My Favorite Plant This Week: Paphiopedilum vietnamense

One of the most recent Paphiopedilum introductions from Vietnam.  This relative of P. delenatii has only recently (within the past few years) become legal to own and grow.  This specimen came from Piping Rock Orchids (http://www.pipingrockorchids.com/)  and is now blooming for the first time about two years after I purchased it.  This plant seems as easy to grow and flower as P. delenatii.  There are already some choice primary hybrids on the market, but I have not grown any of these.

Whenever one of my Parvisepalum Paphiopedilum species flowers, I feel like I should hold a press conference because it could be years before it flowers again.  Hopefully this species will be a more reliable bloomer than related species like P. micranthum and P. emersonii (which for me have an average flowering rate of once per decade).  In my opinion, this is one of the truly beautiful members of this genus and it grows quite easily under my conditions.

Paphiopedilum vietnamense 

The flowers are 7-10 cm in diameter

Another view

The foliage of this species is exceptional.  The sharp contrast of the mottling pattern a lustrous leaf surface stand out among other Parvisepalum Paphs in my small collection.