In forty years of orchid growing I have only ever seen one Dracula bloom and it was visibly wilting away from its cool cloud forest type environment provided by the owner.

Sounds like you are nearly there and maybe it is not the potting mix or culture but perhaps the environment in your glass-house.

They dry up because they need to be in a constant cool mist environment. It was impossible for me to do and I learned after killing 2 that Draculas were for folks like Orchidnick.

That’s the thing—I don’t have a glasshouse or greenhouse. It’s growing profusely just no mature flowers yet. Maybe I’ll get a bell jar for it

When I lived in NY I had fair success growing mine in a unheated sunroom. I grew it in sphag, kept it moist and cold. During winter, the humidity in the room was high, 80's. They flowered for me and were beautiful.

When summer rolled around, I moved them to the north side of the house outside in a damp area under trees. I just wanted to keep them as cool as possible and keep the humidity high.

It worked for four years until I moved to Florida. I wanted to give them up before the move and everyone kept telling me they would survive inside with AC and outside with the high humidity.

No way! They all died within six months of moving here.

Jane

ajm51,

it sounds like you’ve got it figured out! I hope it blooms for you. I had mine in a shady spot on a drafty southwest bay window this winter, the temp must’ve been cool enough but the humidity too low I assume. I’m hoping my air conditioning in the summer keeps it cool because I have no idea where I’d put it outside.

Jane,

My grandmother has an unheated sumroom, I’ve wintered plants there plenty but this one makes me nervous—she isn’t always so faithful to watering schedules lol!

I grow a somewhat warmth tolerant Dracula 'Swamp Fox' (bella x cordobae) in a net pot with pure spagh and keep it fairly moist at all times, even sitting in a saucer of water when it's very dry in the house. I move it outdoors in late spring, bring it back in when temps get real hot (85+ for extended days) and back indoors to stay in late fall. During winter it sits in front of an east window with supplemental lighting. I have about 50% spike loss and feel pretty lucky when I get blooms. I think high humidity is the key to keeping the spikes viable until they bloom.

Even the warmth tolerant one is a little tough for me, as it needs specialized care which I don't normally like/want to accommodate.

Good luck,

Bob

Bob,

I completely agree with not liking or wanting to accommodate finicky plants, honestly couldn't have said it better myself!

Could you keep it in a large aquarium with a fan for circulation? LEDs as a light source to prevent heat being a problem? I'm not sure how much of an investment you want to make for it.

They also make automatic misters for frogs/geckos.

I just started growing these this past fall and I now have 2 of them. I re-potted them in just LFSM. Temp. so far in the room they are in is 58-60 F. 50-70% humidity. I keep the moss always moist as they do not have water storage capability. So far no spikes on the Lotax. I also have a Drac. Cordobae that pushed 4 spikes last fall but 3 blasted but at least one bloomed for me.

I’m not really looking to invest much in this plant honestly, moreso just seeing what I can do with it. Sounds like all I really have to do is increase the humidity honestly, as it has maybe 15-20 new growths and 2 live spikes currently. I’m just hoping they don’t blast

Some people give away those types of supplies (or for basically nothing) on craigslist, if you want to try an aquarium.

Good idea!! 5 gallon tanks, are pretty cheap too and I have a PetsPlus card...maybe I’ll look into it ;)

If I may make a recommendation? I'm not sure how big your plant is but a 5 gallon is very small. A 20 long would allow for air circulation since I believe stagnant humid air is still detrimental to these guys.

You can get a 10 gallon at Walmart for 11 dollars and used fish tanks should sell for $1 a gallon but you can often find people just trying to get rid of them.

If you lived here, I have some in my garage that you could have lol.

You would need a fan to circulate the air. Will not work without good air movement.

Jane

Alyssa,

If you don't like finicky plants, don't go the terrarium route. Been there, done that, have the bills to prove it but none of the orchids :(

Bob