Paphiopedilum In-Charm Hamavin x Sylvan Gnome
 

I got this as an unbloomed seedling several years ago from Penny Mustafa, and it is my understanding that Mr. Mustafa was a big deal in the Paph world, and we mourned his loss shortly after I bought my seedling from him through his wife.

It is my only Paph, ever, and it has done great. It is HUGE. The leaf span is 25 inches and the single bloom is 6 inches wide and 5 inches tall. I do not know much about Paphs, but I'm starting to feel like I might have something really special with this one. This is his third year to bloom, and he gets better every year.

I just wanted to show you guys, many of you who know a lot more about Paphs than I go, and see if anybody agrees that what I've got here is really something special. I think its beautiful, and it's special to me because it is my only Paph and it blooms every year, even better than last year, so whether anybody else things it's special or not isn't a major issue, but I was curious anyway. Is the kind of plant that might be worth showing? It looks really spectacular to me. Much finer than the average Paph I see.

I don't know anything about these (just have the delenatii, dunkle, as I fell in love with the leaves) but maybe you want to take it to a judging center/show and see if you can get it judged (hopefully awarded). It certainly seems full and flat which is what they talked about when I clerked for judges at our show a couple of times. Hopefully, someone who actually knows more can give you some better advice.

Some might argue that the forward-swept petals are a knock against it, but I really like it!

It was registered as Paph. Home Gnome by A&P Orchids in 2018.

I don’t know what makes a plant “special” but that is certainly beautiful

Thank you Ray, I'll update the tag, and if Ray likes it, then it must be a pretty fine plant for sure haha! I'm sure the monthly application of KelpMax has something to do with how well it has done.

---------- Post added at 09:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:09 PM ----------

I don't know what makes a plant special either, but some of them that you have just seem to stand out and take your breath away when they bloom, and this one does it for me. I'm not a huge fan of Paphs, and I only bought this one because it was cheap, and I'd never grown one before, and I wanted to see if I could, and then when it finally bloomed for the first time, I was just blown away by how beautiful it was, and it seems even more beautiful every time it blooms. I don't know anything about formal judging guidelines for Paphs, and I had no idea that like Ray said the forward swept petals might be considered a flaw, but I feel like this one just looks like a higher quality than many of the other Paphs I've seen for sale or at shows.

---------- Post added at 09:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 PM ----------

BTW, at the bottom of this page where it says "similar threads" you can find the thread I posted last year when this plant bloomed, and I think you can see that it has improved a great deal since last year.