Mas. schroderiana 'Los Osos' / Mas. ephippium / Pleurothallis obovata

[rallygirl]

hello!

i am a total newbie with a flock of discounted (and unhappy) plants that i would love to grow into beautiful specimens in bloom:

Mas. schroderiana 'Los Osos'
can anyone tell me about this orchid? it has a ccm/aos designation, and i am curious about the 'los osos'. i have seen this (cultivar?) name on other orchids.

the other Mas. was labelled 'ephippium' and some of the online orchid directories were indicating that this was also called 'trochilus'. i am not sure what the naming confusion is about; when i looked at a photo of the plant i purchased when it was in bloom it looked the same as web photos of 'trochilus'. apparently this plant was originally collected in Peru, and i wonder if this might have affected the initial identification.

the other pleurothallid is a Pleurothallis obovata.

as i said they are quite small and sad. i have put all three in an aquarium with only part roof to keep some humidity but some air circulation as well. they are in a large bright WN window where i have easily grown (but not yet successfully rebloomed) a phal and an aliceara.

i wanted to try my luck on these little things instead of spending a lot of $$ on large blooming plants that i can't maintain, and i would really appreciate some advice.

appreciated, looking forward to being part of the forums.
jd

[Mary Morton]

Good Luck to you. I have only been in love with orchids for a year. I have 43 and trying to learn all I can about them and their care. I cannot help you but I am sure someone with more experience will give you a suggestion or two.

[smartie2000]

Welcome
'Los Osos' would be its clonal name, so that you can identify that it was a piece of that plant. This clonal name has been used before on other hybrids and I believe it is a name of a company. It recieved a Certificate of Cultural Merit (CCM) from the American Orchid Society(AOS)

Best of luck I am also new with these masdevallias. Remember to keep them cool, humid and moist

[Mahon]

Good luck on growing these! Masdevallia schroderiana is a bit easier to grow, but still prefers some cool temperatures. Mas. trochilus (properly known as Alaticaulia trochilus) is a real tough one to grow. It is native to very high elevations in cloud forests in Columbia and Peru. You will need very cool temperatures for it, less light, and ample amounts of water. Alaticaulia trochilus was once placed in Masdevallia, but is now part of a new segregate genus. Mas. ephippium (H.G. Reichenbach, f.) is just an older synonym for the same plant.

Pleurothallis obovata is properly known as Specklinia citrina. This one is a small, low elevation epiphyte, which will require a little more light with ample amounts of water.

Good luck on these
-Pat

[rallygirl]

thanks very much for the info. this is gonna be fun!

what about fertilizer? any advice on how to keep them cool? the bc okanagan can get very hot in the summer, and i don't have a/c! i have read that some species are tolerant of less than ideal temperatures if they are watered, aired and lit wisely. doesn't sound like that will be the case with these. the trocilus looks to be the healthier of the two, and had survived some tough conditions before i got it. it also looks like it needs to be repotted but if it will be hard to grow i am reluctant to give it another stress. i'll try and post some photos; there's not much to see but i'd really like to get these to thrive.

i'll post all the basic/general stuff that i'm wondering now that i've got these 'high maintenance' ladies in the newbies folder.

jd

[daemondamian]

Hi Rallygirl,
congrats on your excellent plant choices I just got
a Masdevallia schroderiana division last weekend. What do you plan on potting your Masdevallias into?

Thanks Pat, for the reminder that M. schroderianais is a cool grower, it's Autumn here now so I have a bit of time before we get hotter weather.

Do you think mine would be a little more tolerant of heat as it is actually a cross of two different color forms of M. schroderiana not a 'pure' species if you know what I mean?

[rallygirl]

Damian,
i am going to try growing my mas. schrod semihydroponically... i'm curious about your question since i was told mine was a pure 'species'.

i'll be repotting them all this week... there's fuzz and webby stuff and all sorts of bad things on the moss and plants... i am hoping a good dose of physan and careful desterilization will get rid of whatever pests are growing.

as Pat said, the trochilus wilted fast and i'm not sure if i will be able to keep it alive. i'll see what it has for roots but i'm not hopeful.

well, i'm off in search of some good 'repotting' threads...