Phrag, kolvachii at Park Side Nursery Orchid Fest

[DelawareJim]

My wife and I got to hear Glenn Decker of Piping Rock Orchids speak about his experiences collecting and breeding Phrag. kovachii.

All I can say is Wow!

I didn't really appreciate all the hype until I saw pictures of the habitat and of the plant and flower in relation to a known object for size comparison. Wow!

I'm really excited with the examples he showed of his early work like P. 'Allison Strohm' and 'Suzanne Decker'. A Phrag. with a larger flower, shorter stalk, and it doesn't need staking! How cool is that?

He had a couple of seedling there for sale but I had to decline. They were a little beyond my current budget.

Cheers.
Jim

[Mel]

I think the seedlings are cheaper on his website. I went to his nursery over the 4th of july weekend. He showed me all the seedlings he had of the species and quite a few hybrids that were blooming size.

I'm going to wait until the prices come down but i will probably buy it from him.

[DelawareJim]

Originally Posted by Mel

I'm going to wait until the prices come down but i will probably buy it from him.

Ditto. I don't need to be the first in my State to have one of these.

Cheers.
Jim

[shakkai]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Jim. I have yet to see this Phrag in bloom anywhere... I know the flowers are described as much larger, but I think you are right, until you can see something for comparison, it is difficult to understand just how important this plant is for future Phrag breeding.

Now, I just have to hunt down one that is in flower so I can see it for myself!

[Mel]

Originally Posted by shakkai

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Jim. I have yet to see this Phrag in bloom anywhere... I know the flowers are described as much larger, but I think you are right, until you can see something for comparison, it is difficult to understand just how important this plant is for future Phrag breeding.

Now, I just have to hunt down one that is in flower so I can see it for myself!

go to pipingrock.com in the photo section they have around 20 or so pictures of the plant is bloom.

[shakkai]

The Phrag kovachii section says 'Page not found'

[BikerDoc5968]

The correct address for Piping Rock is: Welcome to Piping Rock Orchids

[DelawareJim]

During his presentation, Mr. Decker showed slides of plants crossed with besseae for flowers that were not as ruffled or recurved as kovachii and ranging from 6-8 inches (15 - 20 cm) across.

Cheers.
Jim

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by shakkai

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Jim. I have yet to see this Phrag in bloom anywhere... I know the flowers are described as much larger, but I think you are right, until you can see something for comparison, it is difficult to understand just how important this plant is for future Phrag breeding.

Now, I just have to hunt down one that is in flower so I can see it for myself!

Sorry that the angle on this is a bit out of whack...but it is a good representation of plant size, flower color and the form of the flower. I visited Alfredo Manrique's nursery while I was in Peru a couple years ago to purchase some masdevallias and the Phrag. peruvianum were just beginning to spike. It's an awesome plant, but I don't grow warm enough in the winter, and I'd rather spend the $$ on cymbidiums. At any rate, hope this helps...
Adam

[shakkai]

Adam, Thanks very much! Do you know approximately what size pot that one is in?

Doc, thanks, I did find the Piping Rock site...but it was the gallery page for kovachii that said 'Page not found'...