dividing a monster -OR- what in the #$%@ is the name of this plant???
 

Hi all-

i have had this and only this phrag for a little while...i wanted to dip my toe into the genus and i grabbed this one while visiting a green house to see Corgis....but that is another story....

she had eight fans when i got her and has since added 2 more and i believe 4 more growing now as little guys.

I moved her to SH when i got her as she was in ROCK HARD sphag medium that had become calcified onto the roots an was not coming off ( i consider myself an EXPERT at de -sphaging orchids and i could not do a thing)..i was challenged to find a big enough container and moved her twice to get her comfy and provide enough room for res of water to keep her happy.....

well the last weekend i decided that i was not giving her the best chance to succeed and so i carefully plotted the location and orientation of the fans, plotted the best cut and split her perfectly with five fans and two new growths in each half..

one went back into the original pot and one is moved into a huge lily vase so it has MAD room to grow out.

in the repot i was looking at the tag and it is cracked and a bit missing....the name also has extra words that i cant tell if they are part of the name or just descriptors...

if you can advise on the name, the culture i have set up or the growing of phrags in general, i would greatly appreciate it and welcome all knowledge and insights.

DC


here is the tag
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...dc255a7_4k.jpgPhrag by J Solo, on Flickr

the two split bunches (the twin sisters)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d9bd3a9_4k.jpgPhrag by J Solo, on Flickr


one from above
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d2bac10_4k.jpgPhrag by J Solo, on Flickr

the other
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...da4e4d4_4k.jpgPhrag by J Solo, on Flickr

it appears that only two of these ten fans have a spent spike...does that mean that the others are still viable to flower or do they also only get one year to flower on each new growth like some other orchids?

here is the one back in the original pot in the original location
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...44860a1_4k.jpgBoogie by J Solo, on Flickr

the other i don't have a pic of right now and it is in my patio until i find a suitable, brighter spot for her

and the other half...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4595506_4k.jpgTomato hornworm by J Solo, on Flickr

Hello...google Phrag. Wossner Supergrande and that will get you started. Beautiful plant you have. Stay well

Phragmipedium [Phrag.] warszewiczianum (var-sheh-VICH-ee-ah-num) X Phrag longifolium.

looked it up in orchid wiz. Looks cool!
longifolium is a warm grower which will be a plus. I'm not familiar with the scrabble winner (aka wallisii according to Jay Pfhal).

DC-- I consider myself to be a pretty fair Phrag. grower down here and all that old sphagnum would scare the hell out of me. I don't know your growing conditions but I'll tell you what works for me.

Any plant I get potted in 100% sphagnum I strip completely off pronto or it will be dead within a month. Especially if it's summer. I grow outside in a shade house that's full on southern exposure, E-W orientation with 60% cloth on the east end and 80% on the west end I have automated overhead watering and roughly 25% is dedicated to epiphytes under misters that run 2x/day for 10 minutes each time. I am just back off the ocean maybe 300 ft and get those fabulous Keys tropical trade winds almost constantly.

My phrags are potted in a "paph/phrag" mix of loose sphag, charcoal, fine bark & sponge rock. They are on a bench just west of center where they get the benefit of the mister tail when the prevailing easterlies are working. They get wet most days but are dry within an hour or so. (hence my concern about packed sphagnum) That being said, I have a friend in New England growing them indoors hydroponically. However you do it, they need a lot of water, light and food to bloom well.

Can't anwser about whether "unbloomed" fans will eventually bloom but if I were you, I'd just concentrate on getting good healthy new runner growths started.

Awesome...very much appreciate the info

I hate and avoid all sphag except for my bulbos...it is a trainwreck down here, i agree.

I also appreciate the info on the name, what is that word near my thumb? Gracile? and a #? any idea what any of that means?

Also- the sphag is almost all gone my now...that was months ago and two of the fans are grown in my care with four more on the way so i know the basics are being provided for and the tips about the needs will hopefully help me get some flowers eventually

what you see in the above shots is the mass of really hard surface roots, they are incredibly tough

Possibly part of a cultivar name... which isn't part of an awarded plant name so not significant. If you know who the vendor was, you could probably ask and get the details.

oh......I didn't even notice that. So, it must be a cross on longifolium var. gracile. Interesting because OrchidWiz never mentioned that, just longifolium.

Give me a sec and I'll post up a pic of var. gracile. I have one and it's in bloom now.

var. gracile

The use of a variety of a species wouldn't change the name of the grex, varieties don't have "species" standing. But the choice of that particular form of Phrag longifolium would affect the result. The fine points of "which plant" are used in the remake of a grex are the breeder's "secret" ... part of the attempt to improve on something already quite good.

Sweet thanks so much guys!

So that pic, keysguy, is one of the parents of my plant?