New Phrags! - Orchid Board

Optimist · #1 06-09-2022, 05:53 PM

I sent a question Re: the other phrag guy, to Mr. C Acker, Breeder Extraordinaire, and he offered me a list of divisions. I don't have a ton of space or $$$ dinero, but I got 2 divisions. They arrived today! So amazing! Big, healthy etc. You can really tell the difference in people who sell.

I just chose after a cursory glance at what they looked like and all. I got Waunakee Sunset "Cherry" because it has vibrant flowers. It is "Tiny" the smallest phrag I have ever seen! This division has 2 old, one new, and a spike starting (also I see little bud bumps at the base). Waunakee Sunset is an Acker breeding 2003, but I am not sure if "Cherry" is or not.

I got Trojan Treasure because I have been wanting a long petaled phrag. Unlike "Cherry" this one is Huge! I got 2 old, 2 new, and one well-developed tiny growth. It also has a starting spike. According to the tag, he wrote himself it is Warscowiczianum (several synonyms) "Windy Hill"X China Dragon 'Windy Hill'AM/AOS) M.LeDoux 2016. (The Orchidroots page is missing).

Optimist · #2 03-07-2023, 08:48 PM

Update. Trojen Treasure is still a big plant. More growths now, and very strong. It has small flowers though. They are nearly white. (Very high on the wonky scale). The little one is not doing great. I can't get the water right but it is still alive. It just does not look "juicy."

Now, the flower: It is not online, and apparently no one has ever seen "Trojan Treasure." We also know that first blooms on paphs (and I assume their cousins the phrags) are terrible. This came out all squished with petals in weird circles. So what I can see is a vanilla white Sepal, Tepal with labium of the same white, spots, a bit of the pink. The petals start white and end in pink.

If it could get itself together it might be pretty-- but it is still fairly small.

Leafmite · #3 03-08-2023, 12:35 AM

That is really pretty even if it is not perfect.
I have heard some of our orchid society members mention that the first bloom of their Phrags was disappointing, too, and they were pleased with the next blooming. The long petaled ones will keep growing the petals for a time after the flower has begun to bloom.

If your little Phrag is not doing well, do contact the vendor and ask them for help. Maybe someone here can help, too. Hopefully, it will improve so I can see you post pictures of the blooms.

Optimist · #4 03-29-2023, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leafmite

If your little Phrag is not doing well, do contact the vendor and ask them for help. Maybe someone here can help, too. Hopefully, it will improve so I can see you post pictures of the blooms.

I figured it out, and I also had a discussion with Chuck Acker, who bred it (it was a division of one of his personal plants which makes me all the more nervous about it).

It was a water issue and I put it in rock wool. I know many people hate rock wool, but that's all I could find at the time that would keep it constantly damp without having its feet in the water (they need to also be kept more "dry" meaning not in standing water.) A few weeks after doing this-- and we are in Spring now too-- I found 4-5 tiny little new growths. One is "iffy" because it is a dark color and may have been killed off previously-- but I have new growths. In fact all the phrags, including the monster phrag are having little growths. I feel pretty good figuring out a plant, and I am including Paphs in my plant "studies." I kept the Druryii cross alive and it is growing well, and I even think I might have a new leaf or a spike starting. Not sure which.