Masdie and lack of water, help me save it!

[camille1585]

2 weeks or so before Christmas I got some new orchids, one of them being a Masdie. I went home to France for the holidays, so the orchids stayed on their own for 2 weeks. I watered really well before leaving and turned down the heat, and when I got back all the orchids were fine, except the Masdie which was beyond bone dry and had 2 yellowing leaves/growths, that have since fallen. I gave it a good long soak and now a week later, if anything it looks worse. All the leaves are wrinkled, and some of them have small dry round spots, and another 2 leaves are yellowing. The roots are perfectly fine, I just unpotted to have a look.

My question is, how well do Masdies bounce back from lack of water?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The answer generally depends on the type of Masdevallia in question...

However, I would venture to say that if your Masdevallia had enough leaves, (10 or more), you're ok. Obviously, the more leaves the plant has the better.

---------- Post added at 01:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:42 PM ----------

Try soaking again in cold water (assuming it is one of the cooler growing ones).

[camille1585]

It's a warmth tolerant one, Masd. Copper Angel. It has 15 leaves, including the 2 currently yellowing ones.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Oh those! They're tough as nails by Masdevallia standards.

Yeah, try another soaking in refrigerated water for about 2 hrs or so. You can even try aerating the water with an air pump and air stone.

Adding a few B vitamins wouldn't hurt either.

Give it a shot and see how things turn out in about another week or 2.

---------- Post added at 01:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:50 PM ----------

Forgot to mention, try and soak the entire plant, leaves and all.

[camille1585]

I just watered it today (a 3 hour soak), so I'll try the cold water bath next watering. I'm going to move it out from under the lights, it may do better on the windowsill where it's cooler and not as bright.

[camille1585]

The leaves are starting to plump up a bit, but it's the spots on the leaves that have me worried. All the leaves that have those wind up with first a yellow halo around them, then the leaves yellow entirely. And the spots are appearing on previously healthy leaves. I'm going to have to go out this evening and buy something to treat it

[silken]

One of my two masdies got spots that sound like yours from being a bit too warm and possibly too dry this summer. The leaves look pretty aweful but they didn't completely die. Maybe yours will if it was that much drier than mine. I don't want to stop you from treating it. But it didn't seem to be fungal or bacterial , or spread to any other plants. Just more an indication of stress. Over the last 6 months some of these have started to yellow and I took them off but they also were the oldest leaves. If the roots are good, it will likely pull thru but just not look so great until new leaves replace all the spotted ones.

[camille1585]

I removed the very yellowing/spotted ones this morning (4 of them), and I'll keep an eye on the nice green leaves that have a few spots. Luckily I also found 2 new growths, so at least some replacement leaves are on the way!

In case it's stress related like yours, I'll treat it only if I see clean leaves start to get necrotic spots. Hopefully a nice cool windowsill and water is all that it needs.

[silken]

Good luck with it. It's so heart breaking when this kind of stuff happens.

[camille1585]

Especially since I got this plant less than a month ago.... I already lost a plant from the same order (Haraella odorata that died from rot less than 48h after I got it)
I'm also worried about several of my Phals which have 1-2 leaves yellowing from the base, which is really not normal. And another 2 Phals which are developing virus like symptoms.