My first 2 Masdie's just arrived!

[Paul Mc]

YIPPEEE!!!! One is in bloom even! OMG, I can't tell you how excited I am, lol...

They are Ziegler's Love (Pixie Lavendar x Falcon Sunrise) and O'Brien's (Annette Hall x coccinea).

So of course I have a few questions being my first Masdie's.

1.) I bought these "Cool Pots" from the orchid gallery just to try out. They say that the pots will keep the roots cool by the condensation of the water through the funnel in the middle and the outside of the pot. Honestly, I think it's gimmicky and I only bought the pots because I loved the fact that they were white clay! I just realized an issue however. It has no drainage on the bottom, and three holes about 1 inch up from the bottom. From what I understand, water is just supposed to sit in the bottom, but isn't that bad for Masdie's? It would kill all of my other orchids!

2.) I've read two different statements about watering. One place says to let the roots just start to dry out a bit before watering them, and another few sources say that they actually prefer to be moist at all times due to their rooting/water retention methods. Which one is true? I guess that might tie back into question 1 about the "pool" of excess water on the bottom.

3.) Do Masdie spikes really get to be a foot or so long?!! I was shocked when I saw how long the one with the spike is! My first thought was that it was not getting enough light from the growers.

Sorry for so many questions - I am just excited as can be!