# phragmipedium kavoachii progress



## @[email protected] (Jun 24, 2008)

I am glad to show you kovachii progress 


kovachii february 2008







kovachii june 2008





kovachii june 2008 - you can see a little new growth on the right side


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## toddybear (Jun 24, 2008)

wow! Coming along nicely! My baby is not much bigger than when it came out of the flask last summer...not looking good


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## Rick (Jun 24, 2008)

Can you estimate some leaf lengths?

It looks like its growing at a pretty good rate. 

Can you summarize your growing conditions?


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## Heather (Jun 24, 2008)

Looks like it is getting close! Curious about the conditions as well.


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## NYEric (Jun 24, 2008)

Doing very well. What kind of light, what fertilizer, and what mix is it in?


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## cwt (Jun 24, 2008)

Looks great and nice leafcolour to. Just a bit worried, what happened to the pen?


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## NYEric (Jun 24, 2008)

Ink fertilizer! oke:


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## isaias m rolando (Jun 25, 2008)

Congrats! It is a nice looking and growing PK
It will be blooming eventualy next year for you.


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## @[email protected] (Jun 26, 2008)

I hope this compendium will be an answer to the questions you ask yourself about PK.

When kovachii was a very young plant (juste after desflasking), its growth was slow and liable to develop fungoid growth.

I doused it into a fungicide for several hours. PK got rid of that pest and started a rapid growth under fluo lamps with night temperature : 20° C and day temperature 25° C.

I increased its growth speed with a strong natural luminosity and low temperature 15° C, the night in winter time and 25°C day.

It is clear PK likes this sorte of temperature during the night, though I could have read the reverse !

Now the biguest leaf lengths are 30 cm for the longer ones and 4 for the larger.
I fertilize more than a roth. The media is made with seapine barks and NZ sphagnum. It keeps moist permanently and I add occasionally dolomite.

I confess it is my only "kovachii", so my experience is not a wide one.

I hope my handling of the problem will turn into a disaster for the future growers. 

I suppose pens have an international length.


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## NYEric (Jun 26, 2008)

What's seapine bark?


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## @[email protected] (Jun 26, 2008)

= french words = Maritime pine barks


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## NYEric (Jun 26, 2008)

Do you live in the Maritimes? I used to play paintball for Frederickton.


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## @[email protected] (Jun 26, 2008)

no my brain is tired now  It's a tree species. Maybe a good english spoken and botanic may help me for translate ? 
http://www.authorpoduk.com/pyc_2_5_img6.jpg


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## NYEric (Jun 26, 2008)

Go to sleeeeeeeeeeep!!! :snore:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 8, 2008)

*One question from a impatient grower : how long to wait now ? !!!!!!*

kovachii june 2008





kovachii june 2008 - you can see a little new growth on the right side





kovachii october 2008 -starting a spike


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## swamprad (Oct 8, 2008)

Now that's exciting!!


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## Paul (Oct 8, 2008)

Great job Philippe, it will really exciting to see this bloom!!! 

Do you know about the cross or not?


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## Drorchid (Oct 8, 2008)

Very Exciting!! Great Looking Plant. Yes keep us posted of the progress.

Robert


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## @[email protected] (Oct 8, 2008)

Paul said:


> Do you know about the cross or not?


Not exactly Paul, I just remember seeing photos of parents


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## JeanLux (Oct 8, 2008)

almost unbelievable, the development of this plant over a 10 months period!!! Jean


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## Paul (Oct 8, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> Not exactly Paul, I just remember seeing photos of parents



Ok, so possibly the same cross as my first one!! 

But I am not such a good father, it's far from blooming size (2 years)!! :evil:


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## goldenrose (Oct 8, 2008)

:clap: GREAT JOB!!! :clap:


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## NYEric (Oct 8, 2008)

Yes it's doing very well! One month to bloom.


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## smartie2000 (Oct 8, 2008)

:clap: that was fast. mine is still taking its time...I think I don't give mine enough light


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## SlipperFan (Oct 8, 2008)

smartie2000 said:


> :clap: that was fast. mine is still taking its time...


Me, too. 

Gorgeous-looking plant!


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## @[email protected] (Nov 7, 2008)

One month more i think before flowering. Spike is trong. The plant is not as big as I thought. Next update will be with the flover(s)


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## tocarmar (Nov 7, 2008)

Very healthy plant!! Keep us posted! 


Tom


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## slippertalker (Nov 7, 2008)

The new growth has grown quite quickly! It appears that this species is a pretty easy grower once it gets close to blooming size. PK does seem to grow quite a bit faster in cooler weather in the fall and spring. My seedlings have all picked up considerably over the last month or so.


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## Gilda (Nov 7, 2008)

:clap: Looking good ! I am anxious to see the beautiful flower !
My hybrid PK bud has stalled:sob: big time . No clue as to why ? Weather change or just to aggravate me probably ? :wink:


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## Ron-NY (Nov 8, 2008)

great growing! Doesn't look like you need to wait too much longer :clap: Keep us going with it's progress! would love to see an update with the swollen bud

The mature kovachii plants I had seen in Peru were much smaller than I expected. It is a medium sized species growth wise with a monster flower!


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## @[email protected] (Nov 8, 2008)

thank you all for your encouragement.

Gilda, i am impatient to see you're PK hybrid.

slippertalker I notice too that it's grow fast now and spring..

Ron-NY ok for update with swollent bud


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## Wendy (Nov 8, 2008)

Beautiful! I can't wait to see the flowers open. Congrats.


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## P-chan (Nov 16, 2008)

This thread is great! I can't wait for more pictures! Mine is very little. 4".  I love your pictures!! Thank you for posting them!


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## @[email protected] (Dec 22, 2008)

Hello !

You can notice that bud has stopped growing but not the new growth.

So it may confirm that kovac can take a lot of time to flower from bud ...

So it will be for 2009 !!!

Regards, Philippe

6 november





22 december


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## NYEric (Dec 22, 2008)

Doing well, good luck.


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## biothanasis (Dec 22, 2008)

I hope there will be a great surprise, as good things tend to take a long time to happen...


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## goldenrose (Dec 22, 2008)

moving right along .... at a snail's pace, OOPS I mean at it's own pace!


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## @[email protected] (Jan 4, 2009)

PK and I, wish you a very happy new year ! 


I am very sad because PK lost the flower, and sorry to have kept you waiting for nothing ... 

I also understand what Gilda can feel for the P. k x longifolium that is still not in bloom. 

PK bud suddenly dried. From my point of view, I missed something in the culture due to a bad knowledge of this plant and phrag. 

It will bloom quickly on its new growth in the next few months :wink:
As originally planned, I will separate from PK, but I nevertheless have opportunity to give you some news, for the next bloom. (I know the person where PK will stay).


PK “Game Over”


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## likespaphs (Jan 4, 2009)

bummer....


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## Rick (Jan 4, 2009)

Is kovachii a sequential bloomer? I have also had the first bloom on a spike crap out on other phrag species, but continued spike growth and subsequent successful blooms.

I saw that you have been adding some dolomite, is any of that still present in the mix, or dissolved away?

Have you been using any bone meal?


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## SlipperFan (Jan 4, 2009)

That's so disappointing, after so much waiting...


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## NYEric (Jan 5, 2009)

Don't cut down the spike.


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## @[email protected] (Jan 5, 2009)

Rick said:


> Is kovachii a sequential bloomer? I have also had the first bloom on a spike crap out on other phrag species, but continued spike growth and subsequent successful blooms.
> 
> I saw that you have been adding some dolomite, is any of that still present in the mix, or dissolved away?
> 
> Have you been using any bone meal?



nothing special but i agree i have been adding dolomite !



NYEric said:


> Don't cut down the spike.



i do not yet cut down the spike but why it is bad to cut it ?


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## NYEric (Jan 5, 2009)

See post above.


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## Gilda (Jan 5, 2009)

:sob: I am so sorry to see yours dried up . I am leaving the spike on mine ..there is always hope for anther bud to form !


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## Hien (Jan 5, 2009)

Wha a a a a a at the ...
I am waiting all this time.:sob: with you.
At least you still have a big plant, I have a grave yard full of kovachii seedlings.


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## SlipperKing (Jan 5, 2009)

Dang what a bummer.


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## Paul (Jan 5, 2009)

sad news Philippe... but your plant is still very healthy, it just makes you a joke!


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## @[email protected] (Jan 6, 2009)

Rick said:


> I saw that you have been adding some dolomite, is any of that still present in the mix, or dissolved away?



I dissolved dolomite in water (not present in the mix)


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## L I Jane (Jan 6, 2009)

Oh--oh I just started reading this from the beginning with lots of interest. When I came to the part where the bud blasted even I was ready to throw my head into the gas oven! I had a little sdlng --just out of flask literally but lost it to rot/fungus so I said-- no more--too expensive to experiment with & at my age would never see bloom anyway :rollhappy:


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## NYEric (Jan 7, 2009)

It's funny but my straight kovachii is doing better than any of the hybrid seedlings!


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## orchids3 (Jan 21, 2009)

*Boron*

Is anyone getting boron to their Pk or hybrids some way. Understand that the guy growing them in Peru gets some boron to his plants (Recent lecture). Am considering doing this to my plants. (Old Sago Sato solution published in CSA magazine years ago.) 3 tbl spoons of boric acid and 1 tbl spoon of magnesium sulfate in 1 1/2 gal of water to make a stock solution. Apply at 2 tsp or stock solution per gal of water and apply to plants. Wonder if it would help.


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## NYEric (Jan 21, 2009)

Not unless it's in the fertilizer I'm using.


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## cnycharles (Jan 21, 2009)

a good number of seedling fertilizers (made for hort seedling production) have boron added to the fertilizer. you can also buy small containers in hort supply catalogs of boron and add it to your water. very much needed by many plants. deficiency of it can cause stunting problems that look like too much growth regulator applied during cold weather!


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## Paul (Jan 22, 2009)

Be careful, Boron excess can be very dangerous for the plants... use with caution!! 
Personnaly I use organic fertilizer which contains everything, then the plants take what they need. I have a special fertilizer with only micro-nutrients (high Zn, Mn, Cu and B with is good for many Paphs) but now I rarely use it.


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## Ray (Jan 22, 2009)

Also keep in mind that the fertilizers available in Peru may have little resemblance to - that is, not be as complete as - those available here. Maybe the guy in Peru has no other way to get it to his plants.

Both Greencare MSU formulas have boron in them.


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## cnycharles (Jan 22, 2009)

Paul said:


> Be careful, Boron excess can be very dangerous for the plants... use with caution!!
> Personnaly I use organic fertilizer which contains everything, then the plants take what they need. I have a special fertilizer with only micro-nutrients (high Zn, Mn, Cu and B with is good for many Paphs) but now I rarely use it.



I think organic fertilizers is some ways are much better than inorganic ones, but what you've stated above sounds a little like you might think that because it's organic the plant will take only what it needs but will exclude all the rest (I also see that you are in France, so it may just be the translation!  ) A plant may actively take up some elements from it's surroundings but others it has no control over, like a fish swimming around it can have very little control and is very susceptible to what is in it's environment. 

At work we have had problems with certain fertilizers and geraniums because they suffer from micronutrient toxicity. Can happen more when it is cold or the soil is cold and wet. If in doubt about how much micronutrients to use, it is always better to use less than more. Very true that too much boron and any other compound can have bad effects if too much or too little is used; we have seen lots of seedling plants that get all crunchy if they don't have enough boron, and since our water has very low dissolved solids we have to be careful to keep nutrient levels above a certain level even to the point of some crops to only water with water that has fertilizer in it, no clear water used at all or only rarely.

Also please note if you have ruminant animals around your home that they don't get a hold of any of the plants that are exposed to boron enriched fertilizers as they can be poisoned by them. (listed on fertilizer bags that contain boron)


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## Paul (Jan 23, 2009)

cnycharles said:


> I think organic fertilizers is some ways are much better than inorganic ones, but what you've stated above sounds a little like you might think that because it's organic the plant will take only what it needs but will exclude all the rest (I also see that you are in France, so it may just be the translation!  ) A plant may actively take up some elements from it's surroundings but others it has no control over, like a fish swimming around it can have very little control and is very susceptible to what is in it's environment.



I don't know if my English will be good enough to explain 
A micro-nutrient that will be available at a pH will be fast taken by the plant, and sometimes even if the plant doesn't need it. But at another pH, this micronutrient can be "unavailable" (undissolved), and the plant that needs it can sometimes force it to become available. Normally in organo-mineral fertilizer there are no more/less that what most plants need, but by adjusting the pH you make some "things" more available or less available depending on the plants (for example high pH for calcareous plants that don't like Fe and need B, Mn, Zn)
What is true is that these fertilizers are more and longer available than inorganics, and you need to use less PPM of Nitrogen (which is used by the medium more with inorganics) and P (go out when watering) for example.


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## cnycharles (Jan 24, 2009)

thanks for explanation. I do have charts of the nutrient/pH availability charts and it can be daunting looking at them trying to figure out at what point something will or won't be available!  I hadn't been aware that organic fertilizers were necessarily more available over wider pH ranges, but would be nice if were so! i've recently been spraying dilute fertilizer on the undersides of my phal leaves and others after reading a report on greater uptake that way; that way supposedly if you just put plain water in potting media and put fertilizer under leaves, you have less problems with soil chemical reactions and buildups. I think it is a 'help' but not a thing to do all of the time as roots do give off their own chemicals and don't know if just putting water there will be good or bad(?). too bad we can't just 'ask' the plants to tell us what they like and don't like :rollhappy:


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## NYEric (Jan 26, 2009)

Well, you can, you know!


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## cnycharles (Jan 26, 2009)

well, I guess that's true... lots of people talk to (or swear at) their plants... the trick is having them reply in english, spanish or other...

gee, I had to look at the thread title to remember what the original post was; I hope your kovachii gets going and has some flowers soon!


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## orchids3 (Jan 30, 2009)

Hi 
You are so right when you say that Boron can be toxic to animals - in fact the source of the Boric Acid I have used in the past is "Roach Poison". Good fertilizers like the MSU formulas have the exact amount of the micro and macro nutrients listed. That should be alright but a lot of fertilizers only say that the fertilizer contains micronutrients - no numbers. Its hard to tell what you are getting. Note that the actual amount of Boron and magnesium you would get with the formula I posted is a very small number. Glad to see that people are actually reading what it says on fertilizer bags --- lots of good info on a good bag of fertilizer


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