On Oct 12, 1:29 am, "Sinister" wrote:
I bought recently a charming and semi-healthy Drac. vampira with the
intention of keeping it within my room. I have it in a dimly shaded room.
Humidity is always 65+ Never gets over 74 degrees F. I always have the fan
on. It's in a hanging basket tucked in with sphagnum.

My sister burned some of her incense and I fed it with orchid food. She
lights her room with candles and then blows them out and the smoke drifts
into my room!

Recently it's leaves have turned a pale green. It lost about four-five of
them. Some of the withering to brown dried leaf. Others just randomly
abscised for no apparent reason. I froze up and have only watered it
recently, too afraid to touch it. I feel like I'm playing a losing game of
hangman and I only have four feeble pale green leaves left.

I have my theories concerning her incense containing ethylene that's killing
off my prized orchid.

If any of you have any idea why this might be happening or any direct advice
for someone raising dracs in their own home, please shout out. I know
technically the book says it can't be done, but dammit I don't have a
greenhouse and I've never been one to go by the book.

But somehow I have to encourage newgrowth in this thing!

Anyway,
Thanks

-dxtrwrd

Hi,

I have a Drac vespertilo (sp?) in spike (2) right now. It's in a
humidity tank made out of a 5 gal aquarium with a plexiglas lid, and
computer fan inside. It's in sphag, in a little basket. I lost the 1st
2 spikes due to my own stupidity (moved it to poor air circulation for
1, and bumped the tip off the other). I've had this plant since Feb.
Point is, I have a very happy, healthy drac growing in my house near
NYC.

What is dimly shaded? I think you need more light. I have a 26W CFL
less than a foot from the plant, shining directly on the plant. Now
the light is going through the plexiglas, but it is anything but
'dim'. It's rarely less than 75-80% humidity, the temps of NYC. I
don't think that ethylene is your problem. Do you grow other orchids?
'Dark' or 'shady' to you may be midnight for the plant. Light! Light!
Now, not brilliant noontime equatorial light, but LIGHT! It (the tank)
is in a NNE window, too. Also what kind of air circulation are you
giving it?

Carolyn