Paphiopedilum Deperle - Now and then

[Ray]

I acquired Paphiopedilum Deperle in 3" pots of bark mix in the Fall of 2008. I moved the one I kept into a 4.5" S/H pot, and a few months later it bloomed:



Here is the same plant, in the same pot, some 16 months later (photo taken 9/10/2010):



The plant was treated like everything else - 125 ppm N with MSU RO, typically 2 or three time a week.

[rcb]

What amazing growth after only 16 months!

[syndywindy]

Wow! I'm assuming it's the S/H and not the growth habit of the orchid?

[Ochin@]

WOW

[PocoGigio]

Wow, just Wow, Wow, Wow!

[orchids4me]

Wow! Those are gorgeous !!!!
Thanks for sharing it
Emmaye

[NancyG]

Beautiful! Are you saying you fertilize 2 or 3x per week?

[cerastes]

Great job of growing. I also love the plant.

[Luvlyhnezh]

Beautiful!!!

[Ray]

Nancy, I fertilize every time I water, without fail. I have done so for more than 20 years. That's 2 or 3 time a week in summer, probably only once in the dead of winter, unless the sun is shining very brightly. (I grow in a greenhouse, and most of my plants are in semi-hydro or baskets.)

Some things to understand about that:

1) I use a fairly dilute fertilizer solution, targeting for 125 ppm N.
2) I flush the pots thoroughly with the solution every time. That minimizes buildup issues.

When you consider that, in nature, the supply of nutrition is meager, but more-or-less constant, it seems to be reasonable to translate that to "domesticated" plants. In a forest, whenever it rains, the liquid dripping through the canopy onto the plants is particularly rich in nutrients. Why not when it comes out of the watering hose?