A Paph niveum, or two or three, of my very own.

[mauraec]

YaY!!! Ever since Yew Sung named a Paph niveum after me over a year ago, I have wanted one. Over a month ago, I ran into a dear friend and wonderful grower who often has a table set up at shows around Florida. Bill had promised me one of his niveums when Phillip and I met him at Marie Selby last February. I told him about Phillip and he was quiet a moment. Then he reached behind a pile of orchids and pulled out this sweet little set of seedlings. Telling me he made no promises about the quality, since he hadn't seen it bloom yet, he presented it to me in Phillip's memory.

Here are the results:








I think Bill will be pleased, and I KNOW Phillip is delighted. As am I - these are very fetching in their little white bonnets. The spikes are about 4-5" high and the blooms are 2.5-3" - and I'm sure it will grow, if I keep it alive!

[Ron-NY]

Very nice Maura!!

[catttan]

Those are very beautiful niveums, Maura!!! Lovely freckles , good round form and such a pretty little pouch.

[mauraec]

Those are very beautiful niveums, Maura!!! Lovely freckles , good round form and such a pretty little pouch.

Thank you, Yew! I certainly take anything you have to say about niveums to heart. Any advice on how to grow them? Do you think they will get any taller or larger?

[V-W]

Beautiful!!

[Orquiadicto]

I'm sure you'll keep them alive Maura.
So pretty little things.
Beginning of May I'll be having two flasks of paphiopedilums. Perhaps you could give me some tips on how to deflask and grow them.

[angela]

Beautiful blooms, Maura. I am sure that with Phillip there in spirit the plant will grow and bloom again & again.

[tucker85]

Beautiful flowers and good looking foliage. Very nice!

[catttan]

Thank you, Yew! I certainly take anything you have to say about niveums to heart. Any advice on how to grow them? Do you think they will get any taller or larger?

No, the plants won't get any larger. I wouldn't overpot niveums - I find that they prefer smaller pots ( 3 inch) that will allow room for about 2 years growth. They are really slow growers for me. They like a well-drained medium - I use thumb size pebbles and limestone in the bottom third of the pot and the rest of the medium is made up of a mixture 1/2inch charcoal pieces, styrofoam pieces, coarse river sand and shredded fern root with coarsely- ground cockle shells as top dressing. My niveums grow together with my other paphs outdoors 24/7 under 70% shade . I use slow release Osmocote. This has worked quite well for me under my growing regime. Might not be right for you. Bill might offer better advice for your Florida growing conditions.

I'm so happy that you now have your own niveums. This afternoon our vendor here brought in a few hundred concolors from Laos via Thailand. They were all wild collected by hill tribes and sold, would you believe it by weight MR 50 per kilogram (US 20). I bought 5 plants for about US $15. All the plants had just finished blooming and so I couldn't determine the quality of the blooms.

[mauraec]

I'm sure you'll keep them alive Maura.
So pretty little things.
Beginning of May I'll be having two flasks of paphiopedilums. Perhaps you could give me some tips on how to deflask and grow them.

I would be happy to, Jesus - if I had any experience with deflasking! But there are so many others here who do it routinely. Geoff Hands, for instance (Dorsetman) would be my go-to person about it. Thank you for the lovely compliment, though!