K Barrett wrote:
I have a Paph Magic Lantern I'd dearly love to see bloom once before I die.
I bloomed it last in 1996 - 7, somewhere in there...

It grows but doesn't bloom. I think I saw a bud last year but I top watered
and it damped off. Leaf span is about 5 inches, tip to tip. It sits
relatively close to the swamp cooler, so highs may be about 80-85, lows
about 60 at night in summer to 52-55 in winter. Cattleya light. I've been
good about feeding and watering weakly weekly this year. Humidity 50-70%.
Evenly moist mostly. Potted in fine bark (3:1, bark: #3 perlite) in plastic
pot, not over potted. I repotted in April, roots had good growing tips.
(yellow? I htink they were yellow but don't quote me.)

Magic Lantern is micranthum x delenatii

K Barrett

What am I doing wrong?


Get it cold. 45-40 degrees F. One of our speakers last year was
discussing his greenhouse, which he keeps at about 40 degree nights in
the winter for his disas and dormant terrestrials. He mentioned that he
does have some parvi paphs - which bud and bloom for him as a result of
his cold nights. I've tried it and had some success. I also believe a
number of them have a drier winter - not dry like a catasetum of course
but not as wet as the rest of the year. Try getting them cold and not as
wet, then when watering increases in the late winter/early spring, maybe
you'll get lucky and get a flower spike.