Crap! Did it get too cold!?

[RandomGemini]

So... my replacement masdevallia erinacea arrived last night and my wonderful post person put a package marked "LIVE ORCHIDS" in my package drop rather than leaving it on the front door, as usual.

So... I had no idea it was in there until tracking updated this morning. I forgot that hubby doesn't check the mail on Fridays. So this one's totally my bad.

It got down to 38 degrees last night. I can't find temperature tolerances for this orchid. All I can find is "warm to cool" which isn't that helpful. The only saving grace I have right now is that it didn't freeze.

If this one doesn't make it, I'm swearing off masdevallias.

I'm leaving it in the box to warm up for a while before I open it and I'll open it in my laundry room and keep it there in the dark for today.

Thanks for any help!

[DeaC]

Orchids and hubbies...can't live with 'em or without 'em!

[judith_arquette]

Good luck. Hopefully its ok and bounces back quickly

[RandomGemini]

I opened the box and I have it sitting in a vase in my laundry room with some pebbles on the bottom and a small amount of water to create humidity. Plant seems ok. No leaf loss. Some of the leaf tips aren't perfect, but nothing out of the ordinary so far. Fingers crossed!

[trdyl]

According to OrchidWiz day temps should between 75-79F and nights 53-56F. Since it did not freeze you may not see any damage for one night. For what its worth, it was renamed in 2001 as Diodonopsis erinacea.

[lotis146]

Oh dear, I hope it wasn't harmed! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and your Massy!

Keep us posted.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

If this one doesn't make it, I'm swearing off masdevallias.

As there wasn't a freeze, it will likely be okay.

What masdies have you tried? I stick with the warm growing and warmth tolerant ones -- can't readily supply the cold to cool temps many want.

[RandomGemini]

I lost my Masdevallia Mendozae to what I think was anthracnose. My veitchiana has some weird fungal thing that I haven't identified I'm treating. It seems to be winning, but it has been slow going. I think I have bad luck with them and am not meant to keep them.

The anthracnose was probably from the vendor. The veitchiana came with mealybugs added and all of the leaves off of the first Erinacea I got from this vendor fell off due to some kind of shock, probably from importation. The vendor replaced it with a plant that has been conditioned in their greenhouse.

[Leafmite]

One night of cooler temperatures should be alright. I have already covered my plants with plastic dropcloths when the temps dipped below forty during the night (summer of 13 was a cool one). The only plants I brought inside were the Theobroma and anything in bud. Everything was perfectly fine. If your new orchid is healthy, it should also be fine. Most Intermediate or warm growing plants can tolerate a few hours of cooler weather as long as it is just one night, for a few hours, and the day time temperatures are warm.
Good luck!

[RandomGemini]

So far so good! I've moved it into the room next to my terrarium. It's opened up a bit. Lost two leaves, but it seems to be okay otherwise. Fingers crossed.