Phragmipedium 'Sorcerer's Apprentice'
South American slipper orchid, Mandarin orchid
- Height × spread
- 0.4m × 0.3m
- Position
- Part shade
- Hardiness
- Frost free greenhouse 1C & above (RHS H2)
- Flowers
- Winter, Spring, Autumn
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
Airy and beautiful, this is suspended from a slender curving stem and hang in the air like a showy bauble. The side petals are long and tapering, pendulous. The flower is coloured a pale plummy beige tint with soft tends suffusing into each other. The cup of the bloom is cream but there is irregular pink spotting within. This is winter and spring flowering.
- Flower colour
- Beige, Brown, Pink
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Bell
- Height
- 0.4m
- Spread
- 0.3m
- Season of interest
- Spring, Winter
- Flowers in
- Winter, Spring, Autumn
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Indoors, Conservatory
- Sun or shade
- Likes part shade
- Soil type
- All types
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Frost free greenhouse 1C & above (RHS H2)
- Borders & containers
- Borders and containers
- Indoor light
- bright spot, no direct sun
- Indoor temperature
- 15C minimum temperature
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring-Winter · Indoors
Feed with orchid feed
Use half strength standard orchid feed every third watering from spring to autumn while plant is in growth, feed every 8 weeks in winter and early spring.
Spring-Winter · Indoors
Water regularly in growth & lightly in winter
This plant always needs some water, but the volume should be increased, and regularly applied while in growth. It should be lightly watered while resting in winter.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Keep dry during dormancy
This plant likes a period of dryness in winter. Otherwise increase watering as it comes into growth, water regularly, then decrease as the plant enters dormancy. Mist the foliage daily while in growth.
Other opinions state that plant should receive the occasional light watering while it is in its dormant or resting period.
Spring-Winter · Outdoors
Feed with orchid feed
Use half strength standard orchid feed every third watering from spring to autumn while plant is in growth, feed every 8 weeks in winter and early spring.
Winter
Winter - late · Planting
Remove baby plants
Remove offsets or small plants around the base of the parent plant while it is dormant. The plants should have developed their own root system. Replant them, or grow them on in a pot.
Planting & general
Indoor temperature · Planting
15C minimum temperature
This plant requires a minimum temperature of 15 Centigrade.
Indoor plant · Planting
Position in a bright spot, no direct sun
Give this a bright position away from the direct sun, especially direct sun at the height of the day. (Direct sunshine is too hot and can burn the leaves.) Move the plant to a brighter position in the room during winter and early spring.
Compost · Planting
Orchid-epiphytic compost for repotting
Buy a standard orchid mix for orchids that are epiphytic in character i.e. they grow on other things, generally other plants.
If making one's own one recipe create a mix that is half fine bark chips, and a mix of fine gravel and perlite and charcoal for the other half. Opinions vary on 'recipes' and if your interest develops, you can research the views of specialist growers.