Masdevallia not growing well

[The Orchid Boy]

...Can you get a humidifier and set up a 3 walled tent?

No, not really. Should I put it back in the bag or get a bigger bag that doesn't touch the leaves of the plant? I'm wanting to get it to recover nice enough to give to a local vendor.

 

[Ozpaph]

get a small terrarium or fish tank.

 

[Cheyenne]

I grow inside in a converted bedroom. I have the sam problem with humidity. My masdivallias are taking off now. They were in plastic pots but I switched to clay. I water more and the clay pot really does keep the roots cool. I am always surprised when I pick it up how the pot feels so cool with wet moss. Even when the room is 85 degrees. The plants don't seem to mind the heat as long as the roots are coll and the moss is good.

 

[mormodes]

No, not really. Should I put it back in the bag or get a bigger bag that doesn't touch the leaves of the plant? I'm wanting to get it to recover nice enough to give to a local vendor.

Orchid Boy, you've gotten some great advice in this thread. Why give your plant to a local vendor? Are you sick of it?

Watch the movie 'Kung Fu Panda', especially the part where he realizes that there is no secret ingredient to the Secret Ingredient Soup. *G* There is no one right way. As a matter of fact once you give up on the idea of 'right' or 'wrong' you liberate yourself to other possibilities without remorse or regret. Its the learning experience, and what you learn is more about yourself than about the orchids.

 

[The Orchid Boy]

I don't seem to have the right conditions. Not high enough humidity, not low enough temperatures, ect. I may try other cool growing orchids that are more heat tolerant. And yes, I'm a little sick of it not blooming and losing lots of leaves and I don't really want to set up a terrarium now.

 

[mormodes]

Well, *none* of us have the right conditions! That's what makes this interesting. We keep swinging for the fences. I grow mine like how Cheyenne and paphioboy do. Sphagnum moss in clay pots and I go a step further by standing them in a deli container top of water for moisture. And I have them in lower light. Indeed many stressed plants recover in lower light. The old timers used to put stressed plants 'under the bench'.

The wet/moist clay pot provides evaporation cooling to the roots. Leo's comment about watering - not necessarily water purity - echoes my experiences, too.

Look at this as the learning experience it is. You can't make a wrong mistake. Again think of 'Kung Fu Panda' and the whupping Po took at kung fu level zero. You have nowhere to go but up.

 

[mormodes]

I'll also refer you to the thread about others experiences with growing Paph armeniacum. Stuff that works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. no matter how experienced a grower they are.

 

[cnycharles]

No, not really. Should I put it back in the bag or get a bigger bag that doesn't touch the leaves of the plant? I'm wanting to get it to recover nice enough to give to a local vendor.

though the thought of getting it nice enough to give to a local vendor is a nice thought/sentiment, unless you know that vendor really well and they have respect for your action, they will likely say 'uh, thanks' and then when you aren't there throw it away. they usually have limited space, and if they don't know if your collection/plant has bugs or diseases, or is on it's last legs, they likely won't want to take a chance of spreading anything to their collection/sales plants

so, you're stuck with it . most of the fun of having these orchids (besides searching all over the internet etc for that one special species), is coming up with interesting ways to make that silly plant grow and flower. if you only bought things that grew perfectly and never had any problems, then what would be the fun in that?! (speaking with a smile on my face)

life they say is the journey, not the fact that you only walked the easy road so there were never any stresses, and not getting to the end point and it's all over; live and learn. if a plant dies, write down what you tried and try again. if you don't want a plant, then donate it to someone. likely a vendor won't keep it once you're gone

 

[The Orchid Boy]

Alright, you guys won! I'll keep the plant and try my best to get the thing to grow. I repotted it in the spring or summer, is it alright if I repot but not break up the moss or roots and put it in a clay pot?

 

[wjs2nd]

You don't need to repot it into the clay pot. If you put your Masd. and pot into a bigger clay pot you keep damp it helps cool and humdify everything. It's kind of like how a basement is always cool then the upstairs. The moister in the walls keeps everything cool and humid. Good luck!

 

[Cheyenne]

Alright, you guys won! I'll keep the plant and try my best to get the thing to grow. I repotted it in the spring or summer, is it alright if I repot but not break up the moss or roots and put it in a clay pot?

I think that it would be fine to repot it now in new moss and a clay pot. I would use one of those clay pots with the holes for some air but it probably doesn't matter that much. On another note, in my opinion your last statement may be one of the keys to your masdivallia not growing well. You said that you repotted it in spring/summer. I have found that cooler growing orchids struggle through the warmer parts of the year but thrive though the cooler parts. I learned a while ago to only repot them when it starts to get cooler in the fall or even around Christmas. Then they don't skip a beat and grow and recover well in the cooler weather. When they are repotted in warmer weather they are stressed. Sometimes I put mine on a windowsill and crack the window just enough to keep them cool and in the winter the window is always a cooler area, summer take them off the window.

 

[mormodes]

I have done what both wjs2nd and Cheyenne recommend. Sometimes I just slip it into a clay pot and sometimes I repot. In my case it depends on how lazy I am or how the medium looks.

Now go back and re-read the second response in this thread, the link to the article in the newsletter written by the lady who got the CCM on hers. She gives you some good info on how to grow this. Especially in terms of temps. I don't think you are too far off. Or maybe I should say t=you are way closer than I am in N Calif.

My only other comment would be to re-read what Leo says about water and - you're going to kill me - try not to handle the pot too much once you decide on how you are going to proceed. Plants won't re-root if they are unsteady in the pot - which is why we stake them or otherwise stabilize them in the pot. This goes for picking them up and looking to see if they are growing. Just quit f8cking with it. Keep it evenly moist, a bit shadier, in a cooler pot and look but don't touch. Don't feed either. Just evenly moist. If you don't know what that is make a second pot with the exact same potting material in it and unpot *that* one if you wonder what's going on inside the pot. Won't take long before you learn how fast that type of pot dries out in your conditions.

 

[mormodes]

also you've had the plant for what? two months? It will accomodate to you. It'll drop its leaves or otherwise sulk becasue it was moved from its first home, but eventually it'll come around. And Cheyenne maybe right about repotting in the summer. See? I learned something. (Note to self: just because these don't have a pseudobulb doesn't mean you can repot them any old time.)

 

[The Orchid Boy]

I've had the plant since March. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[The Orchid Boy]

I repotted the Masdevallia into a clay pot but didn't disturb the root ball much. I put it in a nice north window.

I did a search on Andy's Orchids to get ideas for warm growing masdevallias: http://www.andysorchids.com/SearchResults.asp
Edit: Ok, the link doesn't really work but if you go to the website and select Masdevallia and warm growing you'll see the results.

Can any masdevallia be constantly grown at warm temps (65F-85F) and low humidity (40%-60%) and do well? I kind of assume not... The "warm growing" masdevallias are just tolerant of warm temps... But there are some on Andy's orchids that say "tolerant of extremes,favoring warm"... Thanks!

 

[keithrs]

Have you tried floribunda, tuerckheimii, or sprucei?

 

[The Orchid Boy]

I love the sprucei! I was searching about all these and sprucei is said to be one of the true warm growing masdevallia species and will do well in warm conditions if provided with "high humidity and excellent air movement". I have nice air movement but not that high of humidity. What are your experiences with low humidity and masdevallias?

 

[keithrs]

I love the sprucei! I was searching about all these and sprucei is said to be one of the true warm growing masdevallia species and will do well in warm conditions if provided with "high humidity and excellent air movement". I have nice air movement but not that high of humidity. What are your experiences with low humidity and masdevallias?

I grow them outside here in so cal. My floribunda and tuerckheimii are going into spike as we speak. As for the cooler growing ones...I can grow them but they don't flower very often because I have keep them in too much shade.

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

I don't see why you can't give them a try! I started growing masdies when everyone told me my conditions weren't right and I have been very successful. Its more about a balance between the right humidity, temps, and air movement as opposed to the perfect conditions.
Just try it we're here for ya!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9300 using Tapatalk

 

[The Orchid Boy]

Ok, I'll try a sprucei or a floribunda. My M. Aquarius might bloom soon for the first time in many months!