Beautiful paph!

I have often advised people to pot them in a bark mix and water every 7 to 10 days, depending on environment. I do it about every 10 days because of our humidity in southeastern Virginia.

You could use a wooden skewer/dowel to check moisture levels in the pot. Stick it all the way down into the pot (don't worry too much about damaging roots. If your paph has a healthy root system it shouldn't be too bad if you end up damaging one or two) and leave it there. If you need to check for moisture, pull it out and touch it against your cheek. If it feels moist, don't water just yet. If it feels dry, go ahead and water :)

I love your African Violets! :)

What a good watering tip. Thank you.

Oh Su,,,,I have been looking for a Phap. for a long time! Lucky you and good luck. Harawlins gave you the best advice you could have for keeping one. They really aren't demanding just beautiful!!!!!!!!!!! Rosie

Thanks so much everyone! I have some miracle gro orchid mix... Will that work?

Sure, but I always add a handful of shredded moss to it. I don't shred it real fine, I leave it stringy. Works well for me. Rosie

I do the same thing Rosie! :)

Whew glad to hear that! I remember admitting to someone I did that and boy they went off on a "you don't know what you are doing!" rant. But my idea was this. The darn orchid bark dries out too fast in my house. They just needed a little help and the shredded presoaked moss did the trick. I say, "Do whatever works best for YOU!!!!" JMO Rosie

I totally agree. Since I tend to be more of an underwaterer, I'm always concerned that my orchids will dry out before I get to them. But I've noticed that sometimes orchid people can be kinda...particular. Don't let them get to you! :)

Oh no worries. Very few people get to me. I consider what was said (they COULD just have a valid point) but if not,,,,well, then I just keep "dancin' to my own drum!" <:)

I never did like just plain old orchid bark! Rosie

I don't know what that particular strain it is but I'd recommend finding out, and then looking up what that particular orchids natural environment is, and then replicating it.

In my experience with wild lady slippers that I have, they all prefer well draining soil, which consists of sand and sometimes peat moss with a small layer of topsoil. Meaning they don't require much fertilization and prefer something that drys out extremely fast. At the same time, they tend to prefer growing on slopes and run offs, suggesting that they like to be frequently watered too but not sitting in wet. With that said, it looks like Paphiopedilum Maudiae.

I've never heard of successfully growing wild north American ladies slippers in captivity! There's a bunch in the woods around us! :)

Oh Su, that is a beautiful pix! Rosie

@joyfulsu those can be quite prolific in certain areas :) Also notoriously hard to transplant. The yellows fair far better.

I bought a green blooming paph just like yours a few years ago. It is growing like crazy and is very happy on my southern facing windowsill. I have been growing mine in moss, just like yours, and I soak it quickly in water once the entire substrate is completely dried out (once every few weeks). It blooms once yearly, around winter time.

"Lady slipper" refers to several different genera of orchids with very different cultural requirements -- hence the issue with common names. Even amongst a genus, there can be significant differences in what the plants require. In general, none of the paphs like to dry out completely, but nor do most like to stay wet. (Actually surprised yours is still alive, Jordan, if you're only watering once every two weeks. Most would be dead by then. But then too, in many people's homes, drying out would happen much quicker.). The mottled leaf species and hybrids desire less light than those with plain green leaves.

Particularly if using fertilizer and tap water, make sure every few waterings to throughly flush the media with copious amounts of water to prevent the build up of mineral salts which can otherwise buildup to root killing levels.

Su, the plants in your photo are Cypripedium. In the US, all naturally populations are protected by law and carry significant fines for those who dig them up. (Those occurring on private property can be removed by the owner without penalty.) Transplants from the wild typically die in short order. They do NOT make good houseplants. I don't know of anyone who successfully grows them as such.

Rosie, you should have attended one of the orchids shows .... always have some paphs there for sale. :-)

When was there an Orchid Show? Close to s'east Mi?? Maybe I can catch it next time! Thanks Rosie

That's beautiful, Jordon! Thanks for sharing!

There is the MSU show the last weekend of February. A good show with the added benefit of being able to hit the Dairy Store on campus for ice cream. (State makes their own ice creams and they're quite good.)

Then there is a good show in Madison Heights. The date tends to float a bit. Used to always be held Palm Sunday weekend (so March or April) but the last couple years have had issues getting the venue that weekend. Believe they're looking at semi fixing it to be a particular weekend in April. (Hard to truly lock a weekend in since Easter has no fixed date.) For that show, best thing would be to Google the "Michigan Orchid Society". That is the society which hosts that particular show. They would have info about it on their web page or FB page. Don't know if they would have anything up regarding the 2018 show this early.

Thanks Paul! I will see what I can do! Rosie