When Do Most Paphs Bloom?
 

Is there a certain season or temperature/light level that most paphs bloom in?

Most of the paphs I have and/or are on their way are multifloral. I think they're all hybrids, all of them containing at least one of the following as a parent: sanderianum, philippinense, rothschildianum.

Thanks :)

On top of this page, there are 3 tables for the blooming season of each species. According to the tables, more species seem to bloom in spring to early summer. I don't know about artificial hybrids, but it may help to look up the parental species.

Can you tell us a bit more about how you are growing them? And what their individual hybrid mixes are?

I have some multi-florals pushing out spikes now, in part because I grow under lights. Almost all multis want more light than the other paphs. They also like to be kept a bit warmer.

The website Naoki gave you is one of the best to learn about the individual species.

Growing conditions:

- 70-84F days (depending on season)
- 54F nights (high 50s in summer)

- 60% humidity low during day
- 90% at night

- Equal mix of sun and shade, 50% shade cloth in summer, suitable for low-light tropicals

List of hybrids:

1. Paph. Julius (rothschildianum 'New Bear' x lowii BM/TPS)
2. Paph. Shin-Yi Prince (Prince Edward of York x sanderianum)
3. Paph. Memoria Gordon Peters (Paph. Julius Irving 'At Last' x philippinense fma. alboflavum' Sterling')
4. Paph. rothschildianum 'Raye' x Paph rothschildianum 'Chester Hills' AM/AOS
5. Paph. sanderianum 'Dark Beauty' x sanderianum 'Newberry Tresses'

There is one other on my paph grow list but it is a sequential bloomer that is already blooming size.

Just curious - which sequential do you have? And I'm excited to see your Julius when it happens. I'm probably going to get a Bernice at some point.

Having said that, temp at night is just a bit low imho, but the plants can adapt. Most growers that I know 'chill' their multis down to 55 when they want to trigger a spike (i.e. to get them to bloom early in time for Mother's Day) but they don't grow them that low in general.

Both the Roth and Sandie (as you know from our other threads) especially *usually* require to be a certain size before they will bloom. On paper, they should be spring/summer bloomers though.

I'm sure you realize already, that you picked some of the 'toughest' ones to grow, in general. But don't let that stop you - and I'd be the last to discourage you. They might just take a bit more patience to grow and get the right size. I'd go with the 'lots of light' model.

They bloom a week after the show, or six months away from the thing you want to cross it with...

Seriously I see more blooms in the spring and fall, but in my very mixed collection there are always several things blooming. They don't seem very seasonal to me. Had several different multiflorals all spike up at the same time in late october this year.

My experience is paphs simply bloom when a particular growth matures. This can be any time of the year. The growth will produce a bud and perhaps a month later a new growth begins. Old plants which remain undivided will have many new growths all the time and can be in bloom a large portion of the year. An old P. niveum of mine is beginning to do this.

The sequential is P. moquettianum 'Pine Knot' x self. The Julius is in low spike right now according to the eBay ad. It was just emerging as of 6 January, 2014. I'm not sure how fast they shoot up... Hopefully it'll open shortly after I receive it.

I know it is quite a bit low... Nepenthes grow in the same area, and many of these paphs seem to grow at lowland elevations (according to that data sheet linked to above). I've grown lowland Nepenthes in my greenhouse (in which I grow almost exclusively highland Nepenthes) and they survive well. They slow down in winter, but in summer they grow very fast.

I thought paphs get sun burned easily? The two I have in the greenhouse look fine so far. They get a fair amount of sun. Should grow faster than in a windowsill, I would hope.

Hah! That first line cracked me up. That bugs me about my Nepenthes two. They all bloom in the same season, but some are too early and some are too late. I can't really choose, all I can't do it randomly pollinate. :roll:

They do with direct sun - in a greenhouse, you will know it's too much light if they start to bleach out in the leaves or get red, or brown (dry) tips.