P pulchra is a crazy keiki producer and it can grow into a beautiful specimen in a few years time...if you leave the keikis. Because it has this very rampant growth habit, it's best display will happen when grown mounted.
Plus, quite frankly, it's really hard to contain in a pot.
I have mine mounted on a tree fern totem w/a semi-thick pad of sphagnum and I wrapped the totem in sheet moss to help retain a bit more moisture over the entire totem. As the spikes produce keikis and they get larger I try my best to attach those back to the totem but some I let just hang out in the air. I find it to be an easy grower and a reliable bloomer.
I try to water it every day in the summer...2-3 times per week in the winter. In the summer I have it in an area that would be considered the high end of phal light but I have pushed that light too high in years past and it ended up a bit stressed. I find I get my best blooming when I have pushed the light level a bit...the leaves look a bit more "yellow" than you'd expect for some phals. It is a tricky balance though because a bit too much and the leaves will show signs of stress rather quickly. Whatever you do...do it slowly over time and you will find that sweet spot w/out causing damage.
In the summer, the temps it gets is whatever Mother Nature throws at it and that includes some nights much cooler than I'd prefer (this summer that has meant some nights down into the low 50s) but it never seems to skip a beat. In the winter, night time lows of 60 and daytime highs in the 70's. In the spring before it goes outside, the temps fluctuate wildly due to the heat of the lights and the unpredictable weather outside...which means it can be as high as upper 80/low 90's during the day and down to 60 at night.
The blooms are long lasting and even when they are done...many of them never drop off, you eventually have to cut them off. Mine didn't have any fragrance this year which was weird because it has been fragrant in years past. I don't know why the difference...maybe weather related. ??
I started with a small keiki a few years ago and to date it's grown into a nice clump that is working on enveloping the totem it is mounted on. The keiki was a little slow to get going...it took a couple of years before it really started producing it's own keikis but once it got going...it really took off.
I probably should've mounted it on a wider mount but it's on the totem so that is where it's going to stay. To keep it under control and make it fit into my winter space...I have removed a number of keikis and shared them w/friends.
It's one of my favorites and, again, I find it to be easier than reputed. At least it is in my grow space. Certainly easier for me than a good number of other phals.
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