I just want all your opinions on this matter. I have recently fallen in love with Masdevallias, I have not had the chance to have one bloom in my home. I do have one which is a division from a guy at our local orchid society. Growing great, putting up new growth but I have just placed an order which has not been shipped yet buying 4 Masdevallias, they are terribly hard to get here and very very expensive when you can get them.

I love my Paphs and have not problems growing or blooming them in our west facing window where they get shaded light. Do you think i would have problems growing and blooming Masdevallias in this same place as my Paphs?

Our summers get very hot, we have central air in our home and our basement is always a cool place if it really gets out of hand. Most of the hybrid Masdevallias I was told are "intermediate growers".

I would like to have just paphs and Masd. in my colleciton. I would appreciate all your opinions.

:D

I just want all your opinions on this matter. I have recently fallen in love with Masdevallias, I have not had the chance to have one bloom in my home. I do have one which is a division from a guy at our local orchid society. Growing great, putting up new growth but I have just placed an order which has not been shipped yet buying 4 Masdevallias, they are terribly hard to get here and very very expensive when you can get them.

I love my Paphs and have not problems growing or blooming them in our west facing window where they get shaded light. Do you think i would have problems growing and blooming Masdevallias in this same place as my Paphs?

Our summers get very hot, we have central air in our home and our basement is always a cool place if it really gets out of hand. Most of the hybrid Masdevallias I was told are "intermediate growers".

I would like to have just paphs and Masd. in my colleciton. I would appreciate all your opinions.

:D

Where are you that it is hard to get Masdevallias? Regardless, you can probably grow some. Why not? Aim for 'warm growing' masdevallia hybrids. I had a friend who grew both paphs and masdevallias side by side for years under lights. So I know it can be done. Seems like your window is a good place to try some.

It is probably best to stick with hybrid masdevallias, though. That is a really good idea. Ask around for suggestions for warmth tolerant hybrids. Although if you wanted to set up a light table in your basement, you could probably do pretty well year round.

I have a bunch of 'extra' masdevallias that I inherited, if you are looking for some cheap practice plants (and are in the USA..)

Thanks for your reply. I don't live in the USA I live in Canada so I would not be able to get any from you. But that is okay, I just talked to our past presient of our club. He suggested that I get only a couple to start with and see how it goes. I was ordering 4 but I might cut it down to only two at first. Oh how I love these orchids.

I live in the Sunny Okangan Valley of B.C. and we are hot and dry here. I currently have one masd. that he sold me which was a division of one of his. It is not dead but is pushing out new growth, I do have it kept moist and it is also on a pebble tray too.

I think I might take is advice as he has a huge green house with 1500 orchids which is alot for a place like here and he struggles with Masdevallias and the heat.

Thanks again...... :-dance:

Are you near Kelowna? I had a friend from there. It does get hot, from what I hear. Always surprised me.

Yes I am 30 min north of Kelowna in Vernon. You bet it gets hot here. But if you don't have central air you die. We are actually considered semi-desert here.

An intermediate growing Masdevallia I suggest is M. grandulosa! It has a nice scent. Other species I suggest are M. infracta, M. veitchiana, M barleana, M. strobeli and M. tovarensis. I use to grow it in the basement of my folks home on a window sill with no problem. The only problem was forgetting to water them. I live near Vancouver, BC Canada. I know someone who use to grow the best Masdevallia in Victoria, BC.....Harry Evans.....pasted away three years ago. He won the Nax Trophy for the best specimen plant Masdevallia yungasensis subsp. yungasensis and it was printed in the local paper. It was a fabalous specimen!

Paphman

You want honesty? I will give it to you.

I too love Masdevallias. I have made extensive study of them and I saw some incredible ones in my travels in Ecuador a few years back.

I even know where to get Masdevallia phasmatodes- probably the most difficult to find orchid I have ever encountered (picture a classic tall Masdie flower with long tails that is snow white and covered in tiny purple dots), and something I would dearly love to have.

But I have no Masdevallias.

True, many of the species can tolerate warm temps- but you really need good cool nights, lots of air and humidity.

I have done the math, and living in Austin, Texas it would cost me about $500 to create a proper setup for the plants- double that to create something that is aesthetically appealing from the exterior.

Someday it will happen, but just not now.

I have designed and researched my tail off and there are 3 major obstacles I have found to creating an attractive and inexpensive setup,

1. Finding an AC unit that is very small. You do not need much to chill down a few square feet, but good luck finding a "mini" unit.

2. Getting high humidity to go along with. AC on the plants has a terrible drying effect. I have had trouble finding something to give back the high humidity in a small package that does not require 1-2 times a day that I add water to some holding tank.

3. Temp regulation. For under $100 you can get a window AC unit and a humidifier (with the problems listed in 1 and 2 above- too big and too high maintenance), but what about some central unit to turn things off and on to keep a stable temp? This is not easily done.

I can live with 1 and 2 if #3 can be resolved, but no magic answers yet. Even looking at the $2,000+ Wardian cases and high end Orchidariums I see no solutions to this one issue.

But I will let you know if I figure it out!

I have to say, I have four and I am close to trying to sell/trade them, they hate me and take up space. They don't bloom and they want wetter, and cooler conditions than I can provide.

I think I am done. (Gosh, that was easy! Sometimes you have to just make a decision.)
I will post in the for sale/trade forum soon.

When I lived in the high desert in California is was too expensive to run the AC all the time, so we bought an evaporative cooler and it cooled the house just as well as the AC. It only cost a few pennies a day to run, plus it added much needed humidity. Now I don't know how well it would work in other areas but it was great in the Mojave desert.

You want honesty? I will give it to you.
...

I have done the math, and living in Austin, Texas it would cost me about $500 to create a proper setup for the plants- double that to create something that is aesthetically appealing from the exterior.

Someday it will happen, but just not now.

I have designed and researched my tail off and there are 3 major obstacles I have found to creating an attractive and inexpensive setup,

1. Finding an AC unit that is very small. You do not need much to chill down a few square feet, but good luck finding a "mini" unit.

2. Getting high humidity to go along with. AC on the plants has a terrible drying effect. I have had trouble finding something to give back the high humidity in a small package that does not require 1-2 times a day that I add water to some holding tank.

3. Temp regulation. For under $100 you can get a window AC unit and a humidifier (with the problems listed in 1 and 2 above- too big and too high maintenance), but what about some central unit to turn things off and on to keep a stable temp? This is not easily done.

I can live with 1 and 2 if #3 can be resolved, but no magic answers yet. Even looking at the $2,000+ Wardian cases and high end Orchidariums I see no solutions to this one issue.

But I will let you know if I figure it out!

You can get a little cube refrigerator for cheap... Try the university surplus store. I can get one for 5 dollars... I've never tried it for orchids, but I bet you could take the door off, build a plexiglass case to give you a bit more space, and put in a little humidifier and a fan. The cube refrigerators have little thermostats built in. Not terribly accurate, I imagine, but good enough.

Only problem is that they sound like a robot falling down a set of stairs when the compressor kicks in. But that is a small price to pay for some cute little cool growers...

Well, I have decided to give 2 of them a try. These orchids are coming from Alberta where they have the cool temps like us during the winter and hot and dry in the summer like us. They claim that they don't have any problems blooming them during the winter months up until now in a cool basement. So what the heck, I will order 2 of them with my order and give them a try. I will keep you all posted as to what becomes of them.

Thanks for the repies.... :-dance:

So you wanna grow Masdies on a windowsill? Here is an example of how I have been growing some cold growers decently for pennies(actually just a couple dollars if you don't have the supplies hanging around)

I take a large clay pot and place it in a saucer about 3 inches deep that is constantly filled with water. The clay evaporates and cools creating a fabulous microclimate. If you want further humidity, put a plastic top on it(throwaway cake covers work great). I do reccomend you put it under two fluorescent fixtures(four bulbs) as it keeps the conditions more constant than the one I had on a windowsill. I currently keep a couple under my HPS in my basement for the really cold growers. Temps inside the pot stay below 70 and humidity stays above 80%. If moss carpets the inside of the pot, you know the conditions are great for pleurothallids like Masdies. Hope this helps...you can further cool by watering with chilled water...but I seldom have to with the ones in the basement.

Jon

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

Jon, are the plants inside the clay pot sitting in water?

I think that's a great idea Jon. I don't have any Masde's but I do have some Dracs, Scaphs, and Restrepias.

Compared to my slippers I have found that high (>70%) humidity is the most critical growing condition for pleurothallids in general. And the temp issues are secondary.

Also Restrepias are the most tolerant pleuros, and I reccomend starting with them, before getting into Masdes.

I also agree that if you can get luxuriant moss growth, the pleuros should do good too.

Oops forgot to mention that...no they don't sit in the water. The saucer you see in the bottom of the clay pot is siting on "stilts"(small pots above water line) and the plants sit on this so they never touch the water.

Jon

that is what I figured Jon, but I wasn't sure from the picture, That really looks like a great way to grow those. I was going to use a few of my leftover tanks, but I might use the clay pots instead.