# New growth on phrag besseae elongating?



## xiphius (Oct 16, 2017)

A couple weeks back, I posted a thread about the new growth on my phrag besseae. It has been coming along nicely (actually growing very fast!); but seems to be elongating straight up! I have heard that besseae has a tendency to "walk" with it's growths, but I had always thought that meant horizontal stolons. This seems much more vertical:







I am pretty new to phrags. So... is this normal for besseae? Will it eventually curve back down? Or is this indicative of something I should be trying to correct?

It gets quite a bit of light, so I wouldn't think that would be the problem...


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## abax (Oct 16, 2017)

That new growth is as it should be. It's looking very nice
so leave it alone.


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## xiphius (Oct 17, 2017)

Thanks! Guess I'm just not used to the growth pattern yet. My micranthum produces runners, but they stay right along the surface. The last time I saw a growth elongate up like that, it was a paph that I had accidentally blocked from the light source. It was climbing out of the pot as a means of survival trying to get back to the light . I waited for it to start producing aerial roots then cut it off and potted it up separately. Shortly after I fixed it, the plant started putting out "normal" growths again.

Hopefully this guys eventually bends back down to the moss.


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## NYEric (Oct 17, 2017)

Unfortunately, besseae has a vertically stolonous growth habit. You will have to put something next to the growth for aerial roots to attach to.


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## xiphius (Oct 17, 2017)

NYEric said:


> Unfortunately, besseae has a vertically stolonous growth habit. You will have to put something next to the growth for aerial roots to attach to.



Well, nuts. All of the pictures I have seen of multi-growth besseaes seem to show them growing happily (and mostly horizontally) in regular pots. I wasn't planning on super vertical growth.

Guess I'll have to figure something out. When it gets longer I may test it gently for flexibility to see if I can perhaps bend it back over into the pot and pin it down or something (if it doesn't start to bend back down on it's own!). If not... well, guess I'll cross that bridge later .


Edit: It sounds like that will probably work. I found the thread on besseae "Wössen" and it seems like that was what was done with that guy. Just gotta wait for it to get longer. I also forgot about Mexipedium. I have a smallish one, but the runners on mine all stay pretty horizontal. No vertical action. So it hasn't been problematic.


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## SlipperFan (Oct 18, 2017)

Besseae grows on steep cliffs, I understand. So it is very natural for it to climb. My schlimii does that also.


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## xiphius (Oct 18, 2017)

SlipperFan said:


> Besseae grows on steep cliffs, I understand. So it is very natural for it to climb. My schlimii does that also.



Well, reach for the sky little buddy! Growing up is much better than not growing at all. I'll take it! :wink:


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## NYEric (Oct 19, 2017)

If you examine photos of Glanz's Wossen he has sphagnum all over the place, between the growths.


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## xiphius (Oct 19, 2017)

NYEric said:


> If you examine photos of Glanz's Wossen he has sphagnum all over the place, between the growths.



Hard to tell. I'll take your word for it. I can only seem to get to a fairly grainy version because those photos aren't super accessible on photobucket anymore. I still have a ways to go so we'll see that happens. If I can't bend it over to the moss in the pot, I'll figure something out.


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