Species library › Phragmipedium › Phragmipedium kovachii
Orchids Little published: much of this is inferred from related species

Phragmipedium kovachii

A slipper orchid with the largest, purple flowers in its genus, found only on wet limestone cliffs in a small area of northern Peru. It needs cool-intermediate, humid, bright conditions and a calcareous, always-moist medium; it is listed on CITES Appendix I.

Phragmipedium kovachii
Photo: Dalton Holland Baptista, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Grows on near-vertical, seeping limestone cliffs and rocky slopes among grasses and low shrubs in montane forest, with roots in wet moss and calcareous grit.

Reported from roughly 1,600–2,000 m; the single measured climate site at 273 m is far too low.

Peru

🔒 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.