# Rootless masdevallia



## The Orchid Boy (Mar 1, 2014)

Remember this thread? http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27134

Well, I'm still having trouble with it. It is mostly rootless. I've tried it in sphagnum for the longest time. It grows lots of leaves and loses lots of leaves. It grows very, very few roots. I've gotten a healthy masdevallia since then and do well with it, except the majority of buds blast. Suggestions?


----------



## Erythrone (Mar 1, 2014)

How do you fertilize it? Do you repot the plant every year?


----------



## The Orchid Boy (Mar 1, 2014)

I've been fertilizing it few and far between. I've repotted it every year. I cannot get it to grow roots, tried sphag-n-bag.


----------



## jeremyinsf (Mar 1, 2014)

Have you used kelp on it? How wet are you keeping them, and at what temperatures?


----------



## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Mar 1, 2014)

In my experience, some Masdies don't put out many roots in comparison to their leaves. If the plant is thriving, I wouldn't worry. 
Perhaps more air spaces and a more open mix would be helpful in your conditions? Sometimes, if moss is packed too tightly you'll get poor root growth too. Just a few thoughts. 

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk


----------



## The Orchid Boy (Mar 1, 2014)

I have not used kelp on it. It has been in temperatures of 55F-75F, and I water just as it is barely moist. I had it in a holey clay pot with sphagnum and drainage material in the bottom. 

And I wouldn't quite call it thriving, more like surviving... I may try an open mix in a Zeer style pot.


----------



## jeremyinsf (Mar 1, 2014)

My suggestion is that you keep it more moist. I am pretty sure you are trying to grow this indoors, and what I've been told is that when doing so, other than keeping them cool the most important thing is to keep them moist.

I use KelpMax on mine and swear by it.


----------



## NYEric (Mar 2, 2014)

I don't grow Masdies, Cant keep them cool enough. Try Restrepias or certain Pleuros.


----------



## The Orchid Boy (Mar 2, 2014)

I've had success with my Restrepia brachypus so far, and it's even mounted to cork. I just read that little page in the recent "Orchids" magazine about the terrarium. I'm thinking about doing that with restrepias & pleuros. I wish we had more vendors around. 

On a side note: Does the fall Denver orchid show have some good vendors.


----------



## Chicago Chad (Mar 3, 2014)

I think you may be surprised at how well most masdies root under the right conditions. Some that I grow absolutely hate being potted. Once they are mounted with the right amount of sphagnum they really take off.

My friend Clint (Orchid Dynasty) sells every year at the Denver show. He has all types of stuff and lots of good paphs. You can check him out online. A few members here have bought from him and can provide some additional info.


----------



## atlantis (Mar 3, 2014)

I'd try using sphag + perlite (2:1) and keeping it moist enough but not wet

If it isn´t very hot, I usually soak the leaves and the water that drips to the sphagnum is enough to keep the plant without need of watering.

If the roots are damaged...I´d avoid any fertilizer until they look better (specially in a sphag. based mix) except thiamine (Vit. B1) or maybe seaweed extract or similar VERY diluted and only eventually.

I hope your plant gets better. Keep on trying


----------



## Clark (Mar 3, 2014)

I would compost it and move on.


----------



## NYEric (Mar 4, 2014)

Harsh realm!!


----------



## Clark (Mar 4, 2014)

Nothing harsh about it.
Eighteen months w/o satisfaction???

Treat it like a bad date and say next.


----------



## Leo Schordje (Mar 8, 2014)

Masdevallia Aquarius is a hybrid that was bred to be the first step in creating temperature tolerant Masdevallias. Nights at 65 F are probably ok, just a few degrees cooler would be perfect, say 60 to 62 at night. No need to drop temps below 58 F. I often grow my Masdevallia in sphagnum, the 2 parts sphagnum, one part perlite is a mix I often use too. And because I get them in a bark mix, I have grown them in bark mixes. I like the growth in sphagnum. Masdevallia do not like to dry out completely between watering. Keep at least a little damp. They are a pain to get roots on once the roots have been lost. Don't give up yet. Most of the Masdevallia hybrids are sun lovers, they want more light than a Phalaenopsis, up to about the low end of the amount of light as a Cattleya. Failure to thrive is often related to not enough light. 

Second cause of loosing roots and not thriving. Sunlight hitting a plastic pot and heating the plastic up, cooking the roots. I routinely set Masd. and Miltoniopsis that are growing in plastic pots into taller, larger terra cotta pots. I leave the space between the inner and outer pots empty, for cooling. The outer pot keeps the sun off the plastic, allowing you to get direct sun on the leaves and yet keep the roots at ambient temperature. Masdevallia roots are sensitive to high temperatures. This really helps. It is essentially a simplified version of a Zeer pot, it does not require the evaporative cooling you would get with a Zeer pot. By the way, a Zeer pot would work also.

I summer most of my Masdevallia outdoors, but I am near a Great Lake, and most summers I have fewer than 14 days above 90 F. In your area this might not be a good idea. Masdevallia like 'eternal spring' climate, not too hot, not too cold. When outdoors the wide day night temperature drop is helpful. 

Hope this helps.


----------



## jeremyinsf (Mar 8, 2014)

That's a really great summary, Leo.


----------



## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Mar 8, 2014)

Interesting about the light level's Leo. I have always grown my masdies in low light and they seem to do fine, but I don't get the bloom counts I would like. I had attributed this to the higher growing temps, but I feel that most of my collection grows quite vigorously. I might try increasing the light levels over the next few weeks and see what I get. 
I 100% agree that keeping roots cool is the way to go!


----------

