Phrag or Paph

[Woodsman]

Almost all Phragmipediums are wetland plants, so would work better in the terraria than most Paphs. Though not very colorful, Phrag. longifolium v. hartwegii is one of may favorites and is mostly ever blooming.

Richard.

[RarePlantBroker]

Rob,

The pic I posted is a Phrag. bessae x self. The lighting was a bit "off" while taking the picture--the actual bloom is a little more red. The plant (overall) is about 12"-14" tall.

[frogface]

Here's a pic of the Phrag piece I put in my viv. It seems happy enough so far. The leaves have taken on a very nice and healthy color. It was not one of my happier plants before I broke it up and put this bit in the viv.

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[RarePlantBroker]

With the humidity level in the vivarium, they don't take up as much water through the roots--and can develop root rot in a wet substrate. I lost two Phrag. kovachii hybrids this past year--roots rotted from constant moisture at the roots. My Phrag. bessae sits higher in the tank--and has bloomed twice....

On the other hand, in my greenhouse--the humidity will drop to 60% during the winter--and I keep my Phrag.'s in a tray of water so that the media stays constantly wet.

[frogface]

What do you mean by 'sits up higher in the tank'? Do you have it mounted, or, in a pot? Can you show me a pic in situ?

[RarePlantBroker]

Originally Posted by frogface

What do you mean by 'sits up higher in the tank'? Do you have it mounted, or, in a pot? Can you show me a pic in situ?

Give me a few minutes and I'll see if I can find a pic. of the tank. The P. bessae sits on a higher "tier".

[RarePlantBroker]

Here's a picture from this past summer. Right at the base of the stump on the left side of the tank, I have the Phrag. bessae planted next to a Siderasis sp. At the bottom right side of the tank are planted two Phrag. kovachii x pearceri. The two on the lowest tier (with bottom of the root mass at the screen separating the substrate and the false bottom--about the point at where I drain water from the tank)--these developed root rot, and I ended up losing them.




I'm preparing to re-plant part of this vivarium--I'll start a thread when I do...

[frogface]

Thank you!

My substrate is cut up shredded coco, small bits of charcoal, and chopped sphag. On top of that I have a layer of the reptile bark (because it's tiny), and then another layer of sphag.

I made a hill on the left side of the tank by adding a pile of bark, topped with chopped sphag and terrarium moss on top. Hopefully this will allow it to get the moisture it needs without the rot. It made the tank more interesting anyway. It's a work in progress

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[RarePlantBroker]

That sounds like a better substrate. Mine is a mix of charcoal(1 part), chopped coco-husk chunks (2 parts), coir (2 parts), repti-bark (1 part), sand (1 part), and sphagnum peat (1 part). I think the peat and coir are holding too much water for most plants.
I'm going to re-plant the lower tier of this vivarium soon--and replace the substrate with a charcoal, clay and aragonite sand mix--and re-plant the lower end with ferns.

[frogparty]

try planting your kovachii in diatomite