Dracula failures - HELP??

[charley]

Hi - this is my first post, be gentle. I have killed three Draculas so far. Two were D. lotax and I have lost the tag for the third one, but i think the species name began with a "b." These were all purchased mail order from two suppliers (reputable) and looked great for a while, though never got flowers. I am new to all orchids; I do fine with most standard Dendro's and Pluero's etc... For the Draculas, I tried one in a tropical terrerium, very wet and warm - rotted fast, turned black, dead.
Then I tried one in a damp but cool terrerium home, with a base of rock and sphagnum, in a pot with sphagnum kept damp - turned a little brown at base, turned darker, leaf ends turned brown, mold formed at base, dead.
Then I tried one in the same cooler terrerium but with top more open to keep it drier, but also in sphagnum moss - dead.
I have one D. lotax left in the cool terrerium with top slightly open in a pot with standard orchid bark mix. This one seems to be doing fair, but definately not thriving. I feed about once a month with light mix of commercial orchid food, like Miracid or the other big one. I keep the orchid mix damp. What am I doing wrong? Does anyone know of a good site for Dracula purchases and info?

[bcub30]

Well I wouldnt call myself a Drac expert but there is one crucial condition missing in what you describe, AIR CIRCULATION. Yes they do like to be on the humid side but you need good air circulation to prevent molds and fungi. My Drac. houtteana grows in an enclosed area that typically has humidity between 75-85%. But I also use a humidifier that has a fairly powerfull fan. I have found that i dont need to keep the media as wet as long as the humidity is up. I would advise adding a good muffin fan or two to your terraruim to get the air circulating. You dont want the plants to look like they are in a hurricane but you do want the foliage to sway gently.

Scott

[Kris]

I am growing my d. lotax in a very warm and humid environment with good air movement and moderate light. Here is a link IOSPE PHOTOS

[Faerygirl]

I have often thought that I wanted to try to grow a Dracula, but I believe that I would be wasting my money and my time. Kinda like the time I tried to grow proteas here. They succumbed to fungus from the high inherent humidity. Its just too hot here I think. I tried a "preview" for myself by trying to grow a few Masdevallias...it was a failure. The temperature I keep my greenhouse for all my palms, aroids, tropical orchids and other tropical plants is between about 58F-95F. In winter, on a few days, the daytime temp may drop to about 75F, but its never what cool growers would live in. Its nice and humid and there is good air circ from numerous fans and a swamp cooler, but still, just too hot. I envy people who can grow these. The closest I come is a few Bulbos that look more like Masdevallias, like B. blumei.

[Tindomul]

I have found that the closely realted genus of Masdevallia highly dislike having sphagnum moss in the humid conditions of a terrarium. I would attempt to mount them and let them have exposed roots. Also possibly see if you can put in a fan for circulation of the air.