# Phrag. besseae 'Carlisle'



## tomkalina (Aug 13, 2019)

Not sure if I posted this earlier this summer, but noticed a dearth of Phrag. postings lately so I thought I'd liven things up a bit. Originally from OZ, this is IMHO one of the best examples we've seen of this beautiful species.


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## tomkalina (Aug 13, 2019)

Forgot to mention; this clone has a leaf span of 27 inches and the leaves at the widest point are 4 inches wide. I'm growing it in a 10" x 20" tray that's 3 " deep.


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## e-spice (Aug 13, 2019)

A real beauty. I notice the leaves are pretty huge for what a besseae typically has.


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## tomkalina (Aug 13, 2019)

Coming from OZ, it could be 4N although I haven’t had a count done. I think it’s also the tray culture, where the root mass gets very large compared to our potted clones thereby allowing a greater absorption of nutrients.


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## richgarrison (Aug 13, 2019)

that plant is pretty amazing looking... (and of course the flower)... is it a named clone from OZ? or just one you acquired and grew on?


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## abax (Aug 14, 2019)

Gorgeous Tom. I don't think I've seen one
quite so perfect. The color is a firecracker!
And thank you for the photo. I look forward
to Phrag. pictures.


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## Silverwhisp (Aug 14, 2019)

tomkalina said:


> Forgot to mention; this clone has a leaf span of 27 inches and the leaves at the widest point are 4 inches wide. I'm growing it in a 10" x 20" tray that's 3 " deep.


Tom, a couple of questions regarding your tray culture.

Do you do this only for species besseae?

Is your tray culture mix identical to pot mix?


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## NYEric (Aug 14, 2019)

Yay besseae!


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## Dandrobium (Aug 14, 2019)

A very vibrant red on this besseae! Great work Tom! Carlisle seems to be quite a performer, I've had mine in bloom since March. I agree with your growing method, mine is growing in a bonsai pot and roots just scramble everywhere. Its a challenge to pot it like this, but the plant seems to thrive. I don't know what the ploidy is, but it breeds well.


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## tomkalina (Aug 14, 2019)

We only grow our Phrag. besseae stud plants this way. If I grew all of the Phrag. besseae adults in trays, I'd need a much bigger greenhouse! We do use our standard Phrag. mix for tray culture as well as pot culture; The only difference is we water the trays more often because of their shallow depth. The OZ designation (Z6777) was on the original tag. There are more of the Z6777's around, but of course there's no guarantee they'll turn out as well.


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## Guarceñosis (Aug 14, 2019)

tomkalina said:


> Not sure if I posted this earlier this summer, but noticed a dearth of Phrag. postings lately so I thought I'd liven things up a bit. Originally from OZ, this is IMHO one of the best examples we've seen of this beautiful species.




Tomkalina potting style in a clay tray. P besseae doing very well with 2 blooms coming.


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## Silverwhisp (Aug 14, 2019)

tomkalina said:


> We only grow our Phrag. besseae stud plants this way. If I grew all of the Phrag. besseae adults in trays, I'd need a much bigger greenhouse! We do use our standard Phrag. mix for tray culture as well as pot culture; The only difference is we water the trays more often because of their shallow depth. The OZ designation (Z6777) was on the original tag. There are more of the Z6777's around, but of course there's no guarantee they'll turn out as well.


Thanks. That makes sense.


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## tomkalina (Aug 15, 2019)

No question if you can afford the growing space, tray culture for this species will always produce larger more robust plants with amazing root systems. We first saw this method of culture in the Gualaceo, Ecuador greenhouses of Ecuagenera, where they grow a number of Phrag. besseae plants in beds. The plants were very large compared to the plants grown in pots.


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## Silverwhisp (Aug 15, 2019)

tomkalina said:


> No question if you can afford the growing space, tray culture for this species will always produce larger more robust plants with amazing root systems. We first saw this method of culture in the Gualaceo, Ecuador greenhouses of Ecuagenera, where they grow a number of Phrag. besseae plants in beds. The plants were very large compared to the plants grown in pots.


Have you ever seen a tray of besseae entered in a show?


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## tomkalina (Aug 15, 2019)

Nope. But if a tray looks like it's transportable without damaging the plant, we may try to bring one to the Orchid Guild show in Madison, WI next January. Assuming the plant is in bloom......


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## Silverwhisp (Aug 15, 2019)

Will look forward to the show!


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## BrucherT (Aug 15, 2019)

This is amazing! I need more details on this tray culture method! Wow.


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## TrueNorth (Aug 20, 2019)

Very nice! What are the dimensions of the flower?


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## tomkalina (Aug 20, 2019)

With tray culture, the average HNS has been between 8.3-8.5 cm and the average PW has been 2.5-2.7 cm.


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## Ozpaph (Aug 20, 2019)

superb in every way


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## eaborne (Aug 26, 2019)

Gorgeous!


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## Phrag-Plus (Aug 29, 2019)

Very nice clone!


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## Guldal (Aug 31, 2019)

The best bessae, I've ever seen. It's supercalifragilisticexpialidociously gorgeous!


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## blondie (Aug 31, 2019)

Wow very nice amazing colour and shape


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## tomkalina (Aug 31, 2019)

Just thought I'd mention that we have now a limited number of Phrag. besseae 'Carlisle' (x self) seedlings available on the Fox Valley Orchids, Ltd. website.


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## troy (Aug 31, 2019)

Beautiful plant!! Terry root did a very very good job!! I miss the OZ


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## BrucherT (Sep 1, 2019)

tomkalina said:


> Just thought I'd mention that we have now a limited number of Phrag. besseae 'Carlisle' (x self) seedlings available on the Fox Valley Orchids, Ltd. website.


Sold!


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## ScientistKen (Sep 2, 2019)

Great color and form! I may have to add one of these to my next order.


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