Unhappy Phrag Sorcerer's Apprentice

[maegg]

I got some phrag's last year. They were beautiful when I got them but now they are on their last leg. They seem to just slowly die. Can someone give me a phrag lesson 101? I'm growing them alongside the paphs and I guess they don't go so good together.

I thought I wasn't watering them enough and upped the water only to notice that one is turning brown in the center.... yikes. I think it's over for it. I may repot it tomorrow and see if the roots are ok.

[Diane]

Phrags definitely are different than paphs. My experience, quite limited, is that phrags like more light, and damp 'feet', EXCEPT those with caudatum parentage - they don't like wet feet. They also seem to like it warmer than my paphs, which is fairly easy to do since they are in brighter light.

Jmoney is the guru - hopefully he will answer. In the meantime - get some new potting media and pull them all out for a repot. Check roots for rot, and how wet the interior media is.... Also, Phrags will catch water at the leaf axils and can develop rot, so you don't want to get the foliage too wet.

[Piper]

Maegg,

Sorc. Apprentice has no caudatum, so that would want to sit in water. Steve can also tell you about Phragenstein, the happiest SA on the planet - he uses semi-hydro.

I'm still working towards making mine happy, so I'll shut up now...

Julie

[Gin]

Mine are with the solid leaf color type Paphs. bright light some direct sun late in the day . Some people grow them sitting in water , I tried that but it was more trouble to keep the standing water fresh than to just water them daily , what type of water are you using tap or ? also how much Fert. do they get ? It sounds like water in the leaf axis started a rot problem . I am not an expert either . Gin

[maegg]

I use a watering pail most of the time and it does get the leaves wet My bad. I'm going to repot it, clean it up and give it a go if I haven't killed it. It was just beautiful when I got it too. Now it is down to a couple piddly weak growths... one with rot. Crud.

Thanks for all the advice!!!

[uncasteeb]

Water in the leaf joints is not to bad if the water is pretty pure & you have good air movement & it,s in the morning.Generally all said it should be avoided.
My Phrags are in s/h or sitting in saucers about 1" deep , medium is LECA(clay pellets).My pots are taller than standard pots & when i pot my Phrags the roots are just above the water line.
I fertilise very weakly/weekly.I also flush the pots @ least once a week with rainwater.When i water them i really do water them , copious amounts will help to flush any salt build up out.
As for the amount of light i give them it is more than Phals & just short of Catt light( about 2500fc/3500fc.
Do not feel to bad about giving the Phrag a hard time as i have killed a couple of seedlings with incorrect care(pots were to short & the plants were kept to wet).
Temp wise i think they adapt pretty well to general orchid conditions I.E not below 60f.

[Diane]

If you have good roots you can save the plant. A little rooting hormone when repotting can be a big help. Also, I water by hand and usually get water into the leaves. So I tip the plant slightly and blow into the leaf joint and that gets enough water out so that it is dry by nightime.

[maegg]

I'm pretty sure I overwatered and in the leaves from ya'lls description. Here is the plant right now before repotting. I wish I could say it was a seedling I killed but this was a beautiful full grown with two growths when i got it. I totally did it in aaarrrrrgh. I'll let ya'll know what I find when I repot it.

[Piper]

Oh...ouch!

The roots will tell all. I think it would be hard to over water an SA. You can rot the foliage, but the roots are aquatic creatures practically. Find out the cause, but I'm not so sure about the patient...this could be more an autopsy.

Julie

[Jmoney]

water on the leaves is a bad bad thing unless 1. it's in the morning and the leaves will dry out by evening AND 2. you have excellent air circulation. don't get paranoid if a little water gets in the leaves, but if I get water in the crown by accident, no matter what time of day, I WILL dry it out with a napkin.

it is hard to overwater a healthy SA, a terrestrial phrag hybrid that likes lots and lots of clean water. However, if potting media starts to break down, or if the plant is grossly overpotted, it will decline, and often precipitously at that. Once the roots go, then the plant will go very quickly. For plants in salvage mode, a SMALL pot should be used that will just accommodate the remaining root system. You can always move up in pot size as needed. Shade too for recovering plants.