Phrag. "Eric Fischer"

[mulegirl]

I have recently purchased a phrag. "Jason Fischer" which is in the process of blooming. There are multiple plants in this pot but since it's arrival, I see that a previously bloomed plant has died off. Is that normal and do i just let it alone, cut the brown leaves off, or wait till its' done blooming to repot and remove dead plant?

[MrHappyRotter]

It's normal for a growth to die off after it blooms. Sometimes they persist a few seasons, sometimes they go downhill pretty quickly after blooming. Slipper orchids are sympodial (as opposed to Phals which are monopodial and under normal circumstances continue to bloom on the same growth year after year).

Just leave it, but you can remove the leaves as they start to turn yellow and brown. The growth itself actually will retain its roots for much longer than it retains the leaves, so you don't want to cut it out and remove it unless there's signs of rot.

When you repot, it's up to you whether to remove it or not. I usually do not, since as I mentioned above, the growth can retain its "connection" (i.e. rhizome) for many years after the leaves are gone and its roots usually stick around for that long as well (contributing to the overall health and nutrition of the plant). If you're going to remove it, it's best to wait until its pups (new growths) are full grown and have produced pups of their own. If you wait long enough, the plant will naturally divide itself, usually at the point in the rhizome where these old, dead growths used to reside. Allowing them to naturally divide is my preferred method, but there's nothing wrong with subverting that and manually dividing as long as your divisions have multiple growths.

Also, I'm not aware of any Phrag hybrid called Eric Fischer. There are lots of hybrids with Eric in the name, the most common being Eric Young (but there are others like Sergeant Eric) a legacy of the Eric Young Foundation. There are also lots of hybrids with Fischer in the name, one of the most famous being Jason Fischer, a legacy of Orchids Limited breeding I believe.

And, as an added bonus just so you're aware, hybrid names don't need to be in quotes. In fact, quotes are really supposed to be used to denote a clonal name. So, if I'm wrong and your hybrid is in fact Eric Fischer, then your plant is Phrag. Eric Fischer. Unless of course you're doubtful of the ID and using the quotes to signify the fact.

[mulegirl]

Thanks so much for your info!! I have had many orchids in the past when I lived in Florida but have never owned a phrag. And after I posted I realized I named it wrong and couldn't find how to edit! Lol. You are correct, the name was wrong. It is called "Jason Fischer". I was thinking Eric Young in my brain. I will just remove the dead leaves if needed down the road. Was weird that it was fine until I received the plant. The rest of it looks just fine. Fixed my original post