How hard is it to grow phrags?

[jeremyinsf]

I'm planning on moving mine to S/H also. I don't have anything in s/h yet but I figure they are the best plants for me to start with. It's on my to-do list :-)

[bellini girl]

I grow my Phrags in SH, they seem to love it.

[The Orchid Boy]

Easy! Grow them wet (make sure you drown P.pearcei and its hybrids ) and give them at least cattleya light or up to vanda light.

[RosieC]

Forgot about water quality which has been mentioned above. If the water is too high in dissolved solids then you tend to find the leaf tips brown a lot. I used to have that problem with my besseae hybrid all the time.

Now I water with only rain water, and only ever use about half the strength of fertilizer that i use on my phals (I use Ray's old recommendation of 125ppm N, I know he recommends less now for everything else anyway, but Phrags definitely need lower than that).

[ALToronto]

I have a Sedenii in s/h and a Hanne Popow in draining LECA. Both get RO water and K-Lite fertilizer at 30 ppm N, and both are getting brown leaf tips. Not sure what to do. They're doing well otherwise, the Sedenii is blooming right now. Our temps have not exceeded 26 degrees (no idea what that is in F).

[The Orchid Boy]

Maybe try more water. The previous owner of my Phrag. pearcei didn't water it enough and it did well but got browned leaf tips. I have it in a 6 inch tall pot of LECA top dressed with sphagnum and it sits in 5 inches of rain or RO water, it's doing better now. I don't put more water in until the water is half an inch or so deep.

[jeremyinsf]

Originally Posted by ALToronto

I have a Sedenii in s/h and a Hanne Popow in draining LECA. Both get RO water and K-Lite fertilizer at 30 ppm N, and both are getting brown leaf tips. Not sure what to do. They're doing well otherwise, the Sedenii is blooming right now. Our temps have not exceeded 26 degrees (no idea what that is in F).

That's about 79F. Sounds like you are doing what you can to make it all 'right'. I have a couple really, really healthy phrags and once in a while I get a couple brown leaf tips also. I chalk it up that I grow indoors, and also that it's a plant, it doesn't grow perfectly :-) It's put out six new growths this season, so I think it's fine. I'm probably more bothered than the plant is...

[SJF]

I purchased my first phrag from Glen Decker in June. I talked to him at length about cultural requirements. I asked him if I could grow it in SH. He said that phrags are perfect candidates. He also suggested that if you don't grow them in SH to keep them in a saucer of water.

Edited to add: in Florida I think SH would be a great choice

[NYCorchidman]

Phrag. besseae and Phrag. kovachii are my favorite phrags as well.
Unfortunately, they are both not so easy based on everything I read.
The main concern for me is their temperature requirement.
They are both not so great plants for Florida unless you can have them indoor with A/C on all the time.

I got a small hybrid of Kovachii and Schlimi earliet in the spring. Schlimi is supposed to be a warm grower.
My plant didn't do a thing until now. I almost dumped the thing.
The new leaves are now slowing growing and I see some new roots as well.

[No-Pro-mwa]

I am new and don't know all the lingo so bare with me. What is SH? I have a phrag and I absolutely love this thing. It took me 2 years to get it to bloom but that was because I was not taking care of it right at all.

It has bloomed twice now and I repoted it in March. I may still not be watering it enough but I am scared of rotting it. The pot I put it in is quit a bit bigger than the one it was in but it was very root bound.

I'm thinking they can't be real hard to take care of because I haven't killed mine yet hahah. I must have another.