Does anyone grow masdevallias here? I would like to ask if any of you have:

Masd. Anne Leggett (coccinea x macrura)
Masd. Urubamba (ayabacana x veitchiana)
Masd. Bella Donna (datura x coccinea alba)

:D

Hi!

I'm not a Masd expert but I do have one species in my collection and it is a coccinea. I don't think it likes my conditions though. I have had it for a few years, never bloomed for me and it keeps making new growths. :(

Keep a bottle of water in your fridge...and use this to water your coccinea. I use this trick on my high elevation minis to trick them into spiking. Coccinea is a true cold grower, made me want to put lights in my fridge until I learned this trick.
As for the hybrids, J&L may carry them or Orchids Limited has a bunch they don't list in their catalog. Also try Lynn O'Shaunnesy(probably butchered her name) at www.pleurothallids.com and e-mail her what you're looking for. Another vendor I had a great experience with was Orchidanica...but don't know what hybrids he has off hand.
Jon

I have three, one w/ coccinea in the breeding. They all seem to hate me also, same thing going on as w/ Pete's. So I'll try the cold water trick. Thanks for the suggestion.

Watering with cold water, eh?

Sounds easy enough, do you do that every watering or just to induce blooms. Will that help any cold growing masd survive in warmer conditions?

If it works, that is the best tip I've heard in a long time! Thanks Jon.

I water with chilled water every watering, which is almost every other day.
This trick came from one of our society's best growers who grow odontoglossums, masdies, and cymbidiums in an intermediate to warm greenhouse. For the larger plants he simply puts two ice cubes on each pot every morning.
Jon

I don't have any masde's, but I do have some Draculas, Scaphosepalum, and Restrepia.

I have found that my pluerothallids (especially the Dracs) can only take a fraction of the fertilizer that my paphs enjoy. Also they are much more sensitive to lower humidities. I got good blooms off of a D. bella, but it sits right in front of the fogger. Allot of the masdevellias seem to like brighter light than Dracs, which can put you in a bind to keep the temps down.

Have a buddy in the society who builds "orchidariums" he does pretty good with small weird masdevalias. The basis of his program is cool and wet.

Rick,

I would be very eager to speak with your friend if you can put us in touch.

I have a 55 gallon aquarium ready to be converted to a cold case so I can work some with really amazing Masdevallia species I have access to but have not been able to bring over since I do not have cold enough conditions. I traveled extensively in the mountains of Ecuador a few years ago and I was inspired!

Light and humidity are worked out, but a cooling system for so small a space is the big hurdle. I cannot find anything on the web about installing cooling for so small a space.

I just this week got the tank here and cleared out- so this thread has been most timely :)

Take care,

Tom.