Anybody have any luck getting masdies to flower without the humidty of a greenhouse? I'm a windowsill grower and would love some masdies but they seem pretty finicky. I'm in Oregon so I don't worry too much about heat being a problem. Any tips or experiences would be welcome. Thanks in advance.
Lorna

In lower humidity, I have better luck with Pleurothallis. But both masdies and pleuros grow well for me mounted on tree fern or grapewood, soaked as often as needed - in my conditions, at most once a day. As for the large-flowered masdies, I have grown them well mounted, but I wasn't able to provide the temp drop to bloom them so I don't know how the flowers would handle the lack of humidity. I suspect badly - the potted ones usually abort in low humidity. But if you like the smaller-flowered species, there are options....

Some people report success using a humidifier right next door, a fogger, or even a simple double pot (put small pot in big pot, fill the gap between the two pots with sphag and keep moist).

I did not have great luck keeping my masdies with my slippers (my one and only real care, I'm afraid!)

I did do the double pot thing and it worked okay for a while.
Keys are cooler temps, humid growing.

If you can achieve that you should be okay, I think!
good luck! I love them, but gave in to the slippers overcoming my sorry life! ;)

A greenhouse is no guarantee of high humidty. I had to install a mister,fan system to get it high enough for good general orchid growth.

Most of my pleurothallids (no masdevalias , but a few dracuals) are in a smaller "orchidarium" inside. Its got a mini swamp cooler and a fogger in it for humidity control.

Thought for sure I posted this somewhere, but can't seem to find it...

I use large, 14" clay pots that sit in a tray constantly filled with water. Inside it, I put a platform above the water level and place the plants on it. Since I use these in the basement grow room where temps don't get above 65 and humidity stays above 60%, I keep them uncovered and the microclimate is perfect for all pleurothallids. When on a window sill, I use a clear plastic container to cover them with (ziploc etc) that fits well with the pot. They have to be vented or opened once a day, but it keeps the humidity very high and the evaporation from the wet clay pot keeps humidity above 75%.

I only have an old photo of one, but have many going with genera from Zootrophion to Lepanthes to Masdevallia. You know they are working well when you get a carpet of moss growing on the inside of the clay pot. I'll take some new photos of the ones I have going when I get some cds for the camera.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/jonbar1/zzzzzzMyOrchids24.jpg

Jon

cool, thanks for the picture! I'll give it a try!

I remember that pic Jon, I use some of my aquariums or plastic tubs for the same thing.

another question, I have a big clear glass container I can use by the window, would that cut down too much on the light if it's inside? I see the pot use above is opaque but not sure if it's inside or out. I am not using any supplemental lights.
Thanks
L

In the pic above, the pot is sitting on the floor with a 400w HPS light about 6 feet above it(though it is off to the side). I have also used them under light shelfs of 4 fluorescent tubes (40w each) and on the window sill. For a window sill, I usually just put one plant in a 6-10 inch clay pot and put a clear domed top (ziploc disposable etc) on them and set them near the window.

I have used a glass fish tank for a pleurothallid terrarium a couple times and always lost plants to rot, and that was with daily care, fans, etc. After getting frustrated about these, I met a Dracula grower who said he grows them in plastic pots and sets those in clay pots to keep their roots cool in the greenhouse. I had a big clay pot and and a light rack and made one like the one above just to experiment with. I vented them daily since the humidity was so high and the temps were about 10 degrees cooler than outside the pot, and then began to notice moss growing on the sides. When the moss was growing well, I'd leave the lid on for a week or more at a time and still got no fungal growth...even though there was no air movement or exchange, and it still had a "fresh" smelling environment. It is also handy to hang plants on treefern slabs against the side of the clay pot as it wicks water to them and then they grow over with moss as well and the plants seem to do very well.

Obviously, everone's experiments are different and I know people who grow incredibly well grown plants in fish tanks. So, what I would truely reccomend is get a bunch of cheap masdies and try many different growing situations and see what works best for you.

Seeing that moss growing is a great indicator for success with pleurothalids in general.

They also seem to be more sensitve to salts, and only rarely need fertilizing with very weak solutions.

Well after buying a masdie or two and trying to maintain them on humidity trays only to discover yellowing leaves at a horrifying rate. Thanks to some tips from the friendly folks here the trend has been reversed.
I used an old acquarium with a lid. I tried the acquirum gravel first with some bark on top, for the bottom of the jar, but it got moldy. Also when I accidentally left the lid on when I was gone one weekend the leaves got little black spots but at least no more yellowing leaves.
Next, I threw out the ugly red aquarium gravel and put some nice pumice about an inch or two at the bottom with about a half inch of water. Then I went out to the front yard and scavenged some moss from under the trees in the front yard. This was washed throughly to get rid of yucky bugs. I put the moss over the pummice and nestled the masdies in. I am trying clay pots on the theory they'll absorb or wick some of the moisture from the layer of pumice and help keep the humidity up. One of the masdies arrived in moss (the moss started looking bad when the pot was on the humidity tray) and I left it in the moss. The other two are in a standard mix with a little yard moss on top. I keep the lid slightly ajar with a chopstick and have set in an NE window. I think I'll have to leave the lid off when the temps heat up this summer.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58041457@N00/112664673/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58041457@N00/112664681/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58041457@N00/112664676/in/photostream/
So far the hirtzii and the Copper Angel have out new leaves and they seem happy. The Pinky Fairy was a freebie with an order and wasn't too strong to begin with but it has stopped declining.
Maybe I'll eventually be able to post a flower.
Thanks for the help.
Lorna

Very nice!
When growing masdies one thing you must do, especially in a terrarium, is remember to repot them twice a year. This is because in lower air movement environments rhizome fungus attacks can quickly kill plants. If you've ever picked up a seemingly happy masdie and when bumped all the leaves fall off at the base of the pot then you know what I mean.

They look like they should do very well in the terrarium you've made, and it makes a nice dispay as well. Can't wait to see some blooms!

Jon

I originally put my masdies in a net bbasket with sphag and then inot a corresponding clay pot. However I don't have any more masdies. :) I have a dracula lotax though....