Cultures for Orchids at Billy's Buds of Minnesota

The Phragmipedium (commonly called “Phrag”) is the South American lady's slipper orchid. This variety is very easy to grow in the home and is among the longest blooming of any orchid type. Phrags will produce flowers sequentially (one to two at a time) for a period of 4-11 months or more. Each individual bloom lasts 2-3 weeks. When expiring, they often fall off the stem prior to wilting. Don’t be dismayed, another bud is ready to bloom right behind it! When the bloom stem has completely finished producing flowers simply cut it off at the point where it emerged from the leaves. Your next bloom stem will emerge from the new growth of leaves that developed during the previous blooming period.

LIGHT: Phrags like fairly bright light levels. Correct light can be achieved by placing them where they receive direct morning sun from an east window or bright, indirect sun from the west or south exposure.

TEMPERATURE: These plants are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures. A range of 50-60° at night to 70-90° daytime is good.

WATER: The easiest part about growing Phrags is the watering. They like to be kept fairly moist. One way of achieving this is placing them in a small saucer of water. You can then water them about once a week. If not using a saucer, you will need to water more frequently, especially in warm seasons.

HUMIDITY: The Phrags love humidity along with their wet feet. Ideal humidity is 60-80 percent. In the home, proper humidity can be achieved by placing plants in a small saucer of water as described above.

FERTILIZER: Phragmipediums are known for their constantly vigorous growth and extensive blooming period. Therefore, they need a constant supply of food with their water. We suggest adding 1/2-1 teaspoon of Osmocote to the pot every 6 months along with weekly feeding with a dilute (~1/4 teaspoon fertilizer per gallon of water) Bloom Booster food.

REPOTTING: Since Phrags like to grow very moist, they need to be repotted more often since the media will decompose quicker than dryer types of orchids. We suggest the plants be repotted annually, and best when the new growth is beginning. When removing the plant from the pot, try to keep the root system from experiencing unnecessary disturbance as it needs these roots to take up water and food that becomes the flowers and plant. Trim off any soft or rotted roots at this time. Select a pot just large enough to accommodate the remaining root mass. Position the plant in the pot with room for the new growths to grow. Fill the pot with media and firm it up around the edges. Plants in new media will likely need to be watered more often for the first month or so, while the media takes up the moisture.

Growing Tips for Phragmipediums