When to repot young Phragmipediums

[Aniko]

When to re-pot young Phragmipediums - is there an optimal period, or any time when needed, like Phalaenopsis ?

[kmarch]

How young are your young Phrags?

As a rule I repot all my Paphs and Phrags once a year. About the only time I won't repot is when they are in bloom or if it is really hot (middle of summer).

[Aniko]

I have a Noirmont which, hopefully, will bloom at the end of the year, though might take longer, and 2 even younger a little: Phrag.Acker's Superstar 4N x Mem.Dick Clements 4N, and Phrag.Frantz Glantz.
The grower said that a single mature growth can bloom....

Each has a different medium, one is in semi-hydroponic, one is coconut husk/sphagnum moss and one in a mix of withe spongy rock and dirt like something. I think I will give up the hydroponic and re-pot them in the same stuff when the time is right.Now I want to let them acclimating in my home and next fall re-pot.

By the way, the pots are taller than usual pots - is that a special requirement for Phrags, or it's something else without significance for the plant?

Thanks for responding.

[kmarch]

Hi Aniko,

Thanks for the reply, I just wanted to make sure we're not talking about tiny seedlings here. It sounds like you have near blooming size plants. For Phrags I use a mix of medium bark, medium coir chips, medium perilite, and medium chacoal, to which I add some chopped sphagnum, a bit of ground peat, and if I have it avaliable, osme coarse sand and some shredded oak leaves (same mix I use for Paphs). I grow my Phrags with the pots sitting in trays in about an inch of water.

I repot my Phrags every year.

I and many of my fellow Phrag growers use the taller narrow pots you are referring to. Their roots like to grow down into the wet mix. I find the Phrags have volumnous vigorous root growth with these kinds of pots. One person I knew even used 2 liter plastic Coke bottles with the top cut off and holes punched in the bottom.

Typically my Phrags start new growth and bloom at the same time so if I repot right after blooming, the plants seem to go right on without a pause. Be careful of new roots sprouting though. You may need to exercise a little extra care.

It sounds like you've got some nice Phrags. Please post some pics when they bloom.

Cheers

[Aniko]

Wow, Kevin you gave me some good starting points.I found a lot of information searching the net, but not this particular details.Thank you very much.

I was afraid to let them sit in water, but I'm going to try with those in tall clear pot.
One of them is in dark regular pot and coir/sphagnum mix - can I put in water, too? or in this case is better to keep it in the regular way...
I read your earlier post about oak leaves - Do you disinfect them, or that is not necessary?

[kmarch]

Hi Aniko,

I grow all of my Phrags sitting in trays of water. i water them normally and the tray just fills up from the excess that runs out of the pot. It also raises the humidity around the plant. If i feel the water is getting stagnant I dump it out. I have to rinse the trays out every month or so as they grow algae.

Oh I forgot, important point: I do not grow Phrag caudatum types in trays but instead grow them like a Paph, so caudatum, wallisii, Grande, not in trays of water. Aslo no tray of water for the tiny Phrag xerophyticum.

[Aniko]

Please Kevin, there are two more questions to be cleared for me.
1.The medium contains organic elements, these will start to decompose rapidly in constant water.Isn't that a problem?
(In semi-hydroponic such phenomenon can't occur. I read somewhere that an-organic materials can be placed in the bottom of the pot to prevent the medium rotting.)
2. Do you disinfect the oak leaves, or that is not necessary?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Aniko

Please Kevin, there are two more questions to be cleared for me.
1.The medium contains organic elements, these will start to decompose rapidly in constant water.Isn't that a problem?

No, it's not a problem. In the wild Phrags are semi-terrestrial. They grow on rocky cliffs in pockets of leaf litter, along streams. All this water is what most of them get in nature so it is what they expect to receive (exceptions noted).

Originally Posted by Aniko

(In semi-hydroponic such phenomenon can't occur. I read somewhere that an-organic materials can be placed in the bottom of the pot to prevent the medium rotting.)

Well it's the rotting that releases the nutrients so adding all sorts of organic material then an anti-rotting agent strikes me as counter poductive.

Originally Posted by Aniko

2. Do you disinfect the oak leaves, or that is not necessary?

I don't do anything to them except shred them up into smaller pieces. One thing I didn't think of earlier is that one should make sure no herbicides have been used in the area where the leaves were collected. If this was your back yard there's nothing to worry.

[Aniko]

Dear Kevin, my doubts had been swept away!Thanks for your patience.