Determining Light levels

[camille1585]

No, it's not really the same type of watering as with phals. Like Philip said, they should get watered when the medium has dried out to be just damp. They like to be damp. With Phals they need to be nearly completely dry. Masdies also tolerant much less fertilizer than Phals. For my masdie I cut the dosage down to half of what the other orchids get.

[miowntime]

Thank you Camille! Your imput is really helpful. I bought four new books but (I'm finding) I get nowhere near the kind of information that I get here. Thanks for giving me the info to grow my orchids properly!

One last question, and I'll leave you be...I promise

Would my Masdevalia appreciate misting when the top of the media gets drier? Or do I need to worry about crown rot the way I have to worry about my phals?

Thanks again for all the fantastic information. I don't know what I'd do without this forum!

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[camille1585]

I don't know a whole lot about Masdies since I only have one (well, had until the box it was in disappeared on its way to an orchidsitter), but I think it's fine to mist the surface of the media. Rot is less of an issue with them. I would mist the sphag at the surface to keep it damp until the sphag in the core of the pot dried out a bit more.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

There is no such thing as crown rot with Masevallias.

They can be over watered, and if that's the case, the problem would be leaf drop.

What happens in leaf drop is that the stem turns to mush because the cells have burst. Or the stem doesn't have to turn to mush, it can also just turn yellow as a result of chlorosis due to over watering. Once the stem goes, so does the leaf.

The stem on Masdevallias are pretty short compared to the leaf.

Don't mistake the petiole for the stem, they're different structures. The petiole is the bottom part of the leaf that looks like a stem and connects to the actual stem. If you closely or if you use a magnifying glass, there is a break point between the bottom of the petiole and the top of the stem.

[miowntime]

Thank you so much for all of your help! I never liked the look of masdevalia before but now that I have a nice bunch I find it much more balanced looking than many other orchids. Plus, the variety and colors are amazing. I'm going to give myself some time with this one, but I'm thinking maybe these plants are where I want to go with my collection

Thanks again & happy growing!

Beth