Phal. mannii

[Piper]

I declined several dinner invitations yesterday, because I really wanted a quiet day of rest. It was lovely - I got caught up (somewhat) on my watering, finished a good book, practiced for awhile, and otherwise just puttered around here doing whatever I wanted.

I was surprised at how many of my orchids are spiking or budding. I knew this guy was in spike, but the buds were so small, I wasn't expecting anything for a week or two yet. Low and behold, it started to open yesterday. The flower should still grow in size for a few more days, but it won't be a big flower. Right now it's only an inch across (almost double yesterday's size!) It's amazing how many of the Phal species are so small, yet breeders have managed to create such huge hybrids!

Phal mannii grows in Northeast India, Nepal, and China to Vietnam. Flower color and form can vary. Some flowers are almost solid reddish-brown. I'm very happy with this guy, because you can see the cross-barring on the inside of the lower sepals. It reminds me of the feathers in a birds wing.

The lip structure is also impressive, but it's hard to see because it's so small. When more flowers are out, I'll do a photo shoot and see if I can capture it.

I also snapped a quick pic of Phal Aurelia Franklin, the thoughtful gift from Steven in Idaho! Two of the middle buds blasted after it arrived, but the first two are blooming and there are more to come!

McJulie

[Elena]

Great Paphs, Julie, and very informative to boot too, as always. Thanks for sharing, I'm looking forward to more pictures of mannii.

Aurelia Franklin is lovely too, very similar to my yellow NOID, I really like these waxy yellow Paphs.

[Kerry]

I love the length of the lower sepals - they are great. I can't wait to see more flowers. The other bud in the picture looks so cool with the pattern showing through.

I'm glad your pressie from Steve is doing good, it does look really nice.

[smartie2000]

Phal mannii is very cool and pretty!

[pavel]

Interesting flower. Any scent on the manii?

[Becky15349]

Very pretty, and good growing! That really does look like feathers on a bird's wing...how do that do that? haha...

[Joan]

Lovely flowers Julie. I like your first photo a lot. The light behind the bloom and through the screen looks real nice.

[mtequine]

Nice! Love the mannii! Great colors!

I have a mannii seedling..it has a whopping three leaves. LOL I purchased it before I was in the know about how long this could possibly take (and because, of course, it was dirt cheap). *sigh*

Do you have yours set up with normal phal growing conditions Julie? What sized pot? (so I know how LONNGGGGG I have to wait!)

[jtlqh]

Very nice!

[Piper]

Thanks, everybody!

Pavel, it has barely opened. No scent as yet. I don't know if it will have one, but if so, it will likely take a few days.

Jenny, I can't help with expectations. I bought this plant at a private orchid sale from an amazing collection with nearly 800 species plants - all priced to sell ($10-$20 US, but some for free!) Aaron Tester and I arrived when the sale started and it was a shopping binge, where you couldn't grab fast enough! Many of the plants were in open baskets that must have been watered nearly daily. The plants tended to have large root growth.

I moved the mannii into a pot, and needed a 4" pot to hold the roots. I'd say it's a medium sized plant with 6 leaves. Not huge by Phal standards, but it looks as though this might be its first blooming. The tag says the plant was acquired in '00, but that could have been in flask. That would suggest it's not the fastest grower. But coming from a greenhouse, it hasn't minded windowsill culture and a bit of watering neglect, so I can't say that it's fussy. This spike has seven buds, and it looks like it may put out more. So unlike some species, which only push up one or two blooms their first time out, it should put on a decent show for a beginner.

McJulie