How long until new phrag growths are ready to bloom?

[JOHNnDC]

Hello all, it's my first time posting here (I'm a regular at GW), and having read through tons of the posts here, I like this place! Great collections of photos in the other section, by the way - man, Peter, I'm even MORE jealous of your phrags after having been through THAT section!

So I have a phrag question. I have a Phrag Wossner Super Grande I bought from Al's Orchid Exchange last fall, and it's already blooming size (two of the growths had previously bloomed before I bought ti). And when I bought it, it had two additional growths on the plant that hadn't yet bloomed. Now, several months later, I have 3 additional growths on the plant - one decent sized, two just starting. I was just wondering how long it takes for the new growths to themselves to bloom (months, years?). Same question for grandes...

Thanks all, JOHN

[Jmoney]

Once a phrag has a couple bloomed growths, and assuming good roots and all that, it shouldn't take more than a year to re-bloom. Very often it will be much less than a year--some of them can bloom twice a year, maybe more. I have noticed that some phrags are so bent on *growing* that they will put off blooming for a while and keep sending out new growths. They may all decide to bloom at once, though.

[Paphraguy]

Hi John and welcome!

Ditto to what Jason said and with the right culture and favorable conditions, your Super Grande should start spiking any day. Healthy Phrags under excellent condtions even bloom on single growths (I prefer them to grow new growths first before spiking) and most large matured Phrag hybrids bloom year after year non stop and some even twice a year. My Grande blooms every year on at least 2 spikes or more but I recently divided the plant because it was turning into a MONSTER with so many large growths. After the division, the mother plant is still in bloom.

If your multigrowth plant refuses to bloom, then I would suggest providing more bright light, even a few hours of some direct morning or late afternoon sunlight.

Hope this helps!

[JOHNnDC]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. As the summer progresses I've been impressed with the increasing amount of light all my plants are handling, including the phrags. They get dappled sunlight throughout the day and are handling it fine, I'm now going to try to increase it, to help them hopefully bloom (while keeping a good eye on them re: burning).

I'm curious about a new phrag grande I got recently. It looks relatively small, maybe 12 inch leaf span, but it has like 8 or 9 growths, all very close together - the number of growths surprised me for such a small seemingly-young plant (and I recently repotted it and the roots are great). I was wondering how long does it take a plant like that to mature?

[Paphraguy]

Grandes aren't small plants and they do get HUGE, so hence the name GRANDE! My Grande was about 40+ inches in LS. What you may have could be a mislabelled plant or a "Grande" made with a smaller longifolium species and if that is the case, then it is not a true Grande, should be more appropriately called a "mini Grande", I guess.

[Heather]

John, can you post a pic? I'd love to see your plant!

[JOHNnDC]

This is the Phrag Grande 'Select' - has probably 8 or 9 growths (it's hard to count them, they're so close to each other) - put my foot in the shot for perspective. For $35 at Hausermann's, I couldn't resist - it was looking so healthy, so many-growthed, and I was thinking it might in fact be a more compact plant, so I bought it:

<img src="http://www.wiredstrategies.com/flowers/phraggrande.jpg">

And this is the Phrag Wossner Super Grande (I think the name it was given is "chocolate brownie" - it's raining outside, so rather not run out again!). Got this at Al's Orchid Exchange - think I paid $45 for it.

<img src="http://www.wiredstrategies.com/flowers/phragwossner.jpg">

[JOHNnDC]

I almost forgot, Al sent me a picture of the mother plant (pre-division) of the Wossner Supre Grande so I could see what the flowers will look like - pretty cool, eh?

<img src="http://www.wiredstrategies.com/flowers/phrag1.jpg">

[Paphraguy]

John,

Hausermann is the only vendor that I have had major problem with. I had ordered a very expensive Paph species from them a few years ago and they sent me a hybrid instead. It was not a very good experience at all and I have heard from others who also had similar experiences that is sending them wrong plants.

From your pics, it does not look like a regular Grande to me at all and I wouldn't be surprised if they sold you a totally different plant other than a Grande. Grandes get very BIG but that plant could also be a hybrid made with a smaller longifolium species like I had mentioned before, a "mini-Grande".

Al is a great vendor and my Grande actually came from him.

[Heather]

Well the certainly do look healthy! That Super Grande mother plant is massive! Looks like you might have a big plant there! Thanks for posting the pics, John!

Peter, you know I *love* your Grande...it has really grown on me!