Phragmipedium pearcei
I've had this little bush for roughly 5 - 7 years, and this is the first time its bloomed for me. I grow it sopping wet, always sitting in water. The mix is mostly rockwool, with some sponge rock, LECA, and a few other things tossed in, plus a thin layer of sphag and natural living moss on top.
It's been pretty easy growing this plant, other than it absolutely hates getting repotted and it's refused to bloom despite being multi-growth and mature sized since the day I bought it. I've always grown it in one of the brightest spots I have, leaves nearly touching the T8 bulbs. That's bright enough to bloom most of my cacti and succulents, causes high levels of red pigments in them, and way too bright for most of my slippers.
However, based on some advice I got on the Slippertalk forum, this past fall I moved it off the shelf and set it in a fish tank with its very own dedicated 23w CFL and reflector, and here we are, the first bloom! I'm still a little surprised it took that much light to bloom it, since I used to have a Phrag. equadorense that bloomed freely under a single two-bulb T12 fixture.
For those interested, this is one of the smaller-sized phrag species. The foliage is about 6 - 7 inches (16cm) tall when not in bloom. However, it's stoloniferious, so the growths really spread out and it takes some work to keep it confined in a pot.
Phragmipedium pearcei
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