# New kovachii flasks



## gonewild (Feb 21, 2007)

I got some new Phrag. kovachii flasks today from Piping Rock. Fritz Schomburg has really learned how to grow them in the flasks and the plants are very good quality and good size. Of course the freezing weather delaying shipment gave the plants more time to grow. :clap: 

Here is a picture of the plants still in the shipping box.







Here are some of the larger plants in 3 inch pots. The majority of plants are this size.






Here are some of the smaller plants.






I am quite pleased with the plants.


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## kentuckiense (Feb 21, 2007)

Hot damn that's awesome! Acres and acres of kovachii seedlings!


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## NYEric (Feb 22, 2007)

Nice, take me with you when you go to reseed the wild Peruvian countryside w/ Pk!!!


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## Candace (Feb 22, 2007)

What kind of leca are you using? The first photo looks like primeagra, the second maybe aliflor?? Is there a reason you used different leca or did you just use what you had on hand? They look great!


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## NYEric (Feb 22, 2007)

Looks like rabbit raisins!


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## Grandma M (Feb 22, 2007)

My kids tell their friends that their mom grows her orchids in dog food.

Grandma


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## Mycorrhizae (Feb 22, 2007)

And I have the dogs gluttonous enough to try and eat it when it falls on the floor. Labs, of course - what else?


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## gonewild (Feb 22, 2007)

NYEric said:


> Nice, take me with you when you go to reseed the wild Peruvian countryside w/ Pk!!!



OK. We'll put the plants in your luggage.
:rollhappy:


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## gonewild (Feb 22, 2007)

Candace said:


> What kind of leca are you using? The first photo looks like primeagra, the second maybe aliflor?? Is there a reason you used different leca or did you just use what you had on hand? They look great!



It is all PrimeAgra.
The first photo is the old style.
The second photo is the new style in the fine grade.

I wanted to use the fine grade PrimeAgra but all that is available now is the new form, so I decided to give it trial. I prefer the old type but only have the coarse grade so I sifted out the coarse pieces and used the finer material for most of the kovachii seedlings.

The reason I put the smaller seedlings into the finer grade is because they have shorter roots and the fine grade will help keep the roots and surface moister between mistings, at least I hope so.


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## Mycorrhizae (Feb 22, 2007)

The new PrimeAgra sure is getting mixed reviews. I wonder if it is performing exactly as Ray had intended when he worked with the manufacturer to modify the product.


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## gonewild (Feb 22, 2007)

Grandma M said:


> My kids tell their friends that their mom grows her orchids in dog food.
> 
> Grandma



Coco Puffs.


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## gonewild (Feb 22, 2007)

Mycorrhizae said:


> The new PrimeAgra sure is getting mixed reviews. I wonder if it is performing exactly as Ray had intended when he worked with the manufacturer to modify the product.



So far my opinion is it works as well as the old or I would not have risked the kovachii with it. 

I don't like the smooth shape of the new form. It stays loose and the pebbles shift around when watered. This makes it a little more unstable when it comes to seedlings direct from flask. But it eventually settles in and I don't see any problems with it yet.

I know there is mention of more salts because they are visible on the surface but I think the salts are only more visible because of the contrasting darker color. I've tested the water saturate runoff and don't see any sign of excessive salt build up.
But we don't use it in the true s/h fashion either, because we water lightly several times per day, everyday.

Personally I don't think it matters which brand of Leca you use as long as you adjust your growing practices to work with the characteristics of the media.


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## bwester (Feb 22, 2007)

That new crap made me take every plant i own that it didnt kill out of s/h. It is aweful, pathetic for an s/h media. I still hold to my belief that ray made the switch purely for financial gain and I dont believe for a second that he worked with the manufacturer to "improve" it. 
Screw ray and his expensive crappy rocks!!!
sorry for my rant..... the loss of so many plants due to that stuff makes me real emotional.


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## gonewild (Feb 22, 2007)

bwester said:


> That new crap made me take every plant i own that it didnt kill out of s/h. It is aweful, pathetic for an s/h media. I still hold to my belief that ray made the switch purely for financial gain and I dont believe for a second that he worked with the manufacturer to "improve" it.
> Screw ray and his expensive crappy rocks!!!
> sorry for my rant..... the loss of so many plants due to that stuff makes me real emotional.



Worth talking about. Let's start a new thread.


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## NYEric (Feb 23, 2007)

gonewild said:


> OK. We'll put the plants in your luggage.
> :rollhappy:


There shouldn't be any problem importing Lab grown kovachii the other direction right?!?


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## Ron-NY (Feb 23, 2007)

NYEric said:


> There shouldn't be any problem importing Lab grown kovachii the other direction right?!?


 No need to, there are plenty of lab grown ones in Peru oke: Chip in to buy me a ticket and I will go plant some


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## gonewild (Feb 23, 2007)

NYEric said:


> There shouldn't be any problem importing Lab grown kovachii the other direction right?!?



Believe it or not Peru has very strict laws about importing plants and animals.
I would say it would be next to impossible to get the permits. A gold fish you can by in any pet shop in the USA for $5 will cost you over $50 in Lima because of the difficulty to import them.


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## gonewild (Feb 23, 2007)

Ron-NY said:


> No need to, there are plenty of lab grown ones in Peru oke: Chip in to buy me a ticket and I will go plant some



Getting permits to plant them in the forest would be more difficult than getting permits to remove them. How are you going to prove to INRENA and SENASA that the invitro plants are not going to harm the natural environment of the Amazon basin?


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## Ron-NY (Feb 23, 2007)

gonewild said:


> Getting permits to plant them in the forest would be more difficult than getting permits to remove them. How are you going to prove to INRENA and SENASA that the invitro plants are not going to harm the natural environment of the Amazon basin?


 It looks like nature is taking its course. Once the mature plants were removed seedlings are growing to take their place. If those are left undisturbed there again will be a wild population


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## gonewild (Feb 23, 2007)

Ron-NY said:


> It looks like nature is taking its course. Once the mature plants were removed seedlings are growing to take their place. If those are left undisturbed there again will be a wild population



They won't likely be left undisturbed as long as they have local value.
And local value does not necessarily have anything to do with international value.

The extinction of the specie began when the news media and government agencies made the plant seem "important" and valuable.


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## isaias m rolando (Feb 24, 2007)

be sure to provide good calcium selts to your growing conditions. After visiting PK in the habitat and some testing of the soil around, this is a good tip for growers. Nice looking babies! Congratulations!


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## Rick Barry (Feb 24, 2007)

Thar's GOLD in them cups!

Rick


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## NYEric (Feb 24, 2007)

save a couple for me.


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