Phrag. Eric Young finally in full bloom!

[AndreaK]

Phrag. Eric Young finally in bloom. After 4 years of trial and error (lots of error), I have successfully bloomed this Phrag. I have learned a lot from Orchidboard and its members, so credit is due to them. Without their guidance and the wealth of information readily available I am not certain I could have achieved bloom status with this plant. This is a first bloom for the plant. I am happy with the color and form of it on day one of being fully open. I assume the color will deepen a little more with age. I tried to capture the true color in the pictures but it is a difficult thing to do. These images are fairly close although the coral tones do not tend to show up as well as the pinks. Thanks and enjoy!

[MrHappyRotter]

Hmmm. It's really pretty but I don't think that's P. Eric Young. Though I can't tell you exactly what it is, my best bet would be Phrag. Belle Hogue Point or similiar.

Belle Hogue Point is Eric Young x caudatum, which would explain the long petals, the petal stance, and the shape of the dorsal sepal.

Do you have a photo of the label? Maybe the x caudatum part got washed/wiped off somehow?

Either way, congrats. For what it's worth, anything with caudatum (or close relatives in the background) takes longer to reach mature size, and can be a little harder to grow and bloom, so double kudos on the success!

[WhiteRabbit]

A beauty!

[Leafmite]

It is very nice! Congratulations!

[estación seca]

I've followed your struggles. GOOD JOB!

[AndreaK]

Originally Posted by MrHappyRotter

Hmmm. It's really pretty but I don't think that's P. Eric Young. Though I can't tell you exactly what it is, my best bet would be Phrag. Belle Hogue Point or similiar.

Belle Hogue Point is Eric Young x caudatum, which would explain the long petals, the petal stance, and the shape of the dorsal sepal.

Do you have a photo of the label? Maybe the x caudatum part got washed/wiped off somehow?

Either way, congrats. For what it's worth, anything with caudatum (or close relatives in the background) takes longer to reach mature size, and can be a little harder to grow and bloom, so double kudos on the success!

Phrag.. Eric Young (besseae 'Cow Hollow II' FCC/AOS x longifolium is what the label said. It has gone missing courtesy of our youngest daughter, I believe. She went through a stage of everything going to the trash. Always fun searching for car keys there when you need to leave for work (Ahhh, to be 2!!!). I purchased it from Hobby Growing several years ago. They have a similarly named plant for sale now (it has a few more letters and the words Eric Young Foundation in its name which my tag did not have). The photos of it in flower do not seem to be the same as mine. Apparently it must have been mislabeled. Oh well, even when I think I have a plant with a name it ends up being a NOID. Albeit, a very pretty NOID!

[AndreaK]

MrHappyRotter:

Looking back at your pictures of Belle Hogue Point, our plants do seem very similar. That being said, coupled with your seeming to be an expert in Phrags, PLEASE! give me detailed care instructions for my plant based on the care you give to yours. My growing area is in my home though; I do not have a greenhouse. With your help, I may have a little easier time blooming this plant again. Thank you so much for all of your help with this and my other posts.

[MrHappyRotter]

Originally Posted by AndreaK

PLEASE! give me detailed care instructions for my plant based on the care you give to yours

If you've managed to keep the plant alive AND got it to bloom, I'd say you're doing just fine.

The tricky part with plants that have caudatum (or close relatives in the background) is that they often need more water than most other orchids, but they also tend to get bacterial/fungal rot when kept too wet.

I grow most of my phrags sitting in water at all times, but my Belle Hogue Point is one of the exceptions. If I leave it sitting in water, it will eventually develop rot, so I water it twice a week (roughly) and make sure to empty the saucer by the next day if any is left inside.

One thing to note about the watering, is that some individual clones will tolerate wet conditions better than others, so you have to keep an eye on the plant after you get it, and see how it reacts over time.

One of the more important aspects of keeping your phrag healthy is going to be water quality. Use rain water if you can, or buy reverse osmosis or other purified water. Tap water is fine in some areas, but may cause problems in others, so it's best to just rule that out.

As far as light goes, I grow under T8 fluorescent shop lights. Nothing fancy. And I grow indoors as well, so the temperatures never really get hot, and also don't get particularly cold.

Also, good airflow is important. I keep a fan or two gently blowing over the plants at all times.

[ThePinkCucumber]

Very pretty!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Way to go. To bad you don't still have the tag but it's a beauty without it.