In Othello, William Shakespeare wrote, “good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.” This impressive Paphiopedilum Vinicolor orchid is a very nice familiar creature indeed. It bloomed last year in November, and here we go again. Nice with dependable orchids you can set your watch to. About being well used… well… at least it is very much appreciated.
The beautiful waxy deeply wine colored flowers measure about 12 cm tall and 11 cm wide. The color is ctually much darker than the photo shows. The best description I can give is shades of wine… from a light-styled Pinot Noir in the dorsal to a really nice and dark Syrah. Vinicolor is not really any specific hybrid, but rather a color mutation most commonly found in Paphiopedilum Maudie coloratum. Since Paphiopedilum is an orchid genus that cannot be propagated by cloning you would have to rely on seed to carry the red mutation, so Vinicolors are somewhat unusual. However, it is not the amazing flowers that inspires the name, in Vinicolors it is the distinct dark red underside of the leaves the name is referring to.
I grow this intermediate on the windowsill under additional lights in a medium bark mix. Nothing complicated really, only proper watering regimen like with all Paphiopedilum since they do not like to dry out too much between watering.
O M G !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He he… well, I could not have said it better myself. 😉
Beautiful pictures of beautiful flowers.
Mvh Roger
Thanks a lot Roger. 🙂