Masdevallias in December 2015

I know promised a new post about Masdevallias in spring but I just happened to watch a video, in which the Masde had probably a same problem as mine. So I decided to document the current situation.

Let’s begin with the purple Masdevallia that lost about 2/3 of its’ leaves due to my own foolishness and lack of knowledge. A lot of you probably remember the posts from summer about a well-growing Masde with beautiful flowers. I have to admit, up until I messed it all up, this was the one I was the most proud of. People did advise me to not buy a Masdevallia, they said it was a nightmare to grow. And yet, I found it even too easy – grows as if weed, flowers immediately grow on new growths, what a life, right?

So what does she look like right now. Well the situation has not much improved but it’s positive that she has started growing new growths. Slowly but surely. Sometimes I do feel that those people who advised me against wasting my time on Masdes, were right. But I am not giving up on them! :D

Here’s a picture of a bigger growth but there are 4-5 smaller ones.

And so she was in summer.

Now up to the Masdevallia next in line by age. I still don’t know anything about the flowers but repotting seemed to help her. There’s not much to say here, the growths are coming in nicely. There is no sign of flowers on neither this one nor the purple one but at least there’s progress. I must be doing SOMETHING right..

Last up, the third Masdevallia. She seems to have got better after repotting and there are new growths visible. Both previous Masdevallias have had wet hydroponics under them but this one hasn’t. Interestingly enough, her moss remains damp and I don’t dare to hive her extra humidity. The moss dries slower in cold and if I remember correctly, she got quite a lot of it in her pot. Thankfully, there is no sign of rotting so it seems that the humidity isn’t harming her.

Oh right, I built a barricade around her out of BBQ sticks and garden wire so that the two plants would grow upwards and not sideways. It also looks like she has finally grown proper roots and doesn’t wobble anymore while I move the pot.

So that was an overview of Masdevallias. Every question, suggestion and recommendation is always welcome. J

Peaceful forthcoming second advent to you all!