Whats in my Paph - The struggles of Paphiopedilum Maudiae growers.

"Your paphiopedilum is so nice".

"How do you do it? Why does your paph. grow so fast and mine doesn't?".

"What should I do to make my paph. Maudiae grow/bloom/rebloom?"

"Paphs are so frustrating! I have a paphiopedilum Maudiae and it doesn't do anything!"

These are the questions I have seen online and also received myself from many people.
And no wonder it can be confusing, Paphiopedilum orchids as wonderous and beautiful they are can seem a bit intimidating and confusing.

It is probably because if the enormus market for the Paphiopedilum Maudiae types. First of all, lets lay some groud here.

Quick recap - Paphiopedilum orchids are a genus of  terrestrial or semi terrestrial( however there are exceptions) orchids found in Central and Southern Asia, they are know as Slipper orchids due to a characteristic pouch which resembles a slipper. There is more than 60 recorded species and several natural hybrids and thousands of man made hybrids.

Maudiae is not and never was a species, its a description of a hybrid type. The definition of Maudiae in paphiopedilum was first used decades ago in honor of Maud Dunn, wife of 20th century English botanist Stephen Troyte Dunn. And it's not a title reserved only for slipper orchids but also other types of plants.

Now, Paphiopedilum Maudiae comes in two types one will be the green or alba type and the vinicolor which is the red or purple tinted version.

When you purchase your Paphiopedilum you should firstly pay attention to a few things.

• Does it by any chance have a label telling you whats the parentage. 

• What does the foliage look like? Are the leaves wide, thick and fleshy. Are they dark or light in color. Is the mottling barely visable or stands out a lot. Are the leaves low growing and clumpy. Or does the orchid have a upright growing pattern and the foliage seems a bit like a christmas tree?
• If you have the flower make sure to take a picture of it as it may be helpful in identification of the parentage.
• Check if there are new growths. It will be good to know if the orchid has new growths coming from inside of the oldest leaf or does the growth appear as a separate entity on the side.
• When you take it out of the pot the last point will clearly show. Check how the plant holds up, is it a very stable clump or is it falling apart into separate individuals.

  All of the above points are important to know, as most people assume that because its a Paphiopedilum Maudiae it will grow and require exactly the same envrionment and the one your friend has.

Sadly this is wrong.

Unless your plant comes from exactly the same batch and is identical it will need a different routine.

The parentage of the Paphiopedilum Maudie types usually includes a complex mixture of the below species:

Paphiopedilum acmodontum

Paphiopedilum argus

Paphiopedilum barbatum

Paphiopedilum bouganvilleanum

Paphiopedilum bullenianum

Paphiopedilum callosum

Paphiopedilum ciliolare

Paphiopedilum dayanum

Paphiopedilum fowliei

Paphiopedilum hennisianum

Paphiopedilum javanicum

Paphiopedilum lawrenceanum

Paphiopedilum mastersianum

Paphiopedilum mohrianum

Paphiopedilum purpuratum

Paphiopedilum parnatanum

Paphiopedilum schoseri

Paphiopedilum sugiyamanum

Paphiopedilum sukhakulii

Paphiopedilum superbiens

Paphiopedilum tonsum

Paphiopedilum urbanianum

Paphiopedilum venustum

Paphiopedilum wardii

Surprised? Well you definately should be. You may say, but it's not possible as my plant doesnt look anything like any of them. It's because the shop orchids we buy have been heavily hybridised to increase the potential buy. Some of these plants been feed with growth hormones and after the purchase because of the lack of these supplements they will slow down their growth and may not bloom for a certain period of time.

However there are traits that can clearly indicate the parentage, the most important of this traits is the foliage. As I mentioned above have a look on how it looks and compare to the available pictures of the species I have listed. You will see striking similarities.

You also need to remember that Paphiopedilum Maudie types like bright light (not full sun light but bright) and drop in night temperatures will induce blooming. 

However how and when you should be found out from the species information.

Hope you enjoyed this article and happy researching.


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