Dracula Ecuagenera

[Linus_Cello]

Third flower. I brought the second flower to the NCOS show and it wilted from the low humidity (how do you stake them without killing them?)

 

[big923cattleya]

You do not stake them. The inflorescences come out and go downward. That is just the way that they grow. Which is exactly why if you grow them in a pot, they might never let you see a flower as they abort within the pot.
Plastic net pots, baskets or mounts work well.

 

[Linus_Cello]

The stake was sort of a joke (vampire-stake). Yah lots of my Draculas are spiking through net pots. But how does one display them at shows? Bring them in a terrarium?

 

[big923cattleya]

Oh, I totally missed that!
Well to be honest, I rarely see them in a show when I am ribbon judging. If they were my Dracula’s in bloom, I would not bother to put them in a show. They like regular watering, high humidity and I would not want to have my plants stressed like that for 3 days or so at a show.

Now I see one rarely come to monthly judging. Typically they come in a styrofoam cooler to preserve humidity and go before the judges quickly. The longer that they sit, the more likely it is that they will collapse. It seems to me that real Dracula specialists know exactly how to handle difficult conditions.

 

[Ozpaph]

hang the plant from a stand.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Display in a cold terrarium with aircon lol. JK .