dracula failures - HELP??

[charley]

Well, that will teach me to look a little harder next time. Just found this "alliance." Sorry I am new here. I posted this to "Beginners" earlier today. 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?

[Phantasm]

It's not unusual to lose a few plants while learning how to grow them! Draculas, are for the most part, cool growers and will thrive in conditions that have a bit less light, moist conditions with good air movement, and basket culture. People that are successful growing these are a large scale will do so with a cool house that works for odontoglossums, masdevallias and miltoniopsis.
Commercial growers will give them more shade than paphs at the cool end of the greenhouse and hang them to allow the inflorescences to develop properly. Keep in mind that most dracula species have pendent spikes that drop vertically through the bottom of the basket.
They are spectacular when grown well.........

[cb977]

Hi Charley

Welcome to Orchidboard
You'll miss out on a real OB greeting if you don't post a "hello" in our Introductions - Break The Ice forum

I can't help you with the Dracs as I've never tried one myself but I'm sure our other members can help you out

[MZHMD]

Hi Charley:

Just a suggestion from one who has grown (and killed) LOTS of pleurothallids indoors. From your descriptions the problem sounds a lot like rot. These plants LOVE air movement, which usually doesn't happen in a terrarium. Get a fan. Because terrariums are small you will need a small fan - look for "personal fans" at a place like Big Lots or the HomeDepot or Target. Plan to replace it often, terrarium humidity is murder on these little, poorly constructed fans. Run it 24/7. Preferably pass the air over a water source before it hits the plants - this [I]might[I] raise the humidity a teeny bit, whether it does or not, you will find yourself having to water a LOT more frequently. Also, use rainwater or deionized water. These plants do not like a lot of salt in the water. Let us know if this helps keep the last one alive.

Marquis Z. Hodes

[Tindomul]

I've found that sphagnum moss kills orchids when inside a humid terrarium. You don't need the extra humidity that the sphag moss gives. I know grow all my masdies in my terrarium mounted. I've still lost a few cuttings, but the mother plants are growing leaves and roots. The one that I have kept in sphag as an experiment has not done anything except blast its flower buds. I will be moving it soon. You will have much better success, in my opinion, if you leave the sphag out.

[Ross]

I'll join in as one who has NEVER grown one of these guys, but has a lot of background on killing plants. If that last plant were mine, I'd get it out of the terrarium and over to window. I'd make sure it dries between waterings and when watering, I'd dunk it in a bucket of RO or rain water (or distilled water) that has the proper fertilizer designed for water with lack of calcium such as Product Listing - MSU-type Liquid Fertilizer for Pure Water - 1 Qt Ray is a OrchidBoard member and frequent poster regarding his unique growing methods.

[daemondamian]

Originally Posted by Tindomul1of9

I've found that sphagnum moss kills orchids when inside a humid terrarium. You don't need the extra humidity that the sphag moss gives. I know grow all my masdies in my terrarium mounted. I've still lost a few cuttings, but the mother plants are growing leaves and roots. The one that I have kept in sphag as an experiment has not done anything except blast its flower buds. I will be moving it soon. You will have much better success, in my opinion, if you leave the sphag out.

Hi Tindomul1of9,
what water do your masdevallias receive in your terrariums [ie daily mistings?]?

Thanks
Damian

[Tindomul]

Distilled water/bottled water.

[Restrepia]

Originally Posted by MZHMD

Hi Charley:

Just a suggestion from one who has grown (and killed) LOTS of pleurothallids indoors. From your descriptions the problem sounds a lot like rot. These plants LOVE air movement, which usually doesn't happen in a terrarium. Get a fan. Because terrariums are small you will need a small fan - look for "personal fans" at a place like Big Lots or the HomeDepot or Target. Plan to replace it often, terrarium humidity is murder on these little, poorly constructed fans. Run it 24/7. Preferably pass the air over a water source before it hits the plants - this [I]might[I] raise the humidity a teeny bit, whether it does or not, you will find yourself having to water a LOT more frequently. Also, use rainwater or deionized water. These plants do not like a lot of salt in the water. Let us know if this helps keep the last one alive.

Marquis Z. Hodes

Totally agree! When growing in small glass enclosures you must install very powerful fans to create the air movement which not only keeps the air moving in the enclosure but also helps to reduce temp.

My only advice would be not to bother with small clamp on desk fans. They are not strong enough, they are not water proof and the high humidity will eventually cause them to seize up.

In my growing cases I use the small, but very powerful fans that are installed in refrigeration. I am lucky in that my partner is a refrigeration engineer. These fans are very powerful and water proof. They have no guards on them so you have to be careful, but hey, do they do the job!

One of my orchid friends who has two NCCPG collections in the UK has a very large collection of Draculas and I can remember him telling me that he had terrible problems with rotting and decided to reduce the humidity to around 50% - 60%. He now swears by this and his Draculas look fab!

Some other points that may be useful:

I personally do not grow any of my orchids in sphagnum moss. I know some growers swear by it and I know that a lot of Dracula growers use it. I find it to wet and the perfect breeding ground for botrytis if your conditions are not perfect 24/7. It’s fine to use with mounted plants as these dry out a lot quicker, but in pots I prefer seedling bark mix.

RO water is the best for Pleurothallids!

Do you have some Physan?

[sherry fehr]

I have also killed 2 dracula's, I have one left, dracula felix, it gets what looks like flower spikes with buds at the end, then shrivel up and die! I've enjoyed reading everyone's input on how to care for them, I will try something different now.