Phragmipedium besseae

The red-flowered slipper orchid of the wet eastern Andean slopes in Ecuador and Peru, growing on dripping banks and rock faces where water seeps past its creeping rhizomes. It needs cool to intermediate temperatures, very clean, constantly moist roots and moderate light; stale or salty media kill it quickly.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Wet montane forest on the eastern slope of the Andes, on steep seepage banks, wet rock and stream margins, often in moss. A creeping rhizome spreads new growths along the bank.

Generally reported at roughly 1,100–1,500 m. The measured sites are at 1,295 m and at 2,597 m.

EcuadorPeru

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.