home made Flooding chamber for my Phrg .Kovachii

[palm521]

i believe i have not posted this. in the case i did (apologies)

here is my Home made Flooding chamber i created for my Phrag kovachii, that i bought in Manrique greenhouse 8 months ago it got room for another kovachii .

did this VERY CHEAP flooding chamber based on orchidweb video featuring p. kovachii, and it seems to be working!

this little chamber keeps the plant completely wet, and based on 8 months experience growing this plant, i can tell that no rot problems has been seen. and the plant is now deploying 2 new growths. i was a bit scared since i could not see more than 2 roots from the top of the mesh pot, but today , i did found a new root coming out from near the bottom , and the root is completely healthy. (same for the root tip) .

within the plastic container there is 2 drainage holes at different heights, to control over flooding, and a water intake powered by a very cheap fountain pump inside the water tank below. (will add pics of the tank tomorrow)

there is also a plastic mesh that elevates the plant itself from the bottom of the plastic container , the idea is to keep water constantly running and maintain the plant wet within the root system (just like in nature)

plant takes cattleya light conditions without any problem. also plant is hit with a constant air flow (breeze) and i do add strong amounts of calsium and Mg to the tank below, i also added some marble and granite powder to the tank, and i clean it up once every 3 weeks. (Change water and everything)/

[naoki]

Is it a challenge to keep the temp low enough for this species in Mexico City?

[palm521]

well no, were i live is quite cold, in fact the only plants that i got outside, are draculas, and some rhynchostele . this one is inside my greenhouse, and seems to not bother .

Antonio.

[euplusia]

Well the plant is happy, and the requirements light, fresh cool air and plenty of water are provided in abundance. How often do you change the water?

[palm521]

thanks euplusia,

i change the water every 3 weeks, i do have to clean it well due to the amount of algae , haha, but plant seems to not care about the algae.

i spend less than 20USD here to build the chamber, a lot of recycled stuff that was in storage.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Wow it must be a hard one to keep growing. I can't wait to see it blooming. I love it but I am hoping that the hybrids are not so hard to keep.

[Vanda lover]

That looks like it must be working well. I love Kovachii but they are very expensive and I wouldn't have room.
You must be really looking forward to blooming this one. I have a hybrid Grande in s/h in lava rock and it loves it.

[palm521]

kovachi is not really hard for me to grow, as long as it is kept wet , (for me)

legally propagated ones , are far cheaper in Lima (Peru) (80-100USD for NBS kovachii) but you need to go there and pick it up and them fly them back to the States or to your country of residence.

Peru and ecuador are probably the cheapest countries in Latin America ( meals/accommodation/transportation) and it is also a nice country to visit. if you want to have a quick vacation.

i am visiting Peru next week (my job always send me to different Latin america countries (quite frequently)

right now from Mexico to Lima , the ticket costs 344 USD + taxes (cheap!!!, even cheaper when the company i work for is paying for it)i got lot of work that i must do over there, but i always find a few free hours here and there to go visit some key nurseries and other orchid growers. and of course some personal shopping, (textiles in Peru is so Cheap!!!!! compared to Mexico and the united States.)

Antonio.

[RNCollins]

Hi Antonio,

I was just wondering how your Phrag. kovachii is doing.

Are you still using the flooding chamber?