to see what yours will look like. :cheer: Here's hoping you get a pouch! :lol:

As for my little Mutant, it fully opened today, couldn't get shots of it half open yesterday as the battery in camera was dead and couldn't find the charger :evil: Found now though and have managed to get a shot today. Will get a side shot when battery properly charged. (bloom approximately 2 in / 5 cm wide)

I will also (at some point) endeavor to capture some close ups of the leaves, as they really are quite interesting in their own right (well, to me they are anyway)

Triffid -

She's still not open all the way, but I was able to snap a quick pic on the way out the door today. The bloom's not nearly as pure white as yours - it's much more of a speckled egg. I'll post one last pic if/when it ever opens fully.

-J

http://tapatalk.com/mu/cdc4cc04-71ee-2d0e.jpg

http://tapatalk.com/mu/cdc4cc04-7202-def2.jpg

Oh my gosh, you two are lucky to have these little beauties to look at!

I agree with Terri, looks like she is missing the pouch. I love that she's "furry". Too cute!!! I love paphs.

jrodpad, you have a gorgeous paph!

Nice! Really pretty and glad to see yours has a pouch!

Alsthough sometimes I can see the image and then recently I can't. The links were present in the original quote too :scratchhead: At least I got a peek at it a few days ago :biggrin:

Thanks Jenny and Amanda for for comments :dance13: Paph! Paph-Paph!

Here's some close up of the iddy biddy lip/pouch (it is there just really small) and some of other parts of the plants.

Very nice! I'm adding a white Paph to my pre-order for the show. You enablers you! :)

So cool!

I love the macro photos, they're so well done. Doesn't this thing have the coolest leaves? Your close up photo really captures the texture - which is otherwise really difficult to explain. It kind of resembles those 3D holographic images that are printed on plastic - like old fashion, stop action baseball cards that showed a batters swing when you tilted the card. You know? It gives the leaves of the paph a slightly laminated look - and makes them sparkle in the light.

Great photos and thanks for sharing.

-J

Cool leaves! I love how they're so dark on the bottom!

Don't worry, I'll bet your little mutant blooms just fine in the future. ;)

Evan,
The underside is certainly a gorgeous dark reddish colour. Everything about this one makes me smile (even with the mutant bloom).
Thanks for the words of encouragement. It will get the best care I can offer so hopefully will adjust and flower happily next year.

Melissa,
Glad we could enable another's addiction further :cheer:

J.
Thank you for the complement, glad you liked the pictures! They're the best shots I could get at the time. Also I totally agree with your comments about the leaves, certainly a major plus point for these little guys. Even out of flower they are showy :cloud9:

"3D holographic images that are printed on plastic" - Absolutely brilliant description by the way. I had been trying to think of an apt descriptor for them, but that's pretty much spot on :biggrin:
I'm also thinking about keeping an eye out for an original (so to speak) P. niveum, as I really like the spotting on yours and it would be nice to have the two varieties side by side. So give yourself a pat on the back for being an enabler ;)

Here's hoping these guys keep on growing and being wonderful for years to come! :llama:

I love pictures 4 and 7. Great Macro!!! Your Paph is beauty.

Thank you Amanda. Glad you like them. :)

Updates
On a side note I think I also have a new growth starting.
You can just about make it out in the 5th picture above, but it seems to be getting bigger and greener so there's me off dancing again for a while.

I must admit though, the flower has suffered a little too recently. Misted it and I think it got a bit sun burnt. The temps round here recently have been extraordinarily high for this time of year and the Sun is very bright indeed. According to the news "Hottest April in the UK since records began".
Have moved the plant back a bit from the window now and it doesn't seem to be getting worse so that's good.

Quick update - had a companion bloom open up yesterday. It's not fully open, but I had a few minutes so I thought I would share. Happy Memorial Day.

-J

http://tapatalk.com/mu/927396c4-9757-f620.jpg

Congratulations :cheer: Absolutely beautiful!

Yours seems to be doing better than mine. Lost my bloom over the weekend, but on the plus side the new growth seems healthy and the plant on the whole seems all right. My first Paph, so will have to take the rough with the smooth and try not to panic. I will be re-potting it before the end of this week so hopefully that will help a little.

Keep us up to date! Here's hoping your bloom keeps going for quite some time! Though I'm sure it will ;)

I spent way too much this year already buying plants but after seeing yours bloom, I am now scouting for one.

Thanks for the comments :)

Sorry if we have enabled others to go searching for their own little white paph.... but lets face it you're unlikely to regret getting one ;)

If you want ideas on different ways to display/pot/keep your Brachs check out this thread
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ow-2011-a.html
by s1214215

pictures 5 to 9 in the first post have got me thinking :hmm
Mostly that I want more Brachs :lol: but still I'll try and be patient and get used to keeping just the one first :blushing:

Update on the condition of my Paph.
 

Well here it is! I re-potted it (a while back) into a Clay pot with small grade bark and stones at the bottom, in an attempt to mimic some of it's more natural conditions. It has two new growths and seems happy enough, but as this is my first (and as yet only) Paph that may just be wishful thinking.

jrodpad,
How's is your little precious doing? Hope it's doing better than mine :)

Very cute display Triffid. It seems very happy.
Could you please share how do you water yours. Do you let it dry out completely? Clay pot looks wet on the picture, is it because it's drawing moisture from vase with balls and water? Or pot never touches the water and vase is just fancy humidity tray?
I have P. micranthum which looks very similar, but potted into straight chc and now I wonder if I should put mine into the same setup too.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h56AC_03Cw...cranthumII.jpg

Thanks.

:thanx: I like to try andI keep my plants happy.

The pot itself is an old one I picked up from a charity shop, so it is mostly just discolouration from age. Though the white at the top will spread as time passes and needs to be rubbed of occasionally – standard pot care.
It so hard to find decent clay pots “new” where I am. Unless I want to spend a pretty penny that is.

The pot never touches the water and the vase (a dessert bowl :biggrin: ) is just a fancy humidity tray. I prefer glass humidity trays as it is easier to see when it needs cleaning and spy any critters that may be about. However due to the layer of pebbles/stones in the bottom of the clay pot, even if the base was submerged it would not reach much (if any) of the bark.

The conditions for P. micranthum and P. niveum are similar in some cases, but not in all. For example both are known to inhabit rocky crevices.

P. niveum tends to like a drier winter apparently, so it is advised by some sources to reduce watering.

P. micranthum, like P. niveum, likes a cooler winter to induce flowering but apparently does not like to dry out as much. As such needs to be kept reasonably moist. So it may not be as advisable for you to let the mix dry out.

One source I read (sorry can't quite remember where from exactly at this time) says that P. niveum “likes to be drenched, albeit infrequently”. As such, thanks mainly to the reasonable humidity provided, I tend to drench the mix once a week with the standard weakly weekly with 1 in 4 flush. Though plain old watering may increase or decrease according to weather and time of year.

I prefer to use rain water where possible. If that is not possible I let tap water stand for at least 24 hours before watering, allowing the chlorine to dissipate fully and the water to reach room temp. I live in a soft water area so this does not seem to have too much of an adverse effect.

The humidity where I live has been mid to high the past year. Rarely dropping below 50% (according to the web-link to the weather report for the area). Currently it is 67% as I am typing this (77% two hours ago). But then that is outdoor and it will always be a little drier indoors.

CHC should be fine, but I'm no expert. I have a little CHC in the pot as well, but not that much to be honest.

This is my only Paph. so far, and though I would love to have more I just want to keep this one going before I get anymore :)

Sorry that's the best I can do for now. Hope it helps, if only a little.: Smilie_happy_peac

Your plant is gorgeous by the way! :cloud9:

Wow! Thank you for all the information Triffid! :bowing
Looks like you really did your homework :).
I just bought bunch of different paphs without much research and now learn as I go.


I keep almost all orchids in clay and buy pots from dollar store, did you check there?


Thank you!

:) I do try to do my homework. Some plants are easier to research than others though and luckily Paphs have quite a big following of enthusiasts and experts, which helps.

Our equivalent local Dollar (or Pound) Stores never seems to have any ordinary clay pots. Occasionally large and glazed, but never the good old standard ones. They seem to prefer selling the plastic ones.

Strangely enough I found a few mini (1-2 inch) clay pots in a Textile Craft Store (of all places)! Needless to say I bought the last 4 - haven't used them yet but I have them ready if required :lol: Luckily I found 5 standard sized (approx 4-5 inch or 11-13cm) for £1 from a Charity shop. Other than that it's on-line and order big to make it worth my while. Hopefully they will become more popular where I am, but for now I have enough set aside (now all I need are the plants :biggrin: )