Dracula gigas 'Marnie' potting and culture.

[daemondamian]

Hi folks,
I just got the plant Dracula gigas 'Marnie'. It's a division that was just freshly potted into a normal pot with good sphagnum moss in the top wrapped around the roots and I assume bark/perlite or chc a 1/3rd or 1/2 of the pot.

I haven't actually unpotted and checked but this is how the Masdevallias I get from the same nursery come potted and also I have seen the owner give a potting demonstration of how he grows Masdevallias.

According to the orchid species pages it "blooms in the spring, summer and fall on a purple, stout, erect sometimes horizontal, 2' [60 cm] long, successively few flowered, racemose inflorescence arising from low on the ramicaul with tubular floral bracts"

So does that mean the flowers will grow upwards and I can leave in its normal pot or does it require a netpot or basket because the flowers might also grow sideways?

I have 2 Dracula vampira, a chimera, transilvania and bella [with a spike] that are going ok, so I'm hoping gigas will like my conditions too.

Anyone else have anything else to comment on about D. gigas?

[Rosim_in_BR]

Hi, Damian! I grow Dracula gigas too and although mine is potted in a small plastic basket, this is one of the few that blooms on erect floral stems (the other I have with the same habit is Dracula astuta). So, a regular pot goes well with that one!

[daemondamian]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

Hi, Damian! I grow Dracula gigas too and although mine is potted in a small plastic basket, this is one of the few that blooms on erect floral stems (the other I have with the same habit is Dracula astuta). So, a regular pot goes well with that one!

Hi Mauro,
thanks for your reply. I happen to have a problem with my Dracula bella, in particular yellowing of some leaves.

I'm not 100% sure but I think it is because it is receiving too much light? When I originally got it had many totally yellow leaves though. It could be due for a repotting into nice new fresh sphagnum moss but it has a flower spike so I can't repot it.

What do you think?