Its OK for the old growths to die back. They flower and die. As long as
the new growths like your culture, grow to the same size or larger then you
are OK. The 'standing in water' trick is pretty standard for Phrag culture.
I don't use it personally, but thousands of people swear by it.

Its the growth habit for many besseae hybrids to climb out of their pot.
Not much you can do about that.

BTW its Phrag Memoria Dick Clements (Mem.) Many awards on this cross. I'm
glad you have one of them

K Barrett

"Ted" wrote in message
oups.com...
I bought a paph and a phrag last spring. Both stopped blooming in
August.

I was told to water them so that the pot is left standing in about a
half centimetre of water, and then not water again until the day after
the standing water had disappeared. The paph, Paph. Magic Lantern
(micranthum x delenatii), appears to be very happy with this treatment,
and has, within the past month, produced a nice little new growth. The
plant itself is a modest size with only half a dozen beautifully
patterned leaves.

The tag on the phrag is very hard to read, but it looks like Phrag Mam
Dick Clements. It does not seem to like this culture. It has two new
growths that appear to be happy, but all but two of the leaves from the
old growth are brown, and one of the remaining two appears to be on its
way out. From the old growth, only one leaf is a healthy green color.

This phrag is clearly trying to grow out of its pot, with the growth
that had bloomed being about 1 cm above the substrate (looks like
either bark or small coconut chips), and the two new growths about 1 cn
higher than that still.

It is my understanding that this plant had won an award n previous
years, but the only trace of anything older that the growth that
produced this year's bloom is a little stub that clearly had its leaves
cut off once the leaves turned brown, at a height of about 3 cm, before
I bought it. It had clearly bloomed at least once before.

So, what is happening? With the same treatment, which I was told by
the vendour to provide, the paph is obviously happy, with no sign if
death anywhere, but the phrag does not look happy. Is the phrag really
dying, or is what I am seeing normal?

Thanks,

Ted


R.E. (Ted) Byers, Ph.D., Ed.D.
R & D Decision Support Solutions
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