# Phragmipedium kovachii



## Birgit (Jan 8, 2022)

The first flowering from this young kovachii. 
Gorgeous and very intense colors.
A second flower is slowlyyyyyy approaching.
Happy New Year 2022


----------



## Justin (Jan 8, 2022)

Amazing


----------



## monocotman (Jan 8, 2022)

Wonderful!


----------



## Greenpaph (Jan 8, 2022)

Beautiful ! Looks like it is ready to fly with it's wings back  
Plant Looks good and healthy!


----------



## JLOG (Jan 9, 2022)

Birgit said:


> The first flowering from this young kovachii.
> Gorgeous and very intense colors.
> A second flower is slowlyyyyyy approaching.
> Happy New Year 2022


Happy new year!
Love the kovachiis, this one seems not young! Stunning bloom if you have another bud incoming


----------



## Birgit (Jan 9, 2022)

JLOG said:


> Happy new year!
> Love the kovachiis, this one seems not young! Stunning bloom if you have another bud incoming


Thank you! It is relatively young, at least my youngest one 
My elder kovachii is taking it very easy this year. Flowers are on the way, but not nearly as advanced as, "my youngest plant".
The picture is from last year.


----------



## gego (Jan 9, 2022)

Excellent job in growing this species. Mine did not last long sharing the same culture with my paths.


----------



## JustinR (Jan 9, 2022)

Well done, beautiful! Are you growing it indoors? We want to know the secrets of your success


----------



## JLOG (Jan 9, 2022)

Birgit said:


> Thank you! It is relatively young, at least my youngest one
> My elder kovachii is taking it very easy this year. Flowers are on the way, but not nearly as advanced as, "my youngest plant".
> The picture is from last year.


Spectacular!! very nice culture, congrast!!


----------



## GuRu (Jan 9, 2022)

Lovely flower and well cultivated plants....the younger one as well as the older one.


----------



## My Green Pets (Jan 9, 2022)

Congratulations on successful culture and lovely flowering. Happy new year!


----------



## Birgit (Jan 9, 2022)

JustinR said:


> Well done, beautiful! Are you growing it indoors? We want to know the secrets of your success


Pure water and lots of it. Very small amounts of fertilizer-often. That's it


----------



## gego (Jan 9, 2022)

Birgit said:


> Pure water and lots of it. Very small amounts of fertilizer-often. That's it


When you say pure...RO water pure? I think that's how I killed mine, I used tap water with a TDS of 180.


----------



## Birgit (Jan 9, 2022)

gego said:


> When you say pure...RO water pure? I think that's how I killed mine, I used tap water with a TDS of 180.


I use rain (TDS 6-10) or RO water always. TDS incl. what ever fertilizer never higher than 30-40. It's in an ebb and flow system, watered twice a day.


----------



## NYEric (Jan 10, 2022)

Congrats! You are a member of a very exclusive club. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## PeteM (Jan 13, 2022)

Birgit said:


> I use rain (TDS 6-10) or RO water always. TDS incl. what ever fertilizer never higher than 30-40. It's in an ebb and flow system, watered twice a day.




I’m having the most difficult time trying to get a few of mine through the blooming process. Two are in spike, but seem to be ‘stalled’ in growth and the spike is hanging out at the base of the leaf axis, refusing to emerge.

Do you have a specific / different fertilizer that you use throughout the blooming cycle? I feed lightly @25-40ppm (a balanced bloom booster this time of year that has lower nitrogen) and water heavily every evening with a hose of RO. Maybe they are still immature plants… or maybe the spikes take a long time to mature and I am impatient. Possible they are intolerant of my overall conditions.

I appreciate and I am inspired by your posts on kovachii. Thanks for continuing to share your success.


----------



## LadySlipper (Jan 13, 2022)

Stunning. Congratulations!


----------



## Ray (Jan 14, 2022)

PeteM said:


> Do you have a specific / different fertilizer that you use throughout the blooming cycle? I feed lightly @25-40ppm (a balanced bloom booster this time of year that has lower nitrogen) and water heavily every evening with a hose of RO.


Changing the formula of fertilizer does not make it a “bloom booster”.

If you feed at a constant amount-per-volume, switching fertilizers is one way to the nitrogen - a teaspoon of a 10-15-10 has half the nitrogen of a teaspoon of a 20-10-15 formula - but simply reducing the amount of one formula achieves the same thing.

The key to orchid nutrition is providing the proper mass of nitrogen - enough to grow well, but not so much that it quashes blooming. I don’t see any slipper as needing the kind of “rest” that stuff like catasetinae or some dendrobiums require, so as @Birgit stated, a pretty constant treatment with lots of water an frequent, very dilute fertilizer seems appropriate, especially if you consider that mimics the conditions in the natural habitat quite well.


----------



## sergeharvey (Jan 14, 2022)

Ray said:


> Changing the formula of fertilizer does not make it a “bloom booster”.
> 
> If you feed at a constant amount-per-volume, switching fertilizers is one way to the nitrogen - a teaspoon of a 10-15-10 has half the nitrogen of a teaspoon of a 20-10-15 formula - but simply reducing the amount of one formula achieves the same thing.
> 
> The key to orchid nutrition is providing the proper mass of nitrogen - enough to grow well, but not so much that it quashes blooming. I don’t see any slipper as needing the kind of “rest” that stuff like catasetinae or some dendrobiums require, so as @Birgit stated, a pretty constant treatment with lots of water an frequent, very dilute fertilizer seems appropriate, especially if you consider that mimics the conditions in the natural habitat quite well.


Temperature? Read that it's a cool grower.


----------



## awesomei (Jan 15, 2022)

sergeharvey said:


> Temperature? Read that it's a cool grower.


Yes, I try not to let mine get above 65 to 70, cooler if possible!


----------



## Ray (Jan 15, 2022)

awesomei said:


> Yes, I try not to let mine get above 65 to 70, cooler if possible!


OK then.... Cross that one off the list.


----------



## Linus_Cello (Jan 15, 2022)

Ray said:


> OK then.... Cross that one off the list.



Grow in basement?


----------



## Birgit (Jan 15, 2022)

PeteM said:


> I’m having the most difficult time trying to get a few of mine through the blooming process. Two are in spike, but seem to be ‘stalled’ in growth and the spike is hanging out at the base of the leaf axis, refusing to emerge.
> 
> Do you have a specific / different fertilizer that you use throughout the blooming cycle? I feed lightly @25-40ppm (a balanced bloom booster this time of year that has lower nitrogen) and water heavily every evening with a hose of RO. Maybe they are still immature plants… or maybe the spikes take a long time to mature and I am impatient. Possible they are intolerant of my overall conditions.
> 
> I appreciate and I am inspired by your posts on kovachii. Thanks for continuing to share your success.



Thank you for your kind words  

I dont really use any bloom boosters. I use "Rain Mix"- 11,8N + 2,7P +13,7K +11 cal +3,5 mg +
Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo and Co.
Every once i a while I switch to a bit of calcium nitrate, as it is a calcium loving plant.
I understand your impatience, but please know that for me it takes the kovachii 4 months to form a flower.
Keep on trying, I'm sure you'll succeed.


----------



## Duck Slipper (Jan 15, 2022)

Excellent…I have a flask of youngsters and 2 other plants…we are trying. See what happens!


----------



## Birgit (Jan 15, 2022)

Duck Slipper said:


> Excellent…I have a flask of youngsters and 2 other plants…we are trying. See what happens!



Happy growing !


----------



## monocotman (Jan 16, 2022)

Amazing plant! So healthy.


----------



## Ray (Jan 16, 2022)

Linus_Cello said:


> Grow in basement?


Nope. House has a crawl space only.


Birgit said:


> I dont really use any bloom boosters. I use "Rain Mix"- 11,8N + 2,7P +13,7K +11 cal +3,5 mg +
> Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo and Co.
> Every once i a while I switch to a bit of calcium nitrate, as it is a calcium loving plant.


Why bother? Rain Mix has plenty of calcium.


----------



## Birgit (Jan 16, 2022)

Ray said:


> Nope. House has a crawl space only.
> Why bother? Rain Mix has plenty of calcium.


Maybe so, but I see a distinct difference if I leave it out for a few months.


----------



## Ray (Jan 16, 2022)

Birgit said:


> Maybe so, but I see a distinct difference if I leave it out for a few months.


Which begs the question of exactly how much Rain Mix and CaNO3 do you mix per-liter when you do apply them?


----------



## cnycharles (Jan 16, 2022)

Ray said:


> OK then.... Cross that one off the list.


 if you had a really (really) deep windowsill, I’m sure that with warm weather and your normal air conditioning in the Carolinas, it would be okay. It seems to be being over 80 gives it problems. And if you use a outer clay pot and some air movement indoors it would be fine

I’m not sure I have room for an adult plant  but I can try seedlings


----------



## Ray (Jan 17, 2022)

Part of my issue here is that, due to the barrier island’s east-west orientation, and my home being on the water on the north side, that’s where all the windows are, and in order to get a proper amount of light, they really have to go outdoors. There are weeks that go by the the overnight low is 80.


----------



## BrucherT (Jan 17, 2022)

Could you rig one light just fir this plant, just for the hot months?


----------



## Ray (Jan 18, 2022)

BrucherT said:


> Could you rig one light just fir this plant, just for the hot months?


Possibly, but being an equal opportunity abuser of plants, I’m not inclined to focus much on a single plant.


----------



## NYEric (Jan 18, 2022)

Ray said:


> There are weeks that go by the the overnight low is 80.


Man, my GF would kill me to move there!


----------



## cnycharles (Jan 18, 2022)

Ray said:


> Part of my issue here is that, due to the barrier island’s east-west orientation, and my home being on the water on the north side, that’s where all the windows are, and in order to get a proper amount of light, they really have to go outdoors. There are weeks that go by the the overnight low is 80.


Yes that is really warm and it would be a hassle


----------



## Tom-DE (Jan 18, 2022)

A fantastic species for sure! Congrats for the bloooming!


----------



## Duck Slipper (Jan 18, 2022)

Ray said:


> Which begs the question of exactly how much Rain Mix and CaNO3 do you mix per-liter when you do apply them?


 Or, begs the question, how much Calcium does a Kovachi need?
Excellent looking plant and flower


----------



## Birgit (Jan 19, 2022)

Ray said:


> Which begs the question of exactly how much Rain Mix and CaNO3 do you mix per-liter when you do apply them?


Good question, Ray.....the tank contains 50 l/rainwater with a very low tds. 
I mix Rain Mix, some tap water for ph and calcium and cal/mag. (More calcium)
The water/feed in the tank is changed every week, and every 2-3 months I switch to CaNO3. I might feed it some seaweed extract as well. 
So how much N in the tank...no more than 3-5. Trying to mimic nature. I grow it in a cool basement 60-75 F.


----------

