Masdevallia Highland Monarch

[shadytrake]

Okay, I'm officially certifiably nuts. After killing 2 masdies and a drac and sending 2 masdies to a friend in a cooler growing climate, I still can't resist trying them again.



This weekend, The Orchid Gallery from Chattanooga came and did a presentation on the challenges and ways to grow the cool growers (Milts, Masdies, Dracs).

They brought their special Cool Pots and showed us some tips for an indoor cool windowsil setup.The Orchid Gallery

It was very interesting, so of course I just had to try it again. I told them my conditions in my work cubicle and they recommended Highland Monarch. Hopefully it is not doomed.

I hope I can get it chilly enough.

[orchidbingo]

The cool pots look like a good idea. I have a number of African violet pots with a porous inner liner that sits in the water at the bottom of the pot. I'm going to try growing a Milt in one of them- I'll keep it in its plastic liner and put it in a bigger African violet cache pot. It's worth a try since I seem to be killing my Milts anyway.

Thanks for the tip.

bingo

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by shadytrake

Okay, I'm officially certifiably nuts. After killing 2 masdies and a drac and sending 2 masdies to a friend in a cooler growing climate, I still can't resist trying them again.



This weekend, The Orchid Gallery from Chattanooga came and did a presentation on the challenges and ways to grow the cool growers (Milts, Masdies, Dracs).

They brought their special Cool Pots and showed us some tips for an indoor cool windowsil setup.The Orchid Gallery

It was very interesting, so of course I just had to try it again. I told them my conditions in my work cubicle and they recommended Highland Monarch. Hopefully it is not doomed.

I hope I can get it chilly enough.

There are intermediate/warm growing Masdevallias. Off the top of my head Masd livingstoneana is one.

IOSPE PHOTOS

Masdevallia herradurae is an intermediate grower.

IOSPE PHOTOS

Then there's Masd impostor (Jay's site says they're cool to intermediate, I've grown these and they are not cool growers at all - grow intermediate to warm)...

IOSPE PHOTOS

Masd princeps (Andy's says they grow better intermdiate to warm - when I had them I think they're better intermediate and a bit cooler on the warm end of the spectrum)...

Masd infracta is temperature tolerant.

Masd pinnochio is intermediate to warm growing...

The list can go on. You don't have to buy cold to cool growing Masdevallias.

[Ross]

I have good luck growing just about any of the Masdies, but the "warm tolerant" plants (crosses) especially the ones from I.N. Kamoda bloom more predictably for me. Constant air movement is a must in window-sill growing, especially where warmer temps are being provided. Balancing watering can be challenging. I have best luck using slotted clear plastic pots and fine Paph mix. Sphagnum leads to root rot for me. In the Paph mix I need to water every-other-day. They really don't like minerals in the water (including fertilizer) so I use pure water. I have several princeps of differing sizes and they are treated just like the others.