Hello everyone, I am writing this thread to explain a little my particular way of growing Lady Slippers. I have bought several plants to collectors of years, and producers, and in all I have noticed something very common, a deficient root system, small and suffocated. This goes hand in hand with a complicated substrate with a lot of very small elements with sand, which I have seen simply stagnate the roots and create small plants.
(Of course, I don't want to criticize this method of growing, since each house has its own unique microenvironment, and everyone grows the way they want XD) I just want to share my methods with those for whom the traditional methods do not work or are inadequate.
I am also open to suggestions and corrections to improve my harvest according to your vast experience, and to contribute my grain of sand to your teaching at Lady Slippers. Please help me improve, I would appreciate it
My Plants:
Most of my Phrags are pink hybrids, and some species like Lindenii or Longifolium.
My weather:
Day: 27C-- 31CMax
Night: 18C--- 16C Max
Ambient humidity, some days it's like a desert, others the fog is so thick that you can only see 5 meters in front of you.
Rain sometimes it rains for hours, sometimes it is breezy. And sometimes we are at 30C, BUT IT RAINS TORRENTLY XD
Pots: Transparent. A plastic Pepsi bottle of 1.5L, 2L is perfect, I usually use thin and deep pots, to leave in the bottom 2cm of water, and a layer of 4cm of large and inert substrate, usually I use terracotta and Carbon.
Along the Bottle I perforate several holes, in the base they are of 1x1cm, so that in spite of having embedded water there is air circulation, the others are of 0.5cm approx.
Soil: I use a mixture of
50% 1.5-2cm long tree bark.
25% of 1cm split terracotta
25% charcoal of 1cm (if I don't have charcoal, I use 50% stone).
Finally, I add to all of them 1 teaspoon of calcium for chickens in stones.
Bark: Pinus wallichiana, I think?... collected directly from the tree (there are trees like that here as a bush XD) After collecting, I pour boiling water to submerge it and leave it in it overnight. Then I strain it and cut it as I want, then I strain it again and wash it to remove the dust and sawdust.
When mixed, it should look like the picture below.
Watering: I usually do it every 2 days, or 3 if it is humid or raining. I water deeply with a gallon container like the one in the photo below, the water penetrates the substrate like a torrent and washes away everything, it doesn't damage the roots. I usually use 0.5gr x lt water of 20-20-20- Fertilizer with microelements, every 2 irrigations.
On hot days, I spray water on the leaves at noon, and I have not had sunburn, since they do not have direct sun, also lately I grow bromeliads around the plants to increase the humidity a little.
Since I live in a mountainous area of the Andean Cordillera, most of my water comes from springs high in the mountains, but I only have access to tap water, so I let the chlorine evaporate and then use it. I have read that those who use soft and very pure water have the necessary conditions for moss to grow in the medium, which is not the case in my case.
Although I do not know the hardness of the water, its PH is 7.
Light: They grow in a roofed patio, the sun shines from dawn to 10am, the rest is ambient light.
Fertilization / Sanitation:
Fertilization / Sanitation:
I pour 1/4 teaspoon of 20-20-20 granular fertilizer into the substrate every 3 months (it's the cheap stuff since I can't get Osmocote.) I also add Thricoderma in grains directly into the substrate after planting, and Bascillus Subtillus, I spray a little water on them to activate them, then months later.
I only use fungicides at the time of replanting to clean the plant of any pathogens from the old substrate. I clean the floor where I place the plants with bleach every 2 months.
(Of course, I don't want to criticize this method of growing, since each house has its own unique microenvironment, and everyone grows the way they want XD) I just want to share my methods with those for whom the traditional methods do not work or are inadequate.
I am also open to suggestions and corrections to improve my harvest according to your vast experience, and to contribute my grain of sand to your teaching at Lady Slippers. Please help me improve, I would appreciate it
My Plants:
Most of my Phrags are pink hybrids, and some species like Lindenii or Longifolium.
My weather:
Day: 27C-- 31CMax
Night: 18C--- 16C Max
Ambient humidity, some days it's like a desert, others the fog is so thick that you can only see 5 meters in front of you.
Rain sometimes it rains for hours, sometimes it is breezy. And sometimes we are at 30C, BUT IT RAINS TORRENTLY XD
Pots: Transparent. A plastic Pepsi bottle of 1.5L, 2L is perfect, I usually use thin and deep pots, to leave in the bottom 2cm of water, and a layer of 4cm of large and inert substrate, usually I use terracotta and Carbon.
Along the Bottle I perforate several holes, in the base they are of 1x1cm, so that in spite of having embedded water there is air circulation, the others are of 0.5cm approx.
Soil: I use a mixture of
50% 1.5-2cm long tree bark.
25% of 1cm split terracotta
25% charcoal of 1cm (if I don't have charcoal, I use 50% stone).
Finally, I add to all of them 1 teaspoon of calcium for chickens in stones.
Bark: Pinus wallichiana, I think?... collected directly from the tree (there are trees like that here as a bush XD) After collecting, I pour boiling water to submerge it and leave it in it overnight. Then I strain it and cut it as I want, then I strain it again and wash it to remove the dust and sawdust.
When mixed, it should look like the picture below.
Watering: I usually do it every 2 days, or 3 if it is humid or raining. I water deeply with a gallon container like the one in the photo below, the water penetrates the substrate like a torrent and washes away everything, it doesn't damage the roots. I usually use 0.5gr x lt water of 20-20-20- Fertilizer with microelements, every 2 irrigations.
On hot days, I spray water on the leaves at noon, and I have not had sunburn, since they do not have direct sun, also lately I grow bromeliads around the plants to increase the humidity a little.
Since I live in a mountainous area of the Andean Cordillera, most of my water comes from springs high in the mountains, but I only have access to tap water, so I let the chlorine evaporate and then use it. I have read that those who use soft and very pure water have the necessary conditions for moss to grow in the medium, which is not the case in my case.
Although I do not know the hardness of the water, its PH is 7.
Light: They grow in a roofed patio, the sun shines from dawn to 10am, the rest is ambient light.
Fertilization / Sanitation:
Fertilization / Sanitation:
I pour 1/4 teaspoon of 20-20-20 granular fertilizer into the substrate every 3 months (it's the cheap stuff since I can't get Osmocote.) I also add Thricoderma in grains directly into the substrate after planting, and Bascillus Subtillus, I spray a little water on them to activate them, then months later.
I only use fungicides at the time of replanting to clean the plant of any pathogens from the old substrate. I clean the floor where I place the plants with bleach every 2 months.
Attachments
Last edited:
