It's always difficult to get a good picture of these because the flowers are petite and are often held at a weird angle. I have found that this species is quite variable in terms of flower quality. This is my second one, which I just bought yesterday. It's not much better than my other one, but as my other one is struggling and this is a robust division, I bought it. This is a difficult species to grow well - I think the key is to use pure water and keep it wet. I have to try to pay more attention to my schlimii plants so they do better - they are temperamental and need lots of TLC.This species is quite hard to find, but all the serious Phrag growers/collectors have at least one. It is an old species and is obviously very attractive, and is one of the most compact Phrags there is, and a founding species of both pink Phrag hybrids and compact ones. Whilst being compact for a Phrag, this plant is still at least 16" or so in leafspan, and growing in a 1 gallon pot - they get rather large as they clump up and mature. Characteristically, the sequentially flowering stems are short and few-flowered. The flower is less than 2" across but has a light fragrance. While the single open flower on this plant looks ridiculous with so much foliage, when it clumps up more it will have multiple stems flowering at once which looks quite impressive. A specimen plant of Phrag schlimii is always a magnificent sight to behold. Here's to Colombia's most beautiful orchid (in my opinion)!
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