My greenhouse doesn't have air conditioning but is under big oak trees and shadecloth. Still, the temperature often reaches 100F in summer. I have a big misting fan I just turn on and let run all summer to try to cool things off but the Draculas and Masdevallias just can't handle that much heat. I killed quite a few before I figured it out. The next set I killed with my crappy well water. Now, indoors, in terrariums, in moss with distilled water. I rescued a couple from previous adventures but mostly started over when I figured it all out.

Also, as mentioned, finding species with flowers that grow up, not out the bottom.

One of the survivors is Masdevallia wendlandiana 'Abigail' blooming last March:

Lucy, kudos to you! Great job! That Masdie is a cutie!

Agreed! Anyone who can flower a Masdevallia, much less a Dracula, has something to be proud of!! No doubt about that.
But what impresses me too is that those hobby growers that can get them to grow and flower, get to enjoy incredibly colorful and wonderful "Jewels of the Orchid World!!!"

The Rhyncattleanthe Orange Nuggett 'Kadaoka' opens the 1. spike


Dendrochilum bicallosum opens



and Ludisia discolor does its yearly thing



I am happy to say, this morning the snow had melted off the deck!

The Orange Nugget is just a lovely warm, cheerful color for a cold, slushy winter's day. Beautiful.

I've tried again and again to grow Ludisia discolor, in pots, in the garden etc. They just disappear on me during the summer. I'm guessing it's the heat that melts them. They're just lovely and they're widely sold around here both by orchid growers and at local nurseries, which kind of implies they should grow in the garden . . .

Glad your snow is melting, Ursula. We'll have a few days of more 'normal' weather down here this week, then it gets cold and rainy again next week. At least the orchids are all back outside now, and I can fertilize and water them normally today.

My year-round bloomer, Spathoglottis plicata 'Mellow Yellow' has a lot of long, gangly stems with flowers right at the end. Due for a major clean-up and re-potting this spring.

Pretty Spathoglottis!
Elaine, some years ago I had a pot with Ludisia, which absolutely refused to grow decently. So, that Spring I dumped that pot outside into a spot with empty pots, bags of soil etc. Ready for compost!! Forgot about it. By the end of Summer I thought I could use that pot and looked at it. To my amazement, the plant looked healthy and strong, had lots of new growth, just a bit lighter color, since it sat in a very bright spot with some direct sun. Ohh, that plant can take direct sun? NJ isn't Florida, but it seems the sunshine actually cured the plant.


And here is a walk-in, looking toward South/driveway

The first of the NoID rescues from last summer is starting to bloom.

Good find.

Wonderful save Lucy!
What a spectacular view you have this morning Ursula
I bet it smells divine too!
We have some gorgeous ludisia at the botanical garden. We grow them in the greenhouse closer to the wet pad in oncidium type light. One of our club members brought a beautiful one to our meeting bloom table.
She grows this one in pretty dark conditions outside, her yard is like a jungle.




She got a ribbon for this one!
I won a couple of plants from the raffle table one in bud and this cute Phal. Taisuco Glory

Nice one, Lucy! Well done!

Lindsey, thank you. Yes, it smells really nice, especially in sunshine.
That Jewel Orchid is a beauty, the Lady has a great touch!
Nice Phal!

It has always been difficult to grow for me, Ludisia discolor. I have killed them so often that one vendor threatened to have me arrested for "Orchidcide"!!!
But seriously, people have told me, oh "That is so easy to grow!" Or maybe, "it grows well indoors as a house plant" Heck, not me. I have killed this species maybe 5 or 6 times.

I have Ludisia discolor. It grows on the floor, behind a fern, underneath everything else in a dark wet corner. I'll see if I can get a photo. (Laughing because it won't be easy...)

And it wasn't! But here is part of it. I had to move one plant to find it. 7 blooms stalks! I don't think it's in the pot anymore.

Good one - guilty of Orchidcide!😄

Lucy, it looks healthy! Maybe "potless" is a way to grow it!😄

Well, I jumped in the deep end today and actually fertilized my orchids for the first time in over a month. Yikes! Had to search back in the hazy memory archives - yes, it must have been right after we got back from our vacation, which was Dec. 17th.

Poor starving things, I have to hope the cold and wet weather slowed them down enough that they didn't starve to death. We'll see. In any case, it's almost inevitable that it will rain here tonight or tomorrow . . .

Oh, I forget to fertilize all the time.
I just purchased a 4 pound tub of Jacks 20-20-20. I am fertilizing about twice a month.
But every so often I think about orchids in the wild. I mean who, or what, fertilizes them?! And I wonder too if anyone has really looked into this? Could you come up with some type of nutrient tally sheet.
Has anyone heard of such a study???

I think orchids in the wild survive on what they can get falling from the sky, the trees, animals, etc. But they also don't grow nearly as well or live as long as the ones we grow that are fed regularly, cared for and coddled.

As in pampered?

I definitely need to do some fertilizing! No problem outside in Summer, but fertilizing in the greenhouse is a bit troublesome. I bought a battery operated sprayer, it works alright. I really liked having Fish tanks in the greenhouse, once a week I would clean the tanks and dump the dirty water over the Orchids! Easy peasy and the Orchids liked it.

Wow, I have some catching up to do. The Rhyncattleanthe Orange Nuggett 'Kadaoka" is so intense, Ursula. Love it. And I have a Dendrochilum spiking. And as others have said, I have seen my share of Ludisia discolor go down the tubes. But I picked one up two years ago, sat it under a shelf next to some Tillandsia Xerographica and it is doing great. Just started showing spikes. Getting to the point where it may need to be re-potted this spring.
Elaine, Spathoglottis plicata 'Mellow Yellow' very pretty carnival colors. I don't have any of Spathoglottis. Will have to look into them.
Lucy, it may be a NOID but still very pretty.
Lindsey, is that one of the newer Novelty Phals? Really a nice yellow. And love the lip.
For about the last year or so I have been using Norman's Optimal Fertilizer. The nursery is near to me, and the plants seem to like it. Most show a little healthier look and seem to be growing a bit faster. 20-16-15 plus Mag, Chelated Iron, Chelated Copper, Chelated Manganese, Chelated Zinc and Molybdenum.

This bloomed for me last in Dec 2020
Paphiopedilum Norito Hasegawa


Here it is back then

Was using a different camera back then. Need to dust it off and get it in use again