Thursday, October 16, 2014

Paphiopedilum helenae

This is a Paphiopedilum I would not be without.  It is one of the smallest of the Paphiopedilums and a very recent discovery (1996).  Paphiopedilum helenae is from Vietnam and the plant is only 12 cm across with 5 cm flowers.  I've seen different examples of the species and there is considerable variation in flower color and shape, but I have not seen any that were not charming.  Interestingly, this species does best for me when grown with my Masdevallias and New Guinea Dendrobiums in cooler conditions.  Perhaps that is just due to the fact that it gets higher humidity and better light when grown with them, but it thrives and blooms under those conditions.







10 comments:

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    1. Thanks for visiting and commenting. Much appreciated.

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  2. Excellent species. Next step-an album one. I think now we could say that P. canhii and P. rungsurianum and possibly some thaianums would be considered a bit smaller though.

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    1. Yeah, forgot about some of those new species. Would love to get my hands on some of those.

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  3. Fantastic pictures of this little beauty. Congratulations Ron!

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    1. Isn't it great? Love this tiny little thing.

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  4. The flower is lovely and I really like the photo of the whole plant in its pot. Sort of has a happy, jaunty feel to it.

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    1. Thanks, Marti. Always nice to hear from you.

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  5. Charming little slipper. I like its compact nature.

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    1. This is my all-time favorite Paph. I love miniatures and this is truly miniature.

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