Program Highlights:

This was the first meeting in our new location in the Garden Club Council of Greater Columbia building. And H. P. Norton of Orchiview in Moncks Corner was our speaker. His cultural tips for red phrags include the importance of moisture at the roots. Phrag besseae and its hybrids want to stay moist and never completely dry out. However, be careful you don't drown them. To accomplish this H. P is reverting back to some of his earlier successful cultural technique of growing these phrags in plastic pots and then sitting them in a shallow clay saucer to keep moisture up throughout the day. He only uses McConky plastic pots out of California as the drain holes are elevated on the bottom of the pot allowing air flow after water in the saucers has evaporated. It is important to remember he only grows the red phrags this way. Use only the smallest pot the roots will fit into and use a very loose mix. The trick to potting and keeping the mix loose is to settle the mix around the roots by tamping the pot on the bench during potting, under no circumstances force mix down into the pot around the roots.

H.P.'s mix is fairly open. For small pots, those under 4" the mix contains 6 parts seedling grade fir bark, 1 part #3 sponge rock, 1 part medium grade (3/8" to 1/2") hardwood charcoal, and either 1 part peat moss or 1 part New Zealand or Chilean sphagnum moss cut into 1/2" lengths. For larger parts the mix is 4 parts medium grade fir bark, 1-2 parts seedling grade fir bark, 1 part #3 sponge rock, 1 part medium grade charcoal and either 1 part peat moss or New Zealand or Chilean sphagnum moss, 1/2" length.

Water quality is another key. H.P.'s water is low in dissolved solids and actually has only 66 parts per million of dissolved solids or less. With fertilizer added your dissolved solids should be about 100 parts per million. If your water is of less quality consider using distilled water from the store. As for fertilizer he uses any standard type like peters, or miracle grow at 1/4 strength at every watering. In addition he adds 1/4 teaspoon of fish emulsion to this mix. On a monthly basis he will add 1/8 tsp Superthrive. And every second month adds 1 tablespoon Epsom salts to the water.

Finally H.P. says his seedlings grow extremely fast in the warm shady conditions of the Phalaenopsis house. However to produce flowers of great color, it is necessary to cool the plants down. If you are like H.P., you air condition your greenhouse. If your like most of us just grow them in your normal greenhouse in the coolest spot available. Since the majority of red phrags bloom in the spring, temperatures are already just about right. You just have to deal with bland colors during the warm season.

Date: Sunday, July 8, 2007
Program:

The Red Phragmipediums: New Breeding Trends and Culture Requirements by H. P. Norton of Orchidview in Moncks Corner, SC

1996 was H.P. Norton's first introduction to the red phragmipediums, and he has been under their spell ever since. He has amassed one of the most desirable collections of red flowered phragmipediums in the world. Although best known for his breeding of Phalaenopsis, especially the red ones, (does anyone since a trend here) he has become one of the leading breeders of red phragmipediums in the world. H.P. will discuss some of his past and present breeding, how he believes Phragmipedium kovachii will influence future phragmipedium breeding and how he grows the plants in hot and humid Coastal South Carolina.