Paph. delenatii 4 spikes, 7 buds

[Orchidgirl83]

Wow, what a great plant!

[tucker85]

Awesome looking paph.! Very well grown. Good job.

[Paphluvr]

NYCorchidman,

I'll try to answer some of your questions.

The only P. delenatii I remember buying (other than a new clone I bought from E-Bay a couple of years ago) was from J & L Orchids about 40 years ago. Back then they weren't too easy to find. It was a single growth plant at the time.

The division I posted pictures of appears to have about 12 growths, the 4 that are blooming, 3 almost bloom size, 2 previously bloomed and several new growths. As I mentioned in post 9 of this thread I grow it in brighter light than most Paphs, It's growing in a south facing window in my living room, shaded by a shear curtain on very bright days. I also grow it dryer than normal. It gets watered about every 5-7 days, but remember that it's in a large pot (6½" azalea). I use several fertilizers (MSU Orchid Fertilizer for RO, CAl-Mag for RO and Better-Gro Bloom Booster). I apply these at ½ rate twice/mo. in the summer and once/mo. in winter with no particular winter rest. Winter temps are whatever I set the thermostat at, generally 58° nights and 68-70° days.

I hope this answers some of your questions. Good luck with the Armeni White. It's one that I don't have. The only P. delenatii crosses that I have are P. Magic Lantern (that also grows and blooms like a weed) and a P. Lynleigh Koopowitz that is working on its third growth.

[The Orchid Boy]

Awesome!

[NYCorchidman]

Thank you so much for your answer!
Wow~ you had it for such a long time. Yours must be the older clone that has nice fragrance then?

How do you repot your delenatii?

I just repotted my Armeni White last month and I had a hard time trying to put new bark in between the roots. My Armeni White had so many roots and it was very difficult to take out old mix and put new ones in.
Do you have any tips?? What mix do you use?

I have one growth Lynleigh Koopowitz which is in low sheath right now. I'm so excited!!!

[Paphluvr]

NYCorchidman,

Yes, this clone does have a fragrance. It's rather light and hard to describe but very pleasant.

I make my own mix consisting of CHC (chunk size about ¼"), coarse sponge-rock, and silica sand with the addition of small amounts of green sand, oyster shell, and horticultural charcoal.

Yes, repotting a large Paph. can be challenging. On a large plant such as this I generally put several packing peanuts into the center of the root ball before putting the plant in the pot. Then after carefully positioning the plant (making sure the final height is good) slowly, a small handful at a time, start adding mix. I find it helpful to tap the pot on a hard surface to help settle the mix. Also, while holding the crown of the plant to maintain position, carefully use your fingers to help distribute the mix between the roots. This is mostly to get them worked into the center of the root mass. Also, continue tapping the pot to help settle the mix. Firm the mix lightly as you go, and after the pot is filled to the proper level firm it a bit more. I don't use rhizome clips on large plants but they're a good idea on single growth plants to keep them from wobbling.

After re-pot I don't water them for 3-4 days and then keep the watering light for the first couple of weeks.

Hope this helps. Any other questions?

[katrina]

Beautiful and exceptionally well grown.

[Orquiadicto]

Very nice. I admire you being able to keep a plant alive more than 40 years...

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by Paphluvr

NYCorchidman,

Yes, this clone does have a fragrance. It's rather light and hard to describe but very pleasant.

I make my own mix consisting of CHC (chunk size about ¼"), coarse sponge-rock, and silica sand with the addition of small amounts of green sand, oyster shell, and horticultural charcoal.

Yes, repotting a large Paph. can be challenging. On a large plant such as this I generally put several packing peanuts into the center of the root ball before putting the plant in the pot. Then after carefully positioning the plant (making sure the final height is good) slowly, a small handful at a time, start adding mix. I find it helpful to tap the pot on a hard surface to help settle the mix. Also, while holding the crown of the plant to maintain position, carefully use your fingers to help distribute the mix between the roots. This is mostly to get them worked into the center of the root mass. Also, continue tapping the pot to help settle the mix. Firm the mix lightly as you go, and after the pot is filled to the proper level firm it a bit more. I don't use rhizome clips on large plants but they're a good idea on single growth plants to keep them from wobbling.

After re-pot I don't water them for 3-4 days and then keep the watering light for the first couple of weeks.

Hope this helps. Any other questions?

Thanks.

Yes, I do have more. What is green sand??? I don't think I've ever heard of such product.

I use 1/2" CHC, small clay balls, charcoals, perlite (sometimes) for most of my paphs although I used small grade orchiata bark chips for Armeni White as that was the only thing handy last month when I repotted it.
It was potted in the either the same bark or some other kind of bark in the old pot as well.

I usually have lots of small & first flowering paphs, then as they bloom out, I sort them out.

I only have just a handful of multiple growth paphs, mainly complex as they seem to grow very fast and love to form clump in no time. Thing is I don't have hard time with them. They do have lots of roots but they are well spread which makes the repotting job very easy.

My Armeni White had such a tight root balls. Many healthy light orange colored hairy roots all right in the center. maybe I left the plant in the small 4 inch plastic pot too long. I potted it in a much larger pot just like all my other multiple growth paphs so the roots will grow freely in the pot.

I plan to leave it undisturbed for a while. I am rather lazy with repotting and only do every two three years at best.
How often do you repot your delenatii?

My Armeni White is not scented, although I think I did notice a little bit of sweet scent at odd time of the day like 4 am. I swear there was nothing around the plant.
How strange!

I hope my Lynlegh Koopowitz will be fragrant, and Helen Congleton, which I just discovered a low spike also.

[Paphluvr]

What is greensand? Here's a link.

Greensand - What is Greensand?

I use it for the trace minerals. It should be available from any good horticultural supply company. Look on-line.

Like you, I only re-pot about every two years. Since I don't keep it constantly moist the CHC doesn't break down too quickly. Why disturb the plant if the medium is still good? Some people might take issue with this schedule, but the results speak for themselves.

Were you able to loosen up the root ball on your Armeni White before re-potting? And how much larger was the new pot?