Dracula vlad-tepes is native to Colombia. They are found in the eastern Cordillera in the Santander department. They grow epiphytically in the forests near Virolin at an altitude of 2500 m...
Dracula vlad-tepes also called as Vlad Tepes Dracula, is a species of the genus Dracula. This species was described by Carlyle August Luer & Rodrigo Escobar in 1981.
IDENTIFY DRACULA VLAD-TEPES
Dracula vlad-tepes is native to Colombia. They are found in the eastern Cordillera in the Santander department. They grow epiphytically in the forests near Virolin at an altitude of 2500 m.
It is a small sized, cold growing epiphyte, which reaching 15-25 cm high, with stout, erect, 2-5 cm long ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thinly coriaceous, carinate, narrowly obovate, acute, gradually narrowing below into the conduplicate, indistinct, sub-petiolate base, 12-20 cm long leaf.
Vlad Tepes Dracula blooms in the winter, spring and fall on a stout, sparsely bracted, horizontal to descending, 9 to 12 cm long, loose, successively single, few flowered, racemose inflorescence arising from low on the ramicaul and carrying a tubular floral bract. The flowers are 7.5 cm in diameter. The outer whorls are smooth on the outside, cream-colored with purple spots. They are rarely hairy inside and here along the edges they have a light yellow color, sometimes extending to one-third of the petal, and the remaining two-thirds remain purple-black. The long, slender, purple-black tail protrudes stiffly out from the end of each petal. The inner whorls are yellow with dark-purple spots. The lip is pink and the white rod is white.
DRACULA VLAD-TEPES CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Dracula vlad-tepes needs a light level of 12000-18000 lux. The light should be filtered or dispersed, and the plants should not be exposed to direct sunlight in the afternoon hours. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time.
Temperature:
It is a cool-loving plant. Throughout the year, the average day temperature is 18-20 ° C, and the average night temperature is 9-11 ° C, with a daily amplitude of 8-11 ° C. If you have a cooling air humidifier, this orchid will grow well close to the cold, humid air outlet.
Humidity:
Vlad Tepes Dracula needs the humidity of 70-75% throughout the year.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Dracula vlad-tepes grow best when mounted on washers or in openwork hanging baskets with high humidity, and in the summer of daily watering and during the dry and hot periods it may be necessary to water several times a day.
These plants can also grow hanging with moss-covered sphagnum moss filled with loose, fast-drying substrate, such as medium granulation fir bark or chopped tree fern fibers. Also, materials that release the substrate but often retain a part of the moisture are often added to the mixture. for example, perlite and cut sphagnum moss. Wood charcoal is also often added to ensure the air permeability of the substrate and protection against acidification.
These plants should be repotted when the substrate begins to decompose or grow out of the pots. If repotting is done at the time when new roots begin to appear, the plant will be accepted and rooted in the shortest possible time.
Watering:
Throughout the year, rainfall is low to moderate and there is virtually no dry season. Dracula vlad-tepes in the phase of active growth should be watered frequently, but excellent drainage must be applied and never allow the substrate around the roots to be desiccated or soaked.
Fertilizer:
During the active growth, the plants should be fertilized every week 1/4-1/2 of the recommended dose of fertilizer for orchids. You can use balanced fertilizer throughout the year, and also can use fertilizer with increased nitrogen content from spring to mid summer, and then in the late summer and autumn, use a fertilizer with a higher content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
Watering in winter can be somewhat reduced, especially in the case of Dracula vlad-tepes grown in dark places, in the conditions of a short day typical of higher latitudes. However, these plants should never be dried. Fertilization should be reduced or completely eliminated until more intense watering starts in the spring.
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