Congratulations!! That is fantastic
Introducing Phragmipedium kovachii 'Deep Purple' FCC
- Thread starter dmcmkl
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That is a great looking kovachii! The deep color of the pouch, and I really like that staminode. Commanding flower for sure. Many congratulations on the 91 point FCC. I have that same cross from Chuck Acker and last year the spike blasted and did not flower. This year's spikes on multiple growths look a lot stronger. Fingers crossed that it will open. If you have success with the seed sign me up for any you are willing to sell.
Deeply beautiful.
WOW... this is one of the best P. kovachii I've seen ever. Congrats to the award.
I’m not usually a fan of kovachii, but have to say this as a whole is gorgeous!! Color is unbelievable and shape is very pleasing. Great growing! Well deserved.
Beautiful! I purchased two 874s from Mike in 2023 as well and am really looking forward to seeing them bloom now that I’ve seen yours.
First of all, congratulations on the FCC. It is a very, very nice flower.
Regarding the flask from Chuck Acker, yes, several ST forum members have plants from this flask. Since the parents were not awarded, I did not include the names on the labels, but I did record the CA874, and I am certain that it is correct.
I still have 6 of these seedlings, and two years ago, they were the same size as the FCC plant, but the FCC plant is now more than twice the size of my plants. In other words, Don has done an excellent job growing this plant, which likely contributed to this successful blooming.
I would like to know how this plant was grown. From the photo, it looks like glass cubes in a semi-hydro container. If detailed information has already been provided, let me know and I will do a search. Thanks.
Mike
Hi Mike. I detailed my culture approach for all my phrags over on my posting for my Phrag Ecuagenera Dream which won an AM and CCE at the same show. I thought I'd reproduce it here so you didn't have to go there.
About a year ago I made some changes to all my phrags that has them just exploding. I had tried semi-hydro in all hydroton but it just didn't work for me with my growing environment.
1) Potting material is 1/3 medium to small lava rock, 1/3 rockwool cubes, 1/3 medium orchiata bark. Crushed oyster shell or prilled dolomite lime is mixed into the mix if the plant has any kovachii in it's background. Sometimes I forget to add it and then I just sprinkle some on the top and refresh it every few months.
2) Water is R.O. that after fertilizer is added I make sure is adjusted to a ph of 6.5 to 6.6
3) I rotate fertilizers between Jack's 30-10-10 and MSU 13-3-15 RO/Rain Water Fertilizer. I shoot for 100 - 120 ppm of nitrogen. I add a liquid Cal/Mag to the Jack's since it doesn't have any. The MSU contains calcium and magnesium so I just go with what it has in it. I also add to the water 2ml of Orca Liquid Mycorrhizae Mycorrhizal Fungi Root Stimulator and Booster.
4) I water at least once a week. When I say water I perform what I have seen described here on the forum as 'fertigation'. I hand water all my plants on a frame that I place over the drain tub for my washing machine and liberally flush the plant with plenty of water. I seldom if ever flush with plain water. Sounds like lots of work I'm sure, however I am retired and I have lots of time to baby my plants.
5) Lighting is with LED lights set to provide roughly 200 ppfd. Lights are on 12 hours per day during my winter here in Minnesota 13 hours in the spring and fall and 14 hours during the summer.
6) All my phrags are grown in my basement where the temps during the winter range from 70 during the day and 64 or so at night. I try to keep the humidity above 40% which can be a challenge in Minnesota during the winter. During the summer the temps never goes above 78 and humditity kind of takes care of itself sticking around 50% without any help from a humdifier.
I think that what has given me the best results is making sure that my water is adjusted to a ph of 6.5 to 6.6 after adding fertilizer Also the potting mixture I'm using now combined with the fertigation method of watering has resulted in plenty of oxygen getting to the roots as well as eliminating salt build up.
I don't know which of the above items had the most or least effect on my current success. But only time will tell if it is the holy grail for me or not. As always it goes without saying, what works for me may not work for others.
As you noted Mike the container that this plant is in is a deli food container that has a couple of small holes about an inch above the bottom. I did this for this plant since it is a kovachii and they love to stay damp. But I have other kovachii that are not in this kind of pot that I have also successfully flowered. For those I increase the amount of rockwool cubes slightly so they maintain more water. It's taken me several years to get this mix figured out and it seems to work under my conditions.
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PhilaGardener
Well-Known Member
Incredible flower! Kudos for a well-deserved FCC!
I use the VIPARSPECTRA XS3000 Pro Grow Light purchased from Amazon. My plants are grown sitting on garden trays that sit on a wire rack (Honey Can Do 4-Tier Adjustable Shelving Unit) that is 18"D x 48"W x 72"H that I also purchased from Amazon. The lights are hung approximately 16" above the tops of the plants and are set to the first dimming setting which is 20%. This means the light is using only roughly 60 watts of power. I have a lot of plants that I'm growing and I've tried lots of approaches to keep the amount of electricity used as low as possible and still grow strong plants.
I used to use a different brand of LED lights. I became aware of these and decided to switch to them due to their claim that the light intensity is more uniform end to end then other brands. I purchased one to test this claim. I have an Apogee 500 Full Spectrum Quantum Meter that I used to check their claim. I found that indeed it is more uniform end to end then other LED lights that I have tried in the past. I am now using this brand to grow all my plants. Taller plants are placed at either end of the light and shorter ones in the middle. I'll boost shorter plants on an overturned plastic pot as needed to get them into the 200 ppfd light range.
This is what my grow setup looks like where I have the majority of my phrags. I have other racks that are single racks and not the back to back racks in the picture. The bottom rack in this picture is where my Tesoro Morado and Deep Purple kovachii that I've recently flowered were grown.
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