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Orchid ID: Paphiopedilum Nathaniels Florence Gracia

Imagine if you can compile two really gorgeous orchids, and have something that will all of their beauty and make it easier to grow, less fussy and just unique. Well, you can always find a Paphiopedilum Nathaniel's Florence Gracia. This rare primary hybrid was created by the well known Don Nathaniel Lai, and as you may guess there is a whole series of Nathaniel's orchids, and they usually have really nice and unusual qualities.



This lovely hybrid comes from crossing Paphiopedilum rothschildianum and Paphiopedilum leucochilum giving it a much smaller stature and really nice colors. As many of you may know both of the parents come from two totally different environments and belong to two separate sub types of paphiopedilum orchids. Not only that they difference in size and bloom is like night and day. Paph. rothschildianum is a huge plant, which is notoriously hard to bloom and when it does it will reward anyone with amazing and huge multi-floral blooms. Not by chance it was the beloved orchid of Queen Victoria and called the Gold of Kinabalu growing in Borneo. On the other hand paphiopedilum leucochilum from the Islands of Thailand is a compact easy to grow and bloom sweet orchid which is very eager to bloom their hearts out for you.

Paphiopedilum leucochilum
Paphiopedilum rothschildianum













This union has given a rather stunning plant, which contained the maroon and white color of the Paph. leucochilum, but instead of the droppy and laying flowers - which i personally dislike - it has a nice upright standing flower spike with a multifloral bloom up to 3 - 4 flowers. The blooms have the nice quality of having the paph. rothschildianum's stripes and the elongated side petals.

 

Because this is a rather new hybrid there isn't a lot about it on the internet and I will be using only the RHS and my own knowledge here.
The orchid is very compact and won't grow bigger than 12 - 15 inches across in the foliage, and also the flower spike won't go any higher that 10 - 12 inches high also. I wouldn't call it a tea-pot orchid but one on the smaller size. 



The plant like to stay on the moist side all the time and not too much fertilizer, I would go with the standard tips I give. Once a week when in bloom with the bloom booster and once every two weeks when in growth. Misting will also do them well as they come from the wet regions of the world.

I will try to update this post more in the future when I get my little beauty to bloom!.


If you want this, you should definitely try Orchid Garden and wait for their special orchid order list or look around Europe as the hybrid will come out occasionally!




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Some pictures presented in this article may not belong to me and are a property of their respectable owners.


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