Paph. St. Swithin

[slippery_biscuit]

This paph seems to be healthy to me, but I haven't observed any growth activity since procured late winter (Feb-March). I have it indoors, on a water tray in a west facing bay window. Two floodlights are overhead in the bay ceiling also. Following advice from this forum I've put it in a mix to simulate the humus (spl?) of a forest floor as best I could. Temps are low seventies during the day and high sixties at night.

Dpn't know the age, and I assume it has yet to bloom. I read where some of these exotic paphs need 10-12 years to bloom. That would be a good definition of patience.


Wingspan of about 24", three nice growths.

[tom499]

The surface roots dont look that good. When did you last repot it?

They do need to get quite big before flowering, but yours looks fairly big as it is.

They are species so will be slower and trickier than most. I'm sure the others will have some more useful info, but from looking at those top roots I wonder whats going on in the pot.

Tom499

[kmarch]

Paph St Swithin is a primary hybrid between P rothschildianum and P philippinense. Like most of the big multi-florals, it likes conditions slightly warmer and slightly brighter than what we typically think of for Paphs. Your plant is blooming size and looks to be in good health though I do agree with Tom about the exposed roots. Regarding the length of time (10-12 years) needed to bloom, this refers to the length of time from flask to bloom but for a hybrid like St Swithin it wouldn't be quite that long. Having said that they aren't the fastest growers, although I don't think I'd describe them as tricky. In April I bought a St Swithin about the same size as yours and it has not grown in the time i've had it. Because its a bigger plant it won't bloom every year like smaller Paphs but if you give it good culture and are patient it should eventually bloom.

[tom499]

Originally Posted by tom499

I'm sure the others will have some more useful info,

Tom499

At least I got that right?

[slippery_biscuit]

Regarding those roots... they have a woody or vine-like texture to them under closer observation. Perhaps to their being exposed? The plant was moved into the current pot this past spring, and I sort of remember those roots looking like they do when I obtained the orchid. Perhaps I should cover them a bit?

If I moved it to the greenhouse I could give it slightly warmer days (mid seventies) but the nights would be cooler also, around 60 deg. With winter coming maybe it would be best to leave it where it is.

thanks for the info! jjs

[WIB]

What's the adorable little plant behind the St. Swithin? -- Bill

[kmarch]

If you mean the red one with yellow centres, it looks to be a Guaritonia Why Not (formerly Cattletonia Why Not). They are really easy growers and bloomers (by that I mean they are tolerant of a wide range of conditions) and if you let them grow on to where they produce multiple growths, you get good numbers of flowers.

[slippery_biscuit]

Good job, kmarch. Of the orchids I have this one has maybe the greatest root growth/plant growth ratio. When I transplanted it a few months ago I used a larger pot just to get the roots in it. I'll let it grow and hopefully it will fill the pot up and put on quite the show in coming years.

[penbrook]

I live in Houston, TX (generally warmer than a lot of areas) and grow in a small greenhouse on the back of my garage......just getting restarted after an 8-10 year hiatus (working out of town all the time).

In the past, I had lots of/several multifloral paphs which seemed to always get bigger/bushier, but didn't bloom. Then, I met a grower from New Orleans at a local area show/ plant sale. He had various orchids for sale, including Paph. rothschildianum, which I told him I was afraid to try because of stories about slow growth and difficulty flowering.

He shared with me his method/secret for spike induction: "COLD". According to him, they (roth and roth hybrids require a deep cold bath (air temp) to induce spike formation. The next year I stopped running my greenhouse heater, unless the temp was headed into the teens (infrequent in Houston) (My greenhouse walls and roof are also double-wall polycarbonate and therefore help insulate to a degree.) The following spring I found myself with many multifloral paph. spikes (a new experience), including a paph. phillipinese which was 8+ years old and had never bloomed (had 3+ spikes).(This was not a roth hybrid)

Phalenopsis plants also need a cool temp drop at night, but according to the New Orleans grower the Paphs really need COLD.............he told me that he has a special part of his greenhouse set up to allow really cold (BUT NOT FREEZING TEMPS) in the winter

Additionally, it seems to be really important to repot paphs at least yearly.....causes a growth spurt. I once met a Phal grower from Mississippi (Riverbend Orchids) who was selling huge Phal plants in spike/bloom for $75 each..........his secret was that he grew in fluffed up Pro-Mix and repotted all his plants every 60-90 days.......they had continually induced growth spurts.

You should grow in a specific Paph mix from somewhere like EFG (in Miami) or Repotme.com. or anywhere you can find it locally.

My final advice to everyone is to ALWAYS repot new orchids coming into your house or collection......it ensures that you look at each of your new orchids:

In working my way through a new mail order shipment, I found black rings with central dots on all leaf bottoms of a new small hybrid from South Carolina......most likely a virus infestation. It went directly into the trash so that I only lose one plant.

One night after the local Orchid Society meeting plant raffle, I brought home a nice looking Phal from a big name place in Maryland......when it got to my kitchen, a big green frog exited the pot and tried to hide.......I freed him outside and now we have to listen to tree frogs all summer, every summer. Never had them before.

Hope some of this is helpful.

[GreenOrchid]

I have a big huge St. Swithin, that hasn't bloomed also. When you say cool temps, what do you mean, in the 50's, or lower?

[Bolero]

I have one of these, it's growing fairly well right now in summer but in winter it grows painfully slowly, in fact I didn't notice much growth at all.

It's painful to wait but unfortunately necessary........;-)

[penbrook]

"Cool" temps are for Phalenopsis (maybe 50s at night)

The information I got from the New Orleans grower was "COLD" nights (not quite freezing........I try for 40's to high 30's.........for Roth and multifloral paphs....it has seemed to work in the past, and appears to be working with some of the larger multifloral paphs I recently acquired from SVO Orchids (~ 2 months ago). 2 of the larger single fan plants are in spike/bud (lowii ) and in early spike formation (+ one roth hybrid) from the middle of the fan. This has all happened since I adopted them.

[penbrook]

One (two) other thoughts:

My information and observation has been that the "strap-leaf" (not mottled) paphs are happiest in higher light than the mottled leaf paphs.

My greenhouse has what I think is 40% (reduction) shadecloth on top.......and I'm growing my multifloral paphs with my cattleyas.

My final thought: 1.) most orchids fail to bloom from lack of light (the picture which started this thread shows what appears to be a rather dark area.
2.)more orchids are killed by overwatering than most other causes. Light and water requirements are directly related. High light draws more water from the roots into the plant for use in increased photosynthesis.

[Ron]

Hi slipery biscuit.
Have have grown St Swith and lots of other Multiflorals with rothschildianum as parent.
They come from the tropics and as such should be grown warm high 80's F to 90F's in the growing season as much light as possible, without going to full sunlight.

all mine are under 80% shadecloth but about 12 inches from the sunnest wall.
They often get to about 110F without any problems.
May need watering more often and fertilizing as they will be in full growing mode!

In winter they get down to about 60F and they are certinally not happy and I keep them quiet dry and only mist the leaves on a sunny day.
This is also there resting period.
As for 30F, doubt if it ever gets this low in the tropics such a Borneo were roths come from.
This resting and a cooling, change of the season is enough to get a mature plant into flower mode.
Plus since I changed potting mix to chunky 12 to 18mm CoCo nuggets, growth has been terrific.

[orchids4me]

I just0 wanted to say this is an interesting thread
Thank you

[Ron]

You can see the photos of St. Swith and Twisted Saint I took a few months ago

http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/orc...in-flower.html