Paph won't bloom

[PAGrower]

This plant is in a 6" pot. It was blooming and had four leaves when I purchased it, now it has eight healthy leaves and is about 13" across. I just repotted it, so I'm hoping it will reward me with a bloom.

[Jmoney]

13" is pretty good size. It seems like it oughta bloom soon...

[PAGrower]

Hybrid paphs have their own minds about flowering...the Maudiae types can bloom twice a year, or they can wait years between blooms.

Really. Last week I noticed a little dot of green poking out of the medium and thought I finally had a spike. After further growth, it looks like I'm just going to have another pair of leaves. :: cries ::

[Jmoney]

Originally posted by PAGrower
Really. Last week I noticed a little dot of green poking out of the medium and thought I finally had a spike. After further growth, it looks like I'm just going to have another pair of leaves. :: cries ::

On paphs, the first sign of a spike is usually a swelling at the base of the growth. Hence the practice of going around a nursery pinching paphs. The appearance of a sheath (looks thinner than a normal leaf) is also a clue and, since it's often hard to tell, an unknown new leaf that follows a *short* real leaf is often a sheath on an otherwise healthy vigorous plant.

I concur fully with Eric's previous statement. The young mottled-leafed types can grow much slower than advertised, especially if they try to first-bloom before they develop a decent root system (my definition of decent = enough to fill 3.5" square pot). I have plants that first-bloomed in 2.5" pots, and I'll be lucky if they bloom again within 2.5 years. On the other hand, most of the ones that bloom for the first time after amassing a sizable root mass will grow much faster on their subsequent growths, and after a few mature growths will easily bloom every 6-9 months. Of course, this is somewhat dependent on the particular clone, but these general trends seem to hold up.

It also seems that first-blooming plants that have already initiated a new growth by the time of blooming will grow much faster than those that bloom without one. The latter seem to rest for quite some time after blooming before putting another growth out. Now, unless there is something unusual at play, I only buy mottled-leaf paphs if they are solidly anchored in 3.5" pots and have new growth on the way.

[Heather]

Very interesting info! Thanks!