Phragmipedium Eucagenera's Dream (sedenii x kovachii) which I purchased from Eucagenera in April of 2021. First time I've gotten it to bloom. It is an absolute beast!
Phragmipedium Eucagenera's Dream
- Thread starter dmcmkl
- Start date
Help Support Slippertalk Orchid Forum:
Beautiful!!
What!? … That’s a first time blooming?? That never happens. A beast for sure. Can you please share your culture.. media and watering / fert schedule. 
thanks for sharing.
thanks for sharing.
I almost lost it at one point. About a year ago I made some changes to all my phrags that has them just exploding.
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 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 of lost 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.
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 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 of lost 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.
Last edited:
How long has the oldest flower held on/been in bloom?
Perfect! Good growing.
The combination of all your decisions is what gives the results.
The combination of all your decisions is what gives the results.
First flower opened around December 24th. Can't really say how long they stay open. Haven't really paid that much attention to that, but I'd say they stay around for at least two weeks. Each spike has only lost one flower since then and the crazy thing is branching everywhere.
Now if I could just get my multi-floral paphs to cooperate!
Now if I could just get my multi-floral paphs to cooperate!
Thanks for that level of detail. One more question, what type of pots are you typically using. Looks like this one has a translucent plastic pot, does it have a semi hydro reservoir? Thanks!
I've moved all my plants to clear or semi clear pots. I like to be able to keep tabs on the roots. However, growing in clear pots encourages algae growth that I believe is detrimental to the health of the roots. For most of my other clear pots I found black pots that I can slip the clear pots into to block the light and thus stop the growth of algae pretty much in it's tracks.
This particular plant is indeed in what is a translucent food storage container that I poked four holes in the sides about an inch up from the bottom. So yes it does indeed have a small reservoir in the bottom for water. This bugger is really thirsty so that helps keep the watering frequency to once a week. Otherwise all my other plants are in clear plastic nursery pots with good drainage so I can keep an eye on the root health.
Like I mentioned I almost lost this plant about a year and a half ago. It had two small growths that were struggling. After moving it to the new pot and potting material it threw out three growths. Two of which are now blooming and the third which is about 2/3's the size of the other two and will hopfully bloom in the next few months.
This particular plant is indeed in what is a translucent food storage container that I poked four holes in the sides about an inch up from the bottom. So yes it does indeed have a small reservoir in the bottom for water. This bugger is really thirsty so that helps keep the watering frequency to once a week. Otherwise all my other plants are in clear plastic nursery pots with good drainage so I can keep an eye on the root health.
Like I mentioned I almost lost this plant about a year and a half ago. It had two small growths that were struggling. After moving it to the new pot and potting material it threw out three growths. Two of which are now blooming and the third which is about 2/3's the size of the other two and will hopfully bloom in the next few months.
Last edited:
I showed your picture to mine and made sure it knew it should be embarrassed by its current performance
mrhappyrotter
Grand Chupacabra
That is impressive, and I think impressive is an understatement here. That's a gorgeous plant, superbly grown. Amazing display. Beautiful flowers.
Plans to bring it to judging soon?
Stunning! You’ve really sorted out the culture. It may grow into a monster! Take it to judging.
Very impressive!! You definitely have it dialed in!!
sergeharvey
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2017
- Messages
- 100
- Reaction score
- 63
How often do you repot?
How exactly do you do that?
First I figure out how much fertilizer I'm using in one gallon of water. I then fill an empty one gallon distilled water container with the desired amount of fertilizer and any other amendments like the cal/mag and the liquid mycorrhizae and add the RO water. I let the fertilized water for a few minutes to let things stabilize.
Then I use a pH meter to check the ph of the mixture. If it is low I use a product like Bloom City Professional pH Up Liquid Fertilizer to adjust the pH to the range I'm looking for which for me is 6.5-6.6. I generally do not need to ever lower the pH since the fertilizer causes the RO water to run lower then what I want. It doesn't take much of the pH adjuster to make a big change. Usually less then an 1/8th of a teaspoon.
When doing this the first time for a particular fertilizer/amendment mix it can take a few iterations to figure out how much to use. But once I have figured out how much is need it doesn't ever change for that particular combination of water and amendments. Start with small amounts and increase as needed. Sometimes I've had to start over with a gallon of fresh amended water. But once I have it dialed in I'm set and don't have to do it again as long as nothing in the mixture changes.
One thing I would recommend is don't cheap out on the pH meter. I have one that I purchased from Amazon that comes with calibration solutions that you use to calibrate the meter so the readings are accurate. Once calibrated the meter will hold the calibration for a few months. But once you have your mix dialed in you should only have to ocasionally check that the pH is still where you want it. In case no one has noticed by now I am kind of OCD when it comes to how I manage my collection. I check the pH of my mixture every time I change fertilizers just to be sure all is still well. But that is me.
If a plant is growing well I will repot when the plant has outgrown the pot or if it looks like it is struggling. 2/3's of the mix I am using is inert so it doesn't break down. The potting mix doesn't break down easily and thus doesn't compact which helps with oxygen gettin to the roots. I believe that the organic portion of the mix, the bark, provides and environment for the mycorrhizae to florish so it can do what is supposed to do.
One thing that I like about phrags is that they are not particularly fussy about being repotted. I've decided if a plant is struggling I'll pull it out of the pot and try to decide what might help it thrive. I tried at one point to grow my phrags semi-hydro in Hydroton. I know there growers here that grow that way and have great success. My phrags hated it. Less then a year after putting all of them into semi-hydro I yanked them all out and started using the mix I've documented above.
As noted many times here in the forum, what works for me won't work for everyone. You just have to keep trying until you find what works for you. Less then a year after making the switch the root growth on all of my phrags is just amazing. Later today I'll try to find some time to take a few pictures to show what I mean.
It has obviously paid off!!!
I'd love to take it and others for judging. Only problem is that I live in a northwestern suburb of the Minneapolis area. Most of my phrags are at their peak blooming in the dead of winter. The cold weather would make it challenging to get it somewhere for judging. For instance starting today we are supposed to have temps that won't get above zero for four straight days. In addition the closest city that I could take it to that has a regular judging event is Chicago, a five plus hour drive away. I'm not sure that I would be able to get it to a judging without it, or me, suffering some form of frostbite.
Last edited:
