# Newbie Phrags.



## abax (Dec 1, 2013)

It's all everybody's fault! I ordered a couple of bessae Phrags. and am
preparing for their arrival...rainwater, high light area cleared of Paphs.,
lots of reading and research. Leo's article has been very helpful. I'd like
to grow them semi-hydro in clay pots sitting in clay saucers with Orchiata,
hydroton and charcoal/sponge rock in the pots, not in the saucer. Oh my!
Anyway, the pots sitting in rainwater. Does this sound reasonable?


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## ehanes7612 (Dec 1, 2013)

I would wait till spring to repot these as they have only been in their current mix for a couple months


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## Missgreen (Dec 1, 2013)

I don't know anything about semi hydro but it sounds like you've done your research. Best of luck! I love besseaes


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## orchideya (Dec 1, 2013)

abax said:


> It's all everybody's fault! I ordered a couple of bessae Phrags. and am
> preparing for their arrival...rainwater, high light area cleared of Paphs.,
> lots of reading and research. Leo's article has been very helpful. I'd like
> to grow them semi-hydro in clay pots sitting in clay saucers with Orchiata,
> ...



Abax, I am a total newb with phrags too, but mine are in the somewhat similar setup and for the 1.5 months I have them - they are doing great. Lots of roots and new shoots growth on both besseae and EY.
Only mine are in the clear plastic pots standing in the clay saucers with rain water.
I don't know what proportions your potting mix will be, but I kept the same mix as I got besseae from John and I think it has perlite as a main ingredient so the medium looks mostly white and roots seem to love it:







I water them every second day and change the water in the saucers at the same time.
You are going to enjoy them, they grow so fast comparing to paphs!


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## abax (Dec 1, 2013)

Very nice roots, orchideya. Hope I do as well. I think I'll use whatever
medium Ed has them in come spring. I have to be VERY careful about
plastic pots in my greenhouse because the humidity is so high. Are you
using K-Lite or adding bone meal or dolomite pellets? Seems to be some
disagreement on the need for a source of lime.

Missgreen, all semi-hydro means to me is the pot sitting in water and frequent clean water changes. I think that's not Ray's definition and he's
the expert.

Orchideya, my name is Angela. abax sound like a detergent, doesn't it?


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## ehanes7612 (Dec 1, 2013)

phrags seem to like a lot of things ..i have heard Orchiata can be an issue ..depends on your water source maybe..I use K lite and a mix of regular bark , perlite and some sphagnum ..my phrags do really good ..i did sit in water for a year but I find it pointless and kind of a mess. Dolomite is useless, in my opinion...but it may be that i have good water


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## Missgreen (Dec 1, 2013)

I have my Phrags standing in water too  I don't bother changing it to be honest, I water them, fill a little in the saucer, it evaporates around the plant and I refill it. So far so good  My Andean Tears and caudatum doesn't like this treatment though, I keep them dryer. I bought my besseae in March and it's been blooming the last month and keep producing flowers


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## mrhappyrotter (Dec 1, 2013)

Sounds reasonable to me. Phrags seem to be incredibly adaptable to various growing conditions and potting media. In fact, the only things they seem to insist on are clean water and, for the water lovers, moist potting conditions.

Not knowing your growing conditions, though, a couple of things I'd keep in mind. First, I don't know how bright your bright spot is. I assume if you had paphs there previously, it'll be fine. Some of my phrags like higher light (mostly the big ones), some seem to do better in a shadier spot (usually the smaller growers). Second, I'd have some hesitation about using clay pots, though I do have a few in clay myself. The clay forms that white crusty build up over time. That always worries me a bit, and while algae doesn't bug me, I find the mineral build up aesthetically displeasing. Also, once it starts forming, no matter how much I flush and scrape it off, it seems to come back. And, the ones that are in clay require even more consistent watering -- they're always the first to dry up, so if I'm gone for more than a few days (or busy), especially in the summer, they're prone to drying up completely. As far as your mix goes, you can get away with almost any growing media with phrags, so I'm sure yours is fine. I, and my plants, prefer a rockwool based mix out of everything I've tried thus far. It's got good wicking capability, so the mix that's above the water in the saucer stays evenly moist. I just know that it seems to work a lot better than when I was using bark and coconut husk based mixes.


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## Ray (Dec 1, 2013)

I grow all of mine in "pure" S/H culture with 100% LECA and pots with self-flushing reservoirs. They are heavily watered about every three days with K-Lite @ 35 ppm N. 


Ray Barkalow (via Tapatalk)


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## Rick (Dec 1, 2013)

Abax. Don't know if you should use primarily organic media semi hydro unless you can get a lot of live moss going.

For continuous water applications you need a high percentage of something inert (like LECA), otherwise your bark will break down very fast.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Dec 1, 2013)

I find phrags love old broken down media. They do fine with orchiata, but they really thrived with the noxious rexius bark that killed my paphs.


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## abax (Dec 1, 2013)

LECA I have in abundance and planned to use about half in the potting
mix. Leo made an interesting suggestion for keeping the plant cool by placing
the pot (plastic maybe) down into a clay pot for continuous evaporation and
the cooling effect thereof. Since my main concern is warm temps. (60F low), this might just be a great idea.

Mineral deposits on clay pots doesn't bother me too much. If it's on the
outside of the pot, it's not in the potting medium. I flush very regularly
and fertilize very little.

Ray, I don't understand the self-flushing.


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## NYEric (Dec 2, 2013)

Hi. Besseae is not a high light plant. It is not S/h unless you have a reservoir of water sitting in the bottom all the time. You have to flush the media or else it builds up salts from fertilizer. Some hydro systems have drips or watering features to move water thru them constantly or periodically. Check the media they come in to make sjure its not broken down. I lost a bunch of OB Phrags because the media was mush underneath and the roots sufficated.


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## orchideya (Dec 2, 2013)

Angela, I am thinking K-Lite on rare ocasion.
Mine are in orchid tank with high humidity too, I think their roots like to be moist all the time so humidity is good.
I like clay pots but the drawback - because of the clay porous nature roots like to grab on it for good, I have cattleyas, vandas and some phals in clay so almost all the time during repot I have to break the pot with hammer to free the roots and of course damage some. With phrags and paphs I don't want it because their roots seem more delicate and precious .



abax said:


> Orchideya, my name is Angela. abax sound like a detergent, doesn't it?


  It didn't until you pointed it out.


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## NYEric (Dec 2, 2013)

IDAK = Instant Destroyer And Killer
ABAX = !?!?


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## Ruth (Dec 2, 2013)

> Since my main concern is warm temps. (60F low), this might just be a great idea.


Good luck Angela with the besseae's. I have several phrags, but just got my first bess. Curious what temperatures that they like?


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## ehanes7612 (Dec 2, 2013)

Ruth said:


> Good luck Angela with the besseae's. I have several phrags, but just got my first bess. Curious what temperatures that they like?



the only concern I have found with besseae with regards to temp is when they are blooming. They dont like it when the temp goes above 75.


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