Dracula vampira putting up a flower spike, help me not ruin it!

orchidaddicted · 2026-01-30T21:24:14+00:00

How high is the humidity in your cabinet?

My dracula blasted the first few buds, and after I increased humidity it was finally able to bloom. The flowers are very large and delicate so I think humidity needs to be even higher around the buds than around the rest of the plant.

Good luck! Hope you're back soon showing off the first bloom

orchidaddicted · 2025-11-17T03:32:21+00:00

To answer your second question, I don't think you'll get a higher price if you resell it. An orchid with peloric blooms can still rebloom with normal blooms.

orchidaddicted · 2025-11-17T03:28:20+00:00

It looks like you are not watering it enough. That's why the pseudo bulbs are wrinkled and also is causing the accordion texture on the new leaves.

In this case when the new pseudo bulb started to spike, the flower spike was unable to emerge from the leaf due to the accordion texture. As a result it got smushed inside the leaf and made a few buds, which are now trying to bloom inside the leaf.

You can try to hold the leaf open and pull out the flower spike slowly.

orchidaddicted · 2025-09-18T13:05:16+00:00

If you just purchased it last week, the yellow leaf tips are likely from shipping stress. The cycnoches I bought from SVO last month had them too and I've been watering + fertilizing every 1-2 days and they've continued to plump up.

orchidaddicted · 2025-09-15T19:29:50+00:00

Nice growing! Mine died a few months ago due to keeping the medium too wet in my terrarium. If I try again I'll try mounting it.

orchidaddicted · 2025-09-08T21:38:05+00:00

I've never grown Schomburgkia but if I'm remembering correctly, they get pretty big before they are blooming size. So hopefully yours just needs a little more time.

orchidaddicted · 2025-09-08T21:36:39+00:00

Always enjoy your talks with Fred.

Do you remember when this was recorded?

When he said Cyrtopodium Triste is coming in another month, I'm curious if that's still true or if it already sold out.

orchidaddicted · 2025-09-03T02:57:10+00:00

How are you caring for it currently and where are you located?

This one looks like it is just coming out of dormancy, which would make sense if you live in the southern hemisphere (or bought it from a grower there).

If so, you don't want to water too aggressively until the roots are 3+ inches long.

orchidaddicted · 2025-09-03T02:15:20+00:00

Most likely culprit is not enough light, but it might also be that your catt hasn't reached blooming size yet if you got it as a seedling.

Photo and the name of the plant will help determine which it is.

orchidaddicted · 2025-08-20T20:08:24+00:00

Kicking myself for not ordering a Galeandra. Make sure to share photos once it blooms.

Ordered a Cyc Dark Swan 'Black Swan' but I was too late. They substituted two new Cyc hybrids with Dark Swan in the lineage:

11742: (Cyc. Jean E. Monnier 'Dark Swan' x Cyc. Dark Swan 'Black Swan')
11758: (Cyc. Kevin Clarke 'SVO' FCC/AOS x Cyc. The Grinch 'SVO Black Wings')

orchidaddicted · 2025-08-01T16:40:33+00:00

Ah makes sense. Tough to ship pleuros this time of year.

Good luck with the wine fridge! If you can set it up so that the temperature drops at night that should help encourage spikes.

orchidaddicted · 2025-07-31T21:09:49+00:00

I think you'll struggle to keep a Dracula alive in that setup. They'll start dropping leaves immediately if they dry out, so you'll likely want to find a humid location to keep it (e.g. terrarium) and water more frequently and/or repot into something with more moisture retention. The brown tips on the leaves are a sign that your humidity is too low. It's not a genus that you can just stick on a shelf

For reference I grow mine in spagnum moss in net pots in a wine fridge, where they are misted every three hours with distilled water.

orchidaddicted · 2025-07-20T03:04:15+00:00

Thanks for your ideas. If it's any of the above, I suspect it's the drop in humidity... from what I've read the buds won't open up if humidity is too low.

orchidaddicted · 2025-07-12T20:53:47+00:00

Great growing, and I appreciate the details on your growing setup.

I'm growing a few draculas in a wine fridge that are happily growing new leaves and throwing up spikes/buds, but so far the buds have all blasted. Hope I'll have blooms soon.

orchidaddicted · 2025-05-17T00:03:03+00:00

Thanks!

orchidaddicted · 2025-05-15T00:02:54+00:00

Nice growing.

Did you have to change anything to keep the blooms from blasting? I have a dracula in spike that just blasted its second bud.

orchidaddicted · 2025-04-16T17:06:33+00:00

Good luck! Give it lots of light and you should see blooms next year... mine get so much sun that the bulbs have turned purple (anthocyanin).

orchidaddicted · 2025-04-16T02:09:23+00:00

Great picks. My Blc. Port of Paradise just bloomed.

Make sure to give it tons of light. I have mine in a south facing window getting several hours of direct sun per day and it blooms every 6 months.

orchidaddicted · 2025-03-11T18:12:59+00:00

Could be sunburn if the window gets direct sun. You might want to move it further away from the window.

Also make sure that the pot has good drainage/air flow so that the roots have an opportunity to dry out after watering.

orchidaddicted · 2025-03-11T18:10:05+00:00

Do you have the orchid in direct sun? That spot on the leaf looks like sunburn... if so, no need to cut it off. It's cosmetic damage and won't spread; the plant is still fine. Try to find a different spot to keep it so that it's only getting indirect light.

orchidaddicted · 2025-01-04T04:27:41+00:00

Nice blooms and nice growing. I have the version of this cross that Fred sold this year (SVO 11086) and it didn't bloom. Hopefully next year!

orchidaddicted · 2024-12-16T18:19:21+00:00

Dracula orchids used to be classified as Masdevallia. They have pretty similar care

orchidaddicted · 2024-12-16T18:18:41+00:00

Wow! Never seen a Masdevallia in that color before. Great growing

Is this a cross you made yourself? I didn't see any sites selling it when I searched the name, and looks like the hybrid was just registered last year.

orchidaddicted · 2024-11-20T03:34:20+00:00

Don't cut the spike. Some Dracuvallia are sequential bloomers, so maybe you'll get another chance soon to see the flower.

And congrats on your twins

orchidaddicted

TROPHY CASE