Hi Rob

Thanks.
"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
Ted Byers wrote:

Although I have been trying to grow orchis for close to a year, I just
got
my first Paph. Sunday. I find the label hard to read, but it looks like
Paph. delenatii x moquetianum. It is the 'moquetianum' part of the name
that is particularly hard to read.

Paphiopedilum moquettianum. Some people know that as glaucophyllum v.
moquettianum, in which case your hybrid is Paph. Delophyllum. Some
people call it other things (chamberlainianum v. moquettianum, etc).
Personally I don't see much point in having them as separate species,
since if I can't reliably tell the difference it probably isn't that
important, but I'm not a taxonomist. Nice hybrid, regardless.

Thanks. And I thought the subspecific taxonomy of Phalaenopsis violacea was
mess up. :-)

My alergy to taxonomists has just been excerbated significantly. I may even
break out in hives the next time I meet one. ;-) (See my reply to Al
regarding some insanity in icthyological taxonomy).

I find the anatomy a bit odd in
that I am not sure which are the petals and which are the sepals; and I
am
not sure why I only see four rather than six petals and sepals (combined
total).

Paphs are a bit odd. And perhaps not quite orchids, but that is
another story. In a 'normal' orchid, you would see three sepals, two
petals, and a modified third petal (the lip, or labellum). In paphs,
the labellum is the pouch, or the slipper (Paphiopedilum = 'slipper of
Aphrodite'). Two of the sepals are fused into a structure called the
synsepal, it is located right behind the pouch and points down. The
dorsal sepal is the one that points up. The petals are what is left..
in this case they are pointing horizontally from the center.

Thanks. Now that you have explained it, I understand what I am seeing.

How does the procedure for crossing them compare with that for phals? I
have tried to cross a phal, and am still waiting for the pod to mature. But
it isn't obvious to me how to do it with a paph without mutilating the
flowers. And how do paphs compare with phals WRT seed production, how long
it takes to pods to mature, how long it takes to reach blooming size, &c.?

Is there a book that does for paphs what Christensen has done for phals?

Probably not. Some paphs have long stolons (rhizomes, whatever).
But this wouldn't be one of them. I'd say you have two plants. The
runt may or may not be inferior. Sometimes the best flowers are on the
runts. It will either die, or eventually grow to be indistinguishable
from any other adult plant. Not all plants out of the same compot grow
equally fast, it is just the way things are.

Ah, OK. So when I repot, when the flowers have faded, I can expect to have
to put the runt into a pot of its own. Presumably it has a better chance of
doing well if it is alone than would be the case if it has to compete with a
faster growing plant. Now, what would you say is the ideal size of pot for
a given paph? At present, the largest leaves on the larger plant are about
10 cm long, and those on the smaller one are half that.

Both he and the vendour I bought it from said I should treat it like I
treat
my phals, and that it probably wouldn't like the conditions my catts
like.
Both said it is easy to grow. But this is not enough guidance. With
only a


When in doubt, water it. That is in contrast to almost everything
else, where the rule is "when in doubt, don't". Other than that, less
light than your catts. Everything else is about the same. Paphs are
very easy once you have killed a couple... *grin*. Actually paphs are
very easy, and this hybrid is easier than most.

So, then, in a sense, paphs would be better for beginners than phals or
dends, even though the ones I have seen tend to be much more expensive than
either, because the beginner is less likely to kill them with the kindness
of watering them at every opportunity. I wonder why they aren't more common
and affordable?

I have some questions about this paph. I see two flowers, with a bud
developing for a third. should I assume, then, that it is a sequential
[snip]

Yep. Sequential bloomer. Don't cut the inflorescence until it
turns brown. Depends a lot on how big the plant is as to how many
flowers you will get. I'd say three is a good start and any more than
[snip]
Thanks again

Ted.