Phrag. longifolium first bloom

[EmoryG]

I have recently gotten into Phragmipediums and have been trying my hand with them. I'm very proud to share a plant that just opened up for me.

Last year I bought a Phrag. longifolium var. hincksianum from Orchids Limited, it's been growing well and just spiked. This it's first bloom, the petals pull back a bit so getting an accurate picture has been a challenge. Natural spread is 7" and I'm pretty pleased with the colour (the petals are a bit more purple/fuchsia than the pics show).

The most recent growths have a leafspan of 30+ inches each with a couple new growths emerging. I'm looking forward to seeing how the flowers/plant grow as it matures.

One question I have is; What separates Phrag. longifolium var. hincksianum from the typical Phrag. longifolium?

Any advice or tips on growing Phrags are also welcome. For background, I'm in Hawaii with Warm-Intermediate conditions, try to use rain water for my phrags, grow them in S/H and use weak K-lite fairly regularly.

[No-Pro-mwa]

I think the variety means that it had been awarded so they gave it a name.

So pretty are the pedals getting longer now.

[EmoryG]

Thanks! The flower had a natural spread of 7.5" and was prettier in person than the pics (in my opinion). The second flower on the spike got a bit damaged, so it's looking a little wonky, but still nice and I'll see if it shapes up a bit more as the petals twist. There is a second spike growing, so I'll be enjoying these flowers for a while. As I said earlier, I'm excited to see how big the plant will get and if the flowers improve as it matures.

[camille1585]

Beautiful bloom! And beautiful photos despite the challenging flower structure. I've only recently gotten my first Phrag to try my hand at this genus, and if I'm successful, this one is on my Phrag wishlist!

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

I think the variety means that it had been awarded so they gave it a name.

So pretty are the pedals getting longer now.

'var.' denotes a naturally occurring variant of the wild type species, not linked to a specific geographical location (which instead is called a sub-species). For a man-made 'variety' a cultivar name is appended, which is the name in single quotes that we are used to seeing. (cultivar = shorthand for 'cultivated variety').

So in this case, the plant in question is a naturally occurring variant, but I don't know what the different is with the wild type longifolium.

[EmoryG]

The third flower (on the first spike for this plant) has opened and the form is a lot better than the previous two flowers. Here's hoping this is the new normal for this plant. Natural spread is 7". Just noticed the pic quality isn't the best, sorry about that.

[camille1585]

It does look better, sometimes a plant needs a bit of "practice"to get the flowers right the first few times it blooms!

[EmoryG]

It's been almost a year from the first flower opening and the plant has been growing well. It now has 6 spikes (with the original two still blooming, after 17 flowers) and a 7th spike emerging. I was starting to worry about it putting too much energy into flowers, but new growths have just started to emerge.

In general the flowers have evened out and are very nice, in my opinion. Consistently 8-9 inches across.