A Few Paphs Getting Ready

Flower buds have begun to appear on a few Paphs, 

P.Wellesleyanum

P. godefroyae 'alba'

P. concolor

This plant was bought from one of the Garden Festivals in SunTec City. It survived a bacteria attack and is now stronger than ever.  The thing about bacteria attack is to act fast, cut deep and drench with Physan.  Then pray.

P. Honey

P. Honey is a hybrid between P.primulinum and P.philippinense. I have two plants and so far i am not having major problems growing them.  The plants came with flowers when i bought them from Song Orchids a few months ago.  

This plant actually tried flowering after the orginal flowers withered but the flower spike was mal-formed and it did not succeed.  The most recent flower spike looks normal and hopefully we will be seeing some flowers soon.  

Paphiopedilum lowii

This is a species of  Paph found from Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and Borneo.  It is warm to hot growing so it can be successfully grown in Singapore.  I bought this plant from Woon Leng nursery about 2 years ago as a mature plant.  It finally began flowering a few weeks ago and today, the first flower is fully open.  It resembles its close relative Paphiopedilum haynaldianum from the Philippines.  Major differences include the shorter hairs on the flower stalk and the lack of spots on the dorsal sepal.

Dendrobium sulcatum

This is a medium sized Dendrobium found in Assam, eastern Himalayas, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and south central China at altitudes of 500 to 1000 meters.  I bought this plant from Woon Leng orchid nursery about a year ago and recently, it started blooming.  The plant has pseudobulbs which are flattened but yet quite plumb and the plant itself has a kind of rigid feel which is very unlike the similarly flattened Dendrobium lamellatum.

Paphiopedilum praestans

This is one of a few Paphs that can be grown relatively easily in Singapore.  The plant will bloom when it reaches maturity and has about two growths.  A few cool nights helps to encourage the plant to initiate flowering.

The flower spike appeared a couple of weeks ago and i almost missed it.  Didn't notice it until it was a few inches above the plant.  The flower is fully opened now and looking all fresh and glossy.

Paphiopedilum primulinum

This is a very cute looking Paph.  This orchid has an interesting history in that the albino form of the plant was first discovered and described.  Like its close relatives P.glaucophyllum and P.liemianum this plant produces its flowers one at a time and can remain flowering for almost a year.

Two very similar Paphs

The flowers of Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum and Pahiopedilum liemianum are very similar.  The plants are however quite distinct.  The underside of the leaves of Paph liemianum is full of purple spots whereas those of Paph glaucophyllum have none at all.

These two plants happen to be flowering now so it is a good opportunity to show the comparison between them.

Flower of Paph glaucophyllum

The leaves of Paph glaucophyllum

The flower of Paph liemianum

The leaves of Paph liemianum

Paphiopedilum philippinense

The petals of this Paph. philippinense are still straight this morning so it looks like this may be the variety with untwisted petals.