# Masdevallia herradurae Orchid Help



## bmasar (Dec 13, 2007)

I'm having trouble with my first orchid, which is a Masdevallia herradurae. When I got it a month ago, all the leaves where green with no discoloration or markings. Now, after having my misting system installed for a little over 2 weeks, some of the leaves are beginning to brown and/or develop spots. I'm hoping someone with orchid experience can help me out. Is it getting too much water? not enough?

Here are some details:

Mist King runs four times a day: two 10-sec. and two 15-sec. (total of 50 sec. per day) intervals at 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm and 10 pm. The orchid is in the middle of the spray zone, about a foot from the nozzle.

Lighting is 13-watt LED jungle white.

The orchid is mounted below a vent in the roof of the tank with a computer fan providing constant circulation.

The roots are wrapped in sphagum, which seems to dry out pretty quickly.

Temps are pretty high near the top of the tank, around 85-87.


Please see the pictures below. You can see the browning leaf and a few of the leaf discolorations. I'm going out of town for a week on Thursday so I'd like to try to address the problem if it's misting related before then. Thanks in advance!


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

Mines in the living room, but I always make sure the medium is moist (not wet), and give it rather low light. So I would wager that lowering it, and figuring out some way to keep the roots from drying up would help


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

You may also want to check to see if the roots are still alive. The leaves look shriveled. This usually means that the plant is too dry, but it could also mean that the plant can't take up moisture due to rotted roots. You also mentioned that the leaves were developing spots and falling off. This can also indicate rot/ poor air flow. Were the spots brown or blackish?

If the plant was being kept too bright I would expect the leaves to be a lighter green to yellow with purple margins.


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

That sounds pretty hot. Even warm growing masdevallias don't like it quite that hot. Any way to cool the tank down a bit, or move the plant down six inches or so?


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

littlefrog said:


> That sounds pretty hot. Even warm growing masdevallias don't like it quite that hot. Any way to cool the tank down a bit, or move the plant down six inches or so?


mine takes over 90 degrees in the summer, no problem


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Agreed. Even though it takes more heat than most masdies, Id say 85 is UPPER limit of tolerance. try for mid 70s if you can, youll get better blooming


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

Brotherly Monkey said:


> mine takes over 90 degrees in the summer, no problem


Once they are established, they can probably handle it. But going that hot on a newly mounted plant isn't a good idea. Plus even when yours is going over 90, I bet it is getting heavy air movement. It might not even be 90 at the leaf surface. Just because the air temperature is 90, doesn't mean the plants are that hot. Evapotranspiration does a lot of cooling work.


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## bmasar (Dec 13, 2007)

No leaves have fallen off yet, the brown one pictured is the first to go bad. You can see the brown spots/discoloration here:










I will use my temp gun on the plant tonight. My estimation of 85-87 was based on a similar area of the tank, but the area the orchid is in is further from an LED light than the spot of the other temp recording.

I'm also not very concerned about poor air circulation. The tank has two 60 mm computer fans blowing down into a 2"x15" ventilation slit 24/7, and one of the fans is directly above this orchid, about 5 in. above it. You can actually see it in the pics above.


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

"I'm also not very concerned about poor air circulation. The tank has two 60 mm computer fans blowing down into a 2"x15" ventilation slit 24/7, and one of the fans is directly above this orchid, about 5 in. above it. You can actually see it in the pics above."

what's the humidity like in the tank, and with the air that is being drawn through it?


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

Those spots aren't the rot spots I was thinking of, but those leaves definitely indicate moisture stress of some sort to me. Maybe Monkey's right. Your fans may be blowing outside (non-humidified) air directly on this plant constantly depending on its placement. Maybe give it a bit more indirect flow and keep the fan from blowing right at it.


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