Phrag Wossner Super Grande

[mrhappyrotter]

I've been looking forward to these blooms for quite awhile now. I got this plant probably 5 or 6 years ago and it refused to bloom. In that time, it's produced many new growths, and I've even divided it once.

Unlike my other caudatum-group hybrids, this one appreciates sitting in water at all times. Most of the others end up losing leaves to rot (that starts at the base of the leaf) if they're exposed to too wet a potting mix at the wrong time of the year. But this one? It lets me know I've allowed it to get too dry, the leaves will droop a bit, and if the dry spell is too long, it ends up with a lot of leaf tip die back.

Anyway, it was hard to photograph for some reason. I couldn't get the whole flower in the photo AND keep it in focus, so I settled for a bit of a close-up. The disadvantage is that it doesn't show the long, pendant petals. Also, the color is a bit off. The flowers aren't darkly colored as I had hoped, but there's a lot of purple and pink.

When it's time to divide this particular plant, I don't know what I'm going to do. I decided to experiment with it, so it's planted in mostly rockwool, in a net pot (hydroponic pot), sitting in a clay pot. Over the years, the roots grew through the net pot and attached themselves to the clay pot. So, now the plant is firmly anchored to the clay pot, and even if I managed to dislodge it without doing damage, I doubt the roots will pass back through the inner net pot. I guess I didn't think this potting strategy all the way through.

 

[Migrant13]

That's nice and the plant is so healthy looking. Glad you finally got it to bloom. The pot quandary is an interesting one. Maybe when you work up the nerve, a good soak to loosen up the roots attached to the outer clay pot and then some coaxing.

 

[Carkin]

Wow! It turned out beautiful!!!

 

[SlipperFan]

Lovely -- and a big plant. Good luck dividing!

 

[bullsie]

If you are unsure what to do when you divide it, I can help you out by taking a division I can even do a trade!

 

[abax]

Very nice Phrag. I grow all my plants in clay. Here's the deal...soak it
in warm water and hit the pot with a hammer...peel away clay pieces.
Works well for me.

 

[raymond]

Very Nice

 

[mrhappyrotter]

Thanks everyone. And a big thanks to all the advice on repotting. I'll probably keep it in the current setup for another season, since there is still a bit of room to grow. Still not sure how to untangle the roots from the inner net pot even if soaking is enough to dislodge the roots from the outer clay pot. Since the potting mix is mostly rock wool, which doesn't break down, I'm guessing I can pot it up by placing the net pot into a larger pot and not worry about removing the old net pot?

There are two spikes on this plant. The second bud on the spike in the photo is about to open. The first flower's petals are still growing, I think that's so cool. Currently the petals are just slightly more than 16 inches (40 cm) long, so this is the longest petaled phrag in my collection.

 

[Secundino]

I've found that the rock wool does get stale even if it doesn't break down. Try to get it out as far as possible, clean it (rinsing und drying; if the pungent smell persists, clean again) and you can re-use it. Well, I did, and it seems to work.
Forget about the net pot - the plant won't mind. I have a few Cattleya with the same 'problem' - somewhere in the big basket there is still a plastic net pot!

Like your Phrag very much, it surely isn't easy to photograph!

 

[phrag guy]

very nice

 

[NYEric]

Nice, don't divide it, add a place for it to grow!

 

[Phrag-Plus]

Huge and very nice!