Phrag. Sedenii browning leaves and media level

[lobotomizedgoat]

A couple questions here...

I bought the plant back in October. I didn't think much when a leaf on the lowest (oldest, I think) fan started dying in December because it already looked a bit sad from the start. However, in the last two or three weeks two other leaves have started browning, one on the same fan as the first and one on the middle fan. The third fan, which has been actively growing, seems OK so far. Is this natural senescence or might it be a cultural problem?

The plant is indoors with indirect sunlight and supplemental artificial light, 65-76° F, 55-70% RH (usually low 60%s), it gets flushed with distilled or sometimes tap water every 3-4 days and I spray the surface with distilled on the off days to keep it moist. It gets fertilized once per month with a 20-10-20 fertilizer at 66 ppm N. Media is small bark and coarse perlite.

My second question is about the level of the medium. The current level is as it was when I bought it, but the bottom of the actively growing fan sits well above the surface. The pot has sufficient room for me to fill it in and just cover it, but I'm not sure if that would bury the older fans too deep. Any thoughts?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Do not bury the shoots. They grow that way because in the wild, the parent plants grow on moist rocks on cliff faces.

Those bottom leaves die back after a certain amount of time and are of no concern unless the bigger leaves follow suit shortly thereafter.

Phragmipedium Sedenii = Phragmipedium schlimii x Phrag longifolium


Phrag longifolium in-situ (Ecuador):

Phragmipedium longifolium - YouTube

Phrag spp by Ecuagenera. Info about Phrag longifolium is at the 26:40 mark:

Phragmipedium in-situ Ecuador - YouTube

Phrag schlimii in-situ photo:

Vivero MEDIO DAPA added a new photo. - Vivero MEDIO DAPA

[Keysguy]

To add to KoOG' input.
The leaf tip might be a fertilizer issue but it may not be too. I find most Phrags tend to do this over time and the oldest leaves will eventually turn brown and you can either trim them off or if you wait long enough you can just pull them off with a gentle tug. It's a neatness issue only. They are doing no harm.

Your plant looks healthy so I'd say you are making it happy so don't mess with it.

Longifolium is what I call a spreader. That is it tends toward sending out new growths that grow on the same plane as the crown. Schlimii, on the other hand, has a penchant for climbing, that is, the new growths tend to emerge higher up the stem of the mother plant and after successive generations may be completely out of the pot. Not as bad as some Phrags such as besseae but they'll lean that way as their preference. As a matter of fact, the in situ pics that KoOG linked of schlimii show that if you look closely.

And if you want to see what schlimii really loves, check out this thread.
Phrag. schlimii