Dracula Olmosii in Bloom
 

Hi, all. I've been growing Dracula orchids in a terrarium since October, and my dracula olmosii just bloomed. When I got it, it was in pretty bad shape because it was in a greenhouse that was much too hot, but over the last couple of months, it has not only bloomed, but it has also initiated several new growths.

I hope I have as much luck with the other three.

Good job!

Too bad the flower is pointing downwards. Or is it still opening?

What are the temps inside the terrarium?

This is just the way Dracula orchids bloom. Two of my Draculas spike from the bottom with downward-facing blooms. The Olmosii spikes from the top, but the blooms still point down.

During the day, the temperature in the terrarium is between 75 and 78. At night, I move them into a wine refrigerator where the temperature is exactly 58. They do best with a 20-degree difference in temps between night and day.

The wine refrigerator was supposed to be temporary. I wanted to see if the plants would thrive before I put a lot of energy into building a system to cool the terrarium. However, I actually like the arrangement. The humidity in the terrarium has to be about 90% which means the conditions are perfect for algae and mold. But since I move the plants into another environment at night, I completely dry out the terrarium every 24-hours. So far, no problems with algae.