since rsj brought up masdes....

kewpie · #1 03-29-2005, 11:55 PM

what can you safely treat masdes/draculas with? i know they like pure water, but can you add rooting hormone, daconil, physan, fertilizers, etc. to the water? if so, in what concentrations? should you maybe do one 'treatment' at a time so as not to overwhelm the plants?

thanks in advance!

MikeWA · #2 03-30-2005, 08:09 PM

Don't lump Masd with Dracula. Dracula are much more picky about water quality than Dracula and Masd strobelii can take direct sun and temps in the hundreds F. I fertilize my Masd at the same strength as the rest of my orchids.

Physan is safe for both and rooting hormone should be fine for both as well. Fertilizer for the Dracs is at 1/10th the strength about 4 times a year.

TundraKev · #3 03-30-2005, 09:15 PM

I fertilize my Masd at the same strength as the rest of my orchids.

OK, this has always been a point of confusion for me. So many cultural pages and Masdie growers say to be really stingy with the fertilizer. That's what I've always done, but at the same time when I do fertilize them they really seem to respond. Am I starving mine and shouldn't be?

Kev

MikeWA · #4 03-30-2005, 09:29 PM

You know orchids are like kids. I use natural fertilizer like fish emulsion that won't really burn with overfertilizing but I have had no adverse effects of fertilizing Mad. I do mainly have species.

kewpie · #5 03-30-2005, 10:48 PM

thanks, guys! ive been wanting to try some of these *forever*, but ive been chicken....between getting proper humidity, air-iness, light, and water conditions, its been daunting.
mike, your pics of your orchidarium are inspiring! ive been scouring good will/salvation army for the perfect tank to go nuts on. so far, no luck. well, thats probably way better for my pocketbook, anyhow.

LJA · #6 03-31-2005, 07:55 AM

Where's the pic of Mike's orchidarium?? Is it like the one Pete built?

I have all of one Masdevalia. It's been growing for ten years right up near the cool cell, and I've never repotted it. It also gets fertilized, watered and fungicided right along with everything else, and at this point, its only out of bloom maybe 3 months out of the year. Really neat plants I'd definitely grow more of if I had the conditions for them.... You should go for it, kewpie.

Gin · #7 03-31-2005, 09:28 PM

I have a warm grower, infracia ,it is grown along side the equestris kids , same watering and fertilising , easy to grow and bloom ... Gin

MikeWA · #8 03-31-2005, 09:58 PM

Get a Masd strobelii or it's hybrids Louis. They love sun and warm temps. They are also fragrant. Just about all hairy Masd are fragrant and the hybrids of two hairy Masd are fragrant.

LJA · #9 03-31-2005, 10:09 PM

Cool... Thanks for the recommendations!

kewpie · #10 03-31-2005, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lja

Where's the pic of Mike's orchidarium??

i think that this was in mikes days as persistence on *********, though i thought that he shared his links here as well

. anyway, he did shots of his muffin fans and muffin fan regulators, his compact fluoros, the whole shebang.

it totally helped me think about what needed to happen before jumping into a big project. maybe hes still got all that info on his computer? or maybe i had a flashback and imagined the whole thing? :lemmetell

mikeWA, wanna chime in and tether me to reality?