Masdevallia Dean Haas

[s.kallima]

Originally Posted by Grandma M

I love your Dean Haas, it's a beautiful flower, but in S/H????????

How large a pot is it growing in? Can you post a pic of the whole plant?

I grow 90% of my plants in S/H, but I would not have thought of growing a Masdevilla in it. I have several Psychopsis in it and they do great. I may want to try a Masdevilla. It sounds interesting. I find I'm much more comfortable knowing when to water that way. It takes the guess work out of it. Does it matter when you transfer it to S/H?

Now I'm anxious to find a plant which is a bit larger than a seedling to try.

Marilyn

Thank you all for the comments

Marilyn, the plant is in a 5" pot (also 5" tall, it is a clay pot I transformed in S/H pot by plugging the bottom hole and drilling 2 holes on the side 1" from the bottom). I repotted the plant this summer and split it in 2 as it was touching the edges of the pot. It is constantly growing new leaves, and right now this plant has 50 leaves. it is also growing new roots all the time (so repotting in s/h is not a problem) ! I did not take a picture when I repotted it, but the amount of healthy roots was amazing, especially on the top third of the pellets !

I think it likes S/H a lot, but I have to water every 2-3 days because the plant is "drinking" a lot. The clay pot also evaporates a lot.

I will take a picture of the whole plant these days, as I also want to take more pictures of the flower (the colors are even more intense today !)

[s.kallima]

Originally Posted by 10010100102

Gorgeous bloom! Hybrids aren't usually my cup of tea, but this just fantastic! I may have to try some of my masdies in S/H now. I'd be willing to bet this cross's got veitchiana in its background somewhere...

Yes indeed, this hybrid is from : Copper Angel x Angel Glow
the parents are :
M. triangularis, veitchiana, strobelii and infracta

[Grandma M]

S Kallima

Thanks for the info. I sure would like to find one like that. I know I can't ask you to sell me a start, you in Canada, me in Michigan. I love the color in this one. I still would like to see a pic of the whole plant.

You have given me the courage to try one in S/H. I only have some seedlings, but I would like to find a masd large enough so it will not get lost in the pot.

Waiting for a pic.

Marilyn

[Tindomul]

Wow, great close up!!! Amazing colours too. Do you use small grade clay pellets for the s/h? Or do you use the standard size? Oh, and how large is you water resevoir?

[s.kallima]

Thanks Tindomul,

I choose the smallest pellets in the batch of regular size I bought, so they are around 5 mm diameter.
The water reservoir in the pot is around 1.5 cm (0.6 inch).
I added some live sphagnum on top of the pellets (2cm think) so it keeps more moisture, the plant seems to like it better (no more winkled leaves). The interesting thing about live sphagnum on top of the pellets is that it does not prevent the evaporation because it is alive and therefore it does evaporate a lot. I now have my 4 Masde. potted with this system (bottom 3/4 of the pot with pellets, top 1/4 of live sphagnum, S/H reservoir in the pot = 1.5 cm depth) and they are doing great!
I fertilize very lightly (1/4 of usual S/H regime at 125 N) and flush often so the sphagnum doesn't get burned. It still happens a bit sometimes (the tip of the moss turns black), so I trim the sphagnum and it grows back quickly )

[Tindomul]

Just wondering, do you keep the plant in a humid room? And where did you get the live sphagnum? Thanks for the info.

[s.kallima]

The plants are on an east facing windowsill (window opened at night and when days permit) in winter and outside in summer (NW pacific coast climate is great for Masdies...). I got the live sphagnum at a store selling carnivorous plants, and now reproduce it in a container, it grows like weed (keep trimming it) in a simple plastic shallow container with rainwater and full sun exposure

[Tindomul]

Cool thanks. Yea you guys have lots moisture in the air, especially this year. So jealous! LOL, well congrats again, its just gorgeous! Is it still in bloom for you?

[s.kallima]

About the moisture : indeed we have a lot, as always!

The plant is no longer blooming, but a lot of new leaves are growing, so hopefully the flowers are on their way too (usually each new leaf when fully developed starts a stem)