Looking for a Beginner Masdelvia

[AnonYMouse]

Thanks Sonya and Philip

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

70% is adequate enough for many Masdevallias to bloom correctly.

Although the RH can get there on a daily basis, 70% can't be maintained (fortunately for me, unfortunately for the Masdie).

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

This is a bit too cool for Masd ayacabana. It will have a difficult time blooming if it never gets above 70 F. You can let it get to a daytime high of 90 F and it'd still be ok with this species. Masd ayacabana is not a true warm grower, it is closer to being an intermediate grower being able to tolerate the warmer end of intermediate. Masd ayacabana is closely related to Masd princeps, and they both have somewhat similar growing requirements. If you grow Masd ayacabana in the cool to intermediate range, it will start showing signs of distress when the temperatures start dropping below 50 F.

Just to give you an idea of what you can do; if you're going to grow in temperatures between 35 F - 70 F, you are capable of growing Masd coccinea without a problem.

This actually makes me hopeful. The temps I stated are for much of the year (2/3) but starts climbing about June (mid 70s to 80ish) through September. Occasionally will get into the 90's, maybe a total of 7 to 10 days of those temps.

As for growing the coccinea, I cooked one.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Cool pots may be too big for Masdevallias in general, the smallest size they come in is 3". I've found that many Masdevallias can fit just fine in a 1.5" pot - 2" short pot; and we're talking about plants with lush growth here!

The pot-in-pot sitting in a puddle of water will not always work. This is a trial-and-error game.

I don't know if you are aware, the coolpots have a dome in the middle, so the volume is actually smaller than a normal 3" pot.

It may have been coincidental but a wet Masdie sickened (very funky smell, blackening at base-I think bacterial) in a matter of hours on a hot day, proceeded to die in a few days. It may have already been infected but a warm wet moss hastened its demise.

I will admit I am not as dedicated a grower as many on this board. I probably don't try very hard on saving problem chids but I have learned what NOT to do with each situation I've encountered. I've learned to love Masdies less.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

A blackened base is usually a sign of rotting roots and keeping the plant too wet. The black is fungus, but the fungal infection is a secondary problem. The cause is keeping your plant too wet. It is irrespective of the temperature the Masdevallias were grown in.

A bacterial infection in Masdevallias are far more devastating. They show up as watery markings on the leaf or really soft and mushy petioles, stems, and rhizomes. Again, a bacterial infection of this nature is a secondary infection. The root of the problem is over watering.

For you, I'd go with WhiteRabbit's suggestion of CHC as a potting medium.

In the wild, the roots of a Masdevallia are not really buried under thick layers of moss. The moss grows around the roots, and a thin layer may grow on top of the roots; sometimes, some of the roots are fully exposed, so in essence, there still needs to be a fair amount of gas exchange in the root area. It's very moist, not sopping wet.

Sopping wet = a very dead Masdevallia.

Fortunately, there are a great number of photos of Masdevallias growing in the wild all over the web. Do a Google Image search of "Masdevallia in-situ" and tons will pop up.

Here's a link to someone's Flickr account showing Masd picturata in-situ:

Masdevallia/Fissia picturata tiny orchid - Apia, W Andes [thanks to Sebastian Vieira, Julian Zuleta & Santiago Garcia for ID] | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here's another link:

masdevallia chaparensis 1 Bolivia | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

You could also try growing Masd floribunda, Masd reginae, or Masd infracta.

[AnonYMouse]

Would have been nice if I knew then what I know now!

At this time, I'm not interested in growing other Masdevallias. I don't consider myself a collector so I don't need to have more.

One other thing about the coolpots: they will dry out media if not kept properly watered in much shorter time than terra cotta pots. I actually desiccated roots with coolpots.

---------- Post added at 10:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 PM ----------

Seriously, END of HIJACK.

[Orchidgirl83]

The Masdie that was reccomended to me by a vendor was Dean Haas 'Gina'. The vendor I bought this from told me this was a good Masdie for my area, since it will tolerate temps into the 80s well.