BLAST OFF!! Masd. project

[LouisW]

My project Masd. herraadurae is SPIKING!!!

On my watering rounds I found a single spike about 1cm long! I have never had a Masd before so someone will have to verify for me that it is indeed a spike but I am quite sure it is(it is much thinner than new growth and slightly brown). Maybe there are more to come!

Every one check your plants.

Sorry. I tried to post a photo for like an hour so I will have to post it soon when I can get better internet.

[amersault]

wait, wait - what does a spike look like? does it wind round? are the ends green?

clues??

[kid a]

oh if it that means mine was in spike when I got it and dried up It was kinda broenish and the end was greenish oh dang! The leaves on my other masdies have started falling off Oh we need a picture lol!

[patticake]

Mine has several new growths, but no signs of a spike. It's been all over the capital district through an ice storm, but at least it's alive! I hope you're right! A littlt red bloom would be awesome right about now, eh?

[articuno75]

I've got several new growths on mine, but they're so small now that I can't tell if they're spikes or not. Probably growths. LoL

I'm just happy that they've stayed alive this this long.

Progress is just a plus for me.

[janet_a]

i've got at least three new growths too--i figure they're leaves though....

[amersault]

someone's got to post picts - anyone have a pict of a Masdie in spike?

[articuno75]

This is a pic of my Masdie coccinea alba x Hirasaki before I broke the spike. (and before it died. )

I hope this helps.

[amersault]

oh no! what happened to your poor Masdie, Jenny?

hmmm i have a few of those at the base of my plant so now i wonder - am i looking at new growth or possible spikes?

[Brooke]

I checked mine and lots of new leaves coming on but no spike yet.

I checked my album and don't have a pic of a spike just emerging but most of them appear to emerge in the 'papery' growth at the base of a mature leaf. I have a couple of very thick leaved ones where the spike just grows beside the mature leaf.

Since I've never bloomed this yet :>) I don't know how these will emerge.

Brooke

[LouisW]

Here it is. Its tiny and there is no detail in the picture but im sure it is a spike.

(its the tiny thing coming off the bottom of the plant)

[amersault]

you might be right! gotta go back and check mine...

[articuno75]

Amersault~ Rot I tell ya! Rotten luck, LoL The I just couldn't manage the spagh with them. They would over dry on the top and stay uber wet on bottom, even with peanuts.

Louis~ It does look an awful lot like a spike.

[lmartiny]

Congrats Louis. I checked on mine this a.m. and another leaf fell off. Bummer!

[janet_a]

Originally Posted by articuno75

Amersault~ Rot I tell ya! Rotten luck, LoL The I just couldn't manage the spagh with them. They would over dry on the top and stay uber wet on bottom, even with peanuts.

even in that itty bitty pot? mine's in a 2 inch square one, and i water it once a week, and by the time i get to watering it it's so light it tips over. i figure it must be dry to the bottom.... of course, it's got a fan on it 22/7, so hopefully that's helping dry it out.

[LouisW]

Ive never had a Masd survive so this is very exiting for me. Ill post when it blooms.

[patticake]

Go, Louis!! I've never had a Masdie bloom for me, either! Yours looks great! Mine is healthy, but it hasn't done anything "spike"- like! Keep us posted!!

[jbigio]

A couple of Pictures of one of my Masdevallia herradurae that is in bloom don't know if this helps with what the spikes will look like. So far I'd say everyone is doing a great job with this project!.

[LouisW]

Bad news guys. upon close examination with a magnifying glass i have concluded that the little spike was actually a young rotting growth. I was first suspicious when i saw Joes spikes thick and green, nothing like my thin brown growth. I am now sure of this because the growth is coming from the root base rather than the base of a leaf.

Oh well. itll bloom one day hopefully.

im a little embarrased that I blew my top before i knew for sure. lesson learned.

[lmartiny]

Louis, no need to be embarrassed. I'm sure you'll grow your masdie into blooms. Mines not doing so well. But hanging on.

[kid a]

Well that explains why mine shriveld up too, lol!

[articuno75]

I've got tons of nubby little growths

Congrats Louis. I checked on mine this a.m. and another leaf fell off. Bummer!

Lynn~ Is yours still in the spagh?

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by janet_a

even in that itty bitty pot? mine's in a 2 inch square one, and i water it once a week, and by the time i get to watering it it's so light it tips over. i figure it must be dry to the bottom.... of course, it's got a fan on it 22/7, so hopefully that's helping dry it out.

I couldn't figure it out for the beans of me. Even in the itty bitty pots. But I knew it had to do with the spagh. This time around I'm not using spagh at all and they're doing great.

[lmartiny]

Yes Jenny, I'm still in original pot in spag. Should I move It?

[katrina]

I don't know if this will be of any use/help Jenny....

I'm super new to these too (I don't have this particular Masdie) and I've heard/read of the difficulties associated w/these little guys so when I was given 2 a few weeks back, I potted mine them up in 2 different ways to see what might work best for me.

Both in a super fine/seedling mix + added chopped sphag -- 1 potted up in a net basket and the other in your basic plastic pot.

The one I have in a net basket is going gang-busters. The other one in the little plastic pot is just sitting there - not declining but not doing anything.

With the net basket...it seems I have better control over the moisture...keeping moist but avoiding sogginess...at the roots. I need to water it more frequently but it does seem to be happier than the other one. ??

Just thought I'd throw this out there....given our similar growing climate...you might have better luck w/the net basket too.

[Greenhouse Gal]

My project Masdie is still potted as it came. No new leaves, but has not lost any either. If it lives through my Christmas trip I will try and get a picture around the first of the year. I have been worried because apparently me and sphagnum growing just do not get along. I would consider a net pot but at the moment the only size I have are round ones that would fit inside the pot this came in, maybe just a bit small.

[articuno75]

When I had all my Masdies before, spagh did not work for me. I don't know why cause with my house being the desert that it is I figured that spagh would be perfect. Well every Masdie that I had perished. This time I potted these Masdies differently. One is in S/H (still can't figure this one out cause it's constantly in moist. ), the other is in a spagh, cocohusk, perlite, charcoal and hydroton mix. I let it dry out completely before the next watering. But it gets watered every day. This regimen is working for me and so far it's growing like gangbusters and no leaf loss.

[Greenhouse Gal]

Thanks Jenny. I will probably mix up something similar to your second one and re-pot after Christmas.

[sallyliao]

The leaves on my other masdies have started falling off Oh we need a picture lol!