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Paphiopedilum insigne



15th October 2018


I was just reading a piece explaining that Paphiopedilum insigne was the toughest member of the genus when Ken Hall on the Isle if Wight offered me this one. He was growing it with his Nerine. Perfect time to give it another try. I have killed it once before when I was much younger and probably stupider. Now I am older, more experienced and forgetful enough to not know exactly what happened.

15th January 21023


The species is found growing in humus on limestone outcrops at elevations up to 2000m. It is recorded from in the Khasi Hills in Indian and the Sylhet region of Bangladesh (where it may now be extinct) as well as in Yunnan. It was very popular among orchid growers in the 19th century and overcollected in habitat so that it is now rare. It has been widely used in hybridising.
My plant has grown slowly but never flowered. I am hoping that feeding it more frequently will help. In December 2022 the greenhouse was exposed to a severe radiation frost, but the plant was not damaged, which I find remarkable. The picture shows it four weeks after the frost.

References:

  • Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia, https://www.orchidspecies.com
  • Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paphiopedilum_insigne