What mix do you repot Phrags in?

[camille1585]

I bought my second ever Phrag in July (Phrag QF Maria, which is lindeyanum x dalessandroi) and the bark mix it is in looks very old and degraded. It's now putting out 4 new growths, so it seems like a good time to repot.

My question is, what sort of mix should I repot in? Since Phrags love wet conditions, it seems that they need a mix which is both somewhat water retentive but also free draining in order to cope with the very frequent watering. In the spring I repotted my Phrag Sedenii in pure bark, but it dries out extremely fast, and if I sit the plant in some water, it's mostly the lower part of the medium which stays damp while the top is bone dry. The plant is flowering but doesn't seem overly happy. So I'm not sure if pure bark is a good choice.

I'd rather stick to a traditional organic mix since I have no experience with the inorganic media that Phrags do well in (S/H and rockwool) and I'm hesitant to experiment on a rather expensive plant...

I have fine and medium bark, NZ sphagnum, leca and perlite on hand, and can get charcoal or other things if needed.

[DirtyCoconuts]

If you don’t want to make the plunge to SH I would Mix equal parts of leca and big bark and grow it in a saucer of water.

You’ll get more wicking from the leca but with chunky pieces there will be a good bit of air space

[Keysguy]

This is what I use for all my Phrag's.
Don't know if you can get something like this over there or not.

http://https://www.kkorchid.com/medi...dling-Mix.html

[Ray]

Camille,

I acquired a single-growth Phrag. QF Aloha earlier this year, in-spike. It arrived in fine bark, so that’s certainly an option. Here are a couple more.

I immediately took it out of that and put it into S/H culture, where it bloomed very well for a first-time bloomer (3 sequential blossoms) and now has two nice growths on the way.

I know of a few growers who use the Grodan Mini-cubes for phrags, but that seems a bit too wet for my liking, so I’m experimenting with a cubes/LECA blend.

[estación seca]

In 2018 I bought a bare-root, in-spike Phrag. QF Maria from Ecuagenera at the Pacific Orchid Expo. I put it directly into S/H in LECA and a 2-liter plastic food container. It didn't turn a hair after all the travel. It opened all the flowers. It began producing multiple new growths. These began spiking. Then it was eaten by rats.

I concluded S/H is such an easy culture method for Phrags I decided to put all future ones acquired into it immediately.

In July I replaced it with a bare-root Phrag. Super Rubies when Ecuagenera had their sale. It traveled from Ecuador to Florida, was repackaged, sent to me, and came July 27. It had one older, partially-trimmed fan, and two new growths beginning. Here it is today, standing on top of my water containers in the sunroom. The new growths are about quadrupled in size from arrival:



These two Phrags adapted to S/H far more easily than even Phals, which for me previously had been the champs. I have also encouraged other local society members to use S/H for Phrags, especially those new to either or both Phrags or S/H. Those who have tried it have been very happy.

If you're too nervous to put this plant into S/H, I might suggest potting it traditionally now as you are comfortable. Buy a small and inexpensive Phrag, any species or hybrid. Put that into S/H and see how it goes. When you are satisfied, move the QF Maria.

[camille1585]

Thanks for your help! So it's sounding like S/H would be the best option. It's not what I originally wanted, but if Phrags take to S/H as easily as you all say then it sounds like the perfect plant to start with. ES, that plant looks great for something that has been recently repotted!

I have leca and some deli containers that I think would be large enough.

Questions:
Are the new growths far enough along to ensure good timing for the transition? It's growing ridiculously fast, none of the 4 small growths were visible yet when I recieved it mid july.

Should I use some Kelpmax when repotting, even though I did the monthly application less than 2 weeks ago?

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Keysguy

This is what I use for all my Phrag's.
Don't know if you can get something like this over there or not.

http://https://www.kkorchid.com/medi...dling-Mix.html

Unfortunately that link doesn't take me to anything orchid related... The URL in the search bar is what you link to, but the actual website it displays is homeimprovement.com! I managed to find the mix on the (correct) website

[estación seca]

I would put that into a S/H container of at least 2 liters without any concerns. Somewhere in his Web site Ray points out that overly large pot size is not a problem with S/H because there is so much air around the roots.

Yes, I'd use KelpMax again. The only problems I remember reading about with it have to do with people who use it a lot more than every 2 weeks.

I don't remove meticulously all old medium. I take off what comes off very easily without any chance of root damage. Yes, the old medium will rot in the pot and eventually be flushed out of the pot. But with your microbiology background you realize those microorganisms don't affect living tissue, and the ancient Egyptian doctrine of disease caused by internal corruption (wthw) is false.

[Keysguy]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Unfortunately that link doesn't take me to anything orchid related... The URL in the search bar is what you link to, but the actual website it displays is homeimprovement.com! I managed to find the mix on the (correct) website

Wow---that was weird. I tested the link in my preview and it was fine.
Sorry about that.

[camille1585]

My containers are smaller than I thought, only 1 liter! I could go with that, but seeing how it's going to get rather large, rather quickly I'm not sure it can do more than a year before needing another repot...

I saw some nice glass containers at the garden center, but don't have drill bits for drilling glass.