How do you grow Phrag's?

[Paul Mc]

I have my first Phrag and I'm wanting to know how everyone grows them. All thoughts, culture and advice is welcome!

[dounoharm]

phrags are great plants, i have the classic 'fu manchu' moustachioed types....and they love to have water! they sit in saucers of water year round...other than that, its typical paph culture, they can take a bit more light than the maudiaes, and are pest free...they like humidity, so you must provide them with a large gravel tray of moist gravel if you grow indoors.....mine live in a gh, which makes it all easier...i water from the top, and let it drain down to the saucer, keeping the top moist...they grow slow, so be patient....gl and enjoy

[billc]

I have a seedling 'China Dragon' that I got this spring. I put it S/H and it's growing like a weed. Lots of root growth and it grows a new leaf every couple of weeks it seems. They are a lot faster than my paphs.

Bill

[Susie11]

I have about ten phrags and they all grow in my front room. I have besseae hybrids, caudatum hybrids, longifolium hybrids etc. I grow them mostly in rockwool -granulated- or bark and they grow just fine. I keep them near the south facing windows and they get intermediate temps all year round. I use a balanced fert on them all year round. I have had lots of blooms and they have all put out many new growths.

[RosieC]

I have a Phrag Paul Eugene Conroy which is doing really well in S/H. It just loves the water and transitioned to that environment without missing a beat. I grow it in standard house temps and it's on a table near a west facing doorway.

I also have a Phrag Memoria Dick Clements. It's in a bark/perlite mix so very fine it almost looks like peat. I'm scared to keep that wet enough so it suffers from drying out. Basically you need to be confident enough that they DO like water. I keep planning to repot the Memoria Dick Clements into S/H because I think I'll be more comfortable with it, but haven't got round to it yet.

[Paul Mc]

Do any of you grow them actually sitting in a saucer of water, with say an inch of water when the pot is about 10 inches to a foot tall?

[Susie11]

I don't Paul. Rockwool is very absorbent so it would not work well with that. I am think that maybe my Paul Eugene Conroy should go into a saucer of water but I am reluctant to do that as I fear rot. I shall wait and see if it's mature growth produces a spike this year, if not then I will think about putting it into rockwool as opposed to the bark that it is in now.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Do any of you grow them actually sitting in a saucer of water, with say an inch of water when the pot is about 10 inches to a foot tall?

I do try and leave the one in very fine bark with a bit of water in the bottom, but it often dries out because I'm a bit scared of it. It does seem to do better when I've kept a shallow bit of water there though.

The one in S/H always has water in the bottom by the very nature of S/H growing. With the open medium of Lecca it loves that.

[Ray]

I agree with the general consensus I see above: lots of water plus good air flow to the roots.

When you consider that some phrags grow naturally along stream with their roots trailing in the (constantly moving, so very oxygenated) water, it just makes sense.