Phragmipedium pearcei

Slippertalk Orchid Forum

Help Support Slippertalk Orchid Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mrhappyrotter

Grand Chupacabra
Joined
Dec 26, 2012
Messages
2,632
Reaction score
287
Location
Central North Carolina
Phragmipedium pearcei

This was something of a rush job with photos, I've had so much going on it's been hard to find time to photograph stuff. My camera skills are lacking, but I thought you might still be interested in seeing this. Sorry for the quality and lighting issues. These pics definitely don't do it justice.

As you can see, this pitiful thing is only giving me 14 spikes this round. :rollhappy: I bought it from The Orchid Trail about 10 years ago. For many years it grew like a weed and didn't bloom for me, even though it was large and had many growths. Several years back I decided to roast it under high light and it bloomed once more. Oddly enough, it's bloomed reliably every year since, even without all the additional lighting. Unsure why, but I'm not complaining, I'm only bringing this up in case it helps other growers figure out how to flower it.

This is a small growing species, though it still manages to take up quite a bit of space due to its rambling growth habit. I really love this species, it's absolutely adorable. I grow it wet year round and I'm cautious to never let it dry out. This thing sits in a saucer of water at all times. My temperatures are moderate indoor temps, but it can handle the heat of summer just fine as long as its water requirements are met. They can handle very bright light, including several hours of sunlight in the morning as long as the temperatures aren't too hot. The only thing it is picky about is water quality. I use mostly rain water since my tap is not quite good enough, and I feed lightly with each watering. I also do a fresh water flush at least once a month to get rid of excess nutrients and mineral build up, which is similar to how I grow all of my water loving Phrags. The only issue I have with this plant is that I have to frequently trim off old, dead leaves and it is highly susceptible to leaf tip die back. Easy enough to keep the dead tips trimmed, though.

The flowers are small but plentiful. This plant can literally bloom for years on end non-stop once it gets this size. Like most Phrags, this is a sequential bloomer, meaning it produces 1 - 3 flowers at a time on each spike. Spikes can produce up to a dozen or more flowers over its lifespan. The only reason it took a break is because I finally had to repot it and divide it last year, so I cut all the spikes off of it. This is a real performer! Even when it is not in bloom, this is a very attractive species due to its grassy appearance.

I gave away some divisions of this as extras with last year's Slippertalk auction, and I hope those of you who got a piece are enjoying it.

1xqcObZl.jpg



GmgTqQ1l.jpg



QCD1hN9l.jpg



TR7W27ol.jpg
 
Very nice. An impressive plant. I have a couple of pearcei hybrids that are doing the same (growing away but not blooming), i may give the light therapy a shot.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Very nice. An impressive plant. I have a couple of pearcei hybrids that are doing the same (growing away but not blooming), i may give the light therapy a shot.

It's worth a try. Like I said, I only had to do the intensive light treatment once, and ever since this plant has been what I'd describe as floriferous. I have a few P. pearcei hybrids, and none of them have been problematic with blooming under my typical Phrag care. I will say that sometimes these things need to grow into a nice sized clump before they bloom freely, but once they reach critical mass, there's no stopping them. Good luck!
 
This was something of a rush job with photos, I've had so much going on it's been hard to find time to photograph stuff. My camera skills are lacking, ...

:rollhappy:
Hahahhahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahhaahhaahhhh! Oh, you slay me!
You need to spend a day in my life to find out about not enough time and lack of camera skills.

Thanks for sharing your super-well grown Phrag!! :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top