Phragmipedium kovachii

[phrag guy]

very nice,and you are having great success,good for you

 

[eOrchids]

Happy to see you are having great success with your kovachii!

 

[SlipperFan]

:smitten:

Nice photos, also.

 

[raymond]

very nice one flower onely

 

[Bjorn]

I grow it indoors in a spare bedroom. The daytime temps. are 75F winter and 85F summer with night temps about 10-15F cooler. I give it light from a 100 w LED lamp placed 3 feet above the plant. I fertilize with a urea-feee fertilizer weekly at 125-150 ppm. I keep it constantly moist potted in a clay pot with a 50/50 mix of perlite and supersphag (NZ sphagnum minus the stems).

And your water is? Just wondering about the calcium, but if you have hard water it would explain the abscence of limestone in your mix. Great growin btw. I start to believe that the temperatres are the critical issue in growing that species

 

[JPMC]

And your water is? Just wondering about the calcium, but if you have hard water it would explain the abscence of limestone in your mix. Great growin btw. I start to believe that the temperatres are the critical issue in growing that species

I use RO water but add some pelletizes lime to the potting mix (1/2 tsp in the pot) per year. Not sure it matters, but some say that the lime is necessary.

 

[Rick]

I use RO water but add some pelletizes lime to the potting mix (1/2 tsp in the pot) per year. Not sure it matters, but some say that the lime is necessary.

How often do you water between the weekly feedings?

If the lime is your only source of calcium then it would matter. There could be some from the breakdown of the moss, and you didn't specify if any could be in the fert. All plants need some, but it's amazing how little plants need of anything besides water and CO2 as testament to this well grown plant.

 

[JPMC]

How often do you water between the weekly feedings?

If the lime is your only source of calcium then it would matter. There could be some from the breakdown of the moss, and you didn't specify if any could be in the fert. All plants need some, but it's amazing how little plants need of anything besides water and CO2 as testament to this well grown plant.

Generally no watering between weekly waterings.

 

[Rick]

Generally no watering between weekly waterings.

Wow!

Is the pot in a tray of water? How does it stay moist for so long at household humidity?

 

[Rick]

I fertilize with a urea-feee fertilizer weekly at 125-150 ppm.

Do you use a TDS meter to measure, or is this calculated by weight of material?

That's about 1/2 a gram of material in a gallon of water so only about 1/10 of a tsp/gallon. Or dipping out small amounts out of a stronger stock (which is how I manage it).

 

[Rick]

I keep it constantly moist potted in a clay pot with a 50/50 mix of perlite and supersphag (NZ sphagnum minus the stems).

How often do you need to repot? The perlite can hold up indefinitely, but I don't have any experience with that form of moss (in pot conditions).

Your feed rate is very low, so it may hold up for quite a while.

 

[JPMC]

Wow!

Is the pot in a tray of water? How does it stay moist for so long at household humidity?

No, but I keep the hunidity at 50-70%. Also, the mix holds lots of water.

 

[JPMC]

Do you use a TDS meter to measure, or is this calculated by weight of material?

That's about 1/2 a gram of material in a gallon of water so only about 1/10 of a tsp/gallon. Or dipping out small amounts out of a stronger stock (which is how I manage it).

I use a TDS meter.

 

[JPMC]

How often do you need to repot? The perlite can hold up indefinitely, but I don't have any experience with that form of moss (in pot conditions).

Your feed rate is very low, so it may hold up for quite a while.

For this plant, I repot yearly. This is not because of decomposition rather it is because of the rapid growth of the plant. I think that I will divide it this year since it has so many growing points. I have been using this mix with paphs and they seem to do well with it too and I repot them every 2-3 years and do not notice any decomposition of the mix.

 

[Heather]

Really nice! Interesting to see your conditions. Thanks for all the question answering!!