P. emersonii

[Wentworth]

Dear all
Since there is some interest in Paph. cultivation (see delenatii), I thought I might start a thread on this beautiful though somewhat cranky species which is so slow growing that it seems to stand still.

First, the (recent) literature:
-- Cribb, Averyanov et al. (p. 142) mention "eroded crystalline limestone", "large mossy concretions with ground water seepages", plants growing "exclusively on rocks with their roots gaining purchase in the cracks" at between 550-750 m. Temp min. Jan. 15°C, max. July 27°C. The peak of precipitations coincides with the peak in temp. This exclusive lithophyte blooms in May & early June.

-- L. Birk (p. 31): "Grows in mosses & concretions of sandstone [...] on north to northeast-facing cliff-faces" at 1,800-2,500 feet. Advises winter rest (3-4 weeks) for blooming but points out that the plant has a lot of moisture at the roots & in the atmosphere (fog, drizzle) in winter.

Before both books were published, I potted my plant in (dry not fresh) loosely packed sphagnum moss after I realized it was not doing anything in my usual bark/poly mix. It literally took off and rewarded me with a magnificent flower last year. It has now the old fan (31 cm. LS) plus 1 maturing and 2 smaller growths. HOWEVER, the leaves on the maturing growth have paled & yellowed somewhat since my RO water contains no calcium. I corrected this and the improvement has started to show. I grow it inside my house and give it no rest in winter apart from the standard reduction in the watering schedule (I never ever wet the leaves of my Paphs in winter in any case).

I'd love to hear what you people do with this magnificent species. I am contemplating the idea of adding limestone chips at the bottom of the pot. What do you all think ?

I hope this does not bore you.
Happy growing.

[uncasteeb]

My paphs do yellow their leaves considerably under HPS lights , a dose of Epsom salts(magnesium sulphate) normally corrects it very quickly.As for calcium i give my multi-florals a little bit of Fish,Blood & Bone fert so i don,t see the need to use any extra .I do mix about 10% tap water with the rainwater i use on my plants so this also should have a little calcium.
The yellowing seems to be a lot more obvious since i cut the amount of fert i use to about 1/6th to 1/8th strength(from about 1/5th) , probably not getting some much trace elements from the fert now.

[e.muehlbauer]

While emersonii can be quite frustrating, I find it easier to bloom than any other parvi except delanatii. In fact, I have one in spike right now...and my last one to bloom is pictured on Jay Pfahl's site. (unfortunately that one died the season after blooming). I pot it in my standard parvi mix- fine coconut husk chips, lots of sponge- rock, and a little charcoal. I give it a top dressing of oyster shell. I used to keep marble or limestone chunks at the bottom of the pot for parvi's and brachy's, but I've stopped that...I feel that they impede drainage. I give it as much light as malipoense and micranthum...bright dappled southern sun, not direct as I would give armeniacum. I keep it in a cool sunroom, where temps can drop to 40 on the coldest nights, usually stays around the high 50's on most winter nights. It goes outdoors in late April, or when it finishes blooming. It gets regular water and fertilizer from Feb through Sept. I used to use Dyna-Gro 10-5-5, but have recently switched to First Ray's MSU formula, both pH adjusted with Pro-tekt. I stop fertilizing it in Sept, and keep it drier between nov and Feb, watering it no more than once a week. I bring it indoors in Late Oct, early November, depending on frost predictions. The bud is obvious as a swelling when its brought indoors, but doesn't really come out until December or so. It is a very slow grower, and while the bud takes months to develop...anywhere from 4-6 months, the bloom itself is very short lived, lasting only 2 weeks. But...the flower continues to increase in size for nearly a week after opening..my last one reached nearly 4", and it has the most incredible fragrance. This is definitely a paph worth growing...it has its faults...unimpressive foliage, slow growth, crankiness, interminable bud development and a short lived bloom. But all is forgiven the 2 weeks or so that it blooms! Take care, Eric Muehlbauer

[Wentworth]

http://x4.net.vnu.edu.tw/~tbgweb/cgi...ic=1385&show=0

[Jmoney]

that is exceptional form for this species...

[Wentworth]

I gather from the thread that this may be emersonii var. huonglanae, recently discovered in Vietnam but I cannot be sure. A beauty nevertheless.

[Kyle]

If you enter the URL into the Babal Fish translation tool the site becomes a bit easier to understand. They are arguing about wither the plants are emersonii or a variety of emersonii.

Here is the link to the translated page
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babel...w%3D0&lp=zt_en

Heres the link to Babel Fish.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/

I used Chinese-Trad

Kyle

[bench72]

legend Kyle... certainly puts the whole thing in perspective mate. In fact once the babelfish is used, the rest of the website pretty much follows suit. Thanks.

Cheers
Tim

[LJA]

I've never tried growing this one so can't add much, but the info here is great to know. Thanks for it.