Dracula Olmosii in Bloom

[cantrell]

Hi, all. I've been growing Dracula orchids in a terrarium since October, and my dracula olmosii just bloomed. When I got it, it was in pretty bad shape because it was in a greenhouse that was much too hot, but over the last couple of months, it has not only bloomed, but it has also initiated several new growths.

I hope I have as much luck with the other three.

[Dollythehun]

Good job!

[Tindomul]

Very nice.

[rbarata]

Too bad the flower is pointing downwards. Or is it still opening?

What are the temps inside the terrarium?

[cantrell]

This is just the way Dracula orchids bloom. Two of my Draculas spike from the bottom with downward-facing blooms. The Olmosii spikes from the top, but the blooms still point down.

During the day, the temperature in the terrarium is between 75 and 78. At night, I move them into a wine refrigerator where the temperature is exactly 58. They do best with a 20-degree difference in temps between night and day.

The wine refrigerator was supposed to be temporary. I wanted to see if the plants would thrive before I put a lot of energy into building a system to cool the terrarium. However, I actually like the arrangement. The humidity in the terrarium has to be about 90% which means the conditions are perfect for algae and mold. But since I move the plants into another environment at night, I completely dry out the terrarium every 24-hours. So far, no problems with algae.