Dracula Vamp. in S/H?

[liquidmojo]

I just got my first Dracula Vampira (Claudia X Tyler AM/AOS) seedling yesterday. I want to eventually mount it in it's own terrarium, but after reading most of the posts in this section, I would like to know if it would thrive in a S/H emviroment? This little plant is the sole reason I fell in love with orchids, and I want only the best for it. Any information would be very much appreciated!

[janice]

liquidmojo, I use a lot of S/H but don't know about using it for your Dracula Vamp. I will look th/ some of my info. and let you know if I find something...Welcome to the site, you will really love the info. that you recieve from other forum members.

[liquidmojo]

thanks!! My avatar is our first picture together!

[tom499]

Drac flowers tend to grown and emerge through the bottom of baskets or mesh pot.

My idea of s/h is two pots, both full of hydroton, with the botton one with water, in which case you will not likely ever see it flower.

Mounting dracs is a much better way to grow them, many thrive this way.

[BillC]

I picked this up from a site by Ms Watson. It may help with your plant. I don't know of anyone growing Draculas in S/H.

Bill
DRACULA

by Eileen Watson

Culture Notes


Most of my draculas are grown in plastic covered wire mesh (1/2 inch square) baskets which I make myself. I wrap the Dracula plant in living Sphagnum moss, put it in the basket and surround it with medium-grade fir bark which has been soaked and rinsed with rain water. The openwork baskets drain well, and the bark does not become waterlogged but is kept wet and the moss (and the Dracula) grows well.

The plants are sprayed automatically with rain water, usually for one minute every morning, by means of overhead misters connected to a pump. If the outside temperature during the night has been low, the heaters have been working overtime and the bark is drying out, then this misting is certainly necessary. In warm, wet weather however, the misters may be switched off. The leaves should be relatively dry by nightfall. Only minimal quantities (100μS) of a general fertiliser are applied twice a week by hand spraying.

Humidity in the greenhouse is maintained at around 90% by the constant use of an ultrasonic humidifier. Spraying the floor with water is not sufficient. High humidity is most important to maintain the turgidity of the flowers. Moving the plant into a dry atmosphere will result in the flowers drooping, within minutes for some species! Small fans keep the air moving continually. The temperature is maintained at 13ºC (55ºF) at night rising to at least 16ºC (60ºF) during the day, but never above 26ºC (80ºF) otherwise the roots and tiny buds desiccate and die. The greenhouse is heavily shaded using bamboo blinds with additional shading in summer provided by a large oak tree. This extra shading helps to keep the temperature down in hot weather.

Using these conditions, the draculas grow well. There is sometimes a slight problem with spots on the leaves, but care must be exercised with the use of fungicides (or insecticides) as the plants are quite sensitive to these chemicals. I use a dilute solution of Physan to clean leaves.

[liquidmojo]

Thank you all very much! I guess I will steer clear of S/H on this one and focus on building an orchidium for my plant instead.

[kmarch]

Hi liquidmojo and welcome to the forum!

Dracula vampira is a species orchid and therefore "vampira" should not be capitalized. It appears your vampira is a line bred vampira. I didn't know Draculas were beign line bred, but hey, why not?

[liquidmojo]

Thanks for the correction! Proper nomenclature always confuses me. I got it from Hoosier orchids. They have a large assortment of Draculas

[kmarch]

Oh yeah, Hoosiers. They're a great source for really interesting stuff. I've bought things from them. I like Hoosier's a lot.