Masdevallia veitchiana is native to Peru. These plants are found near Cuzco, grow in rock crevices filled with humus, at heights of 3350-3950 m. They also occur at heights of 2200-2700 m on the sunny shores of the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu, Huayana Picchu and Vinay Huayana...
Masdevallia veitchiana also called as Veitch's Masdevallia, King of the Masdevallias, is a species of the genus Masdevallia. This species was described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1868. This species was named in honor of Veitch and Sons, who imported and were the first to flower this species in cultivation.
IDENTIFY MASDEVALLIA VEITCHIANA
Masdevallia veitchiana is native to Peru. The first plants were discovered by the collector Richard Pearce, who found them growing in 1867 among rocks in the high mountains of southern Peru (2000 to 3960 m). This species, once commonly found growing in the intense full sun among the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu, has all but disappeared from these sites due to extensive collection. In a natural habitat, they usually grow fully exposed to the tropical sun.
Veitch's Masdevallia is a small sized, cold growing terrestrial, sometimes lithophytic or rarely epiphytic, tufted species, which can reaching 15-20 cm in height, with erect leaves protected by the grass with short ramicauls enveloped by a series of tubular, 3-9 cm long bracts with a linear-oblanceolate, tapered to the channeled petiolate base, acute, thick, 10-18 cm long leaf.
King of the Masdevallias blooms in the spring and early summer with an erect, 39 to 44 cm long, single flowered inflorescence carrying 2 distant, tubular bracts and a single inflated tubular, ovate floral bract with the striking, large (up to 20.3 cm), vermilion-colored flowers with an overlay of exquisite, fine purple hairs held high above the leaves. The large dorsal petal is connected to the side outer petals to form a cylindrical tube. The sharp, triangular, free part tapers into a slender, straight, orange petiole. The side petals are joined together at the bases to form a wide-spread plane. The sharp tops of the side petals are narrowing to form slender petioles. The outer whorls are bright orange or cinnabar, and on the inside are covered with short, thick tufts of purple hairs.
MASDEVALLIA VEITCHIANA 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:
Masdevallia veitchiana needs a light level of 12000-20000 lux. Strong air movement should always be ensured, especially if they grown at a higher light level. If we have a cold humidifier, these plants will feel well placed near the outlet of a cool, humid air stream.
Temperature:
The average temperature of the summer day is 27-29 ° C, the night 13-14 ° C, and the daily difference is 13-15 ° C. The average temperature of the winter day is 27-28 ° C, the night 6-8 ° C, which gives a daily difference of 20-22 ° C.
Humidity:
King of the Masdevallias needs the average humidity of 70-80% for most of the year, but during the 2-3 months of winter - the dry season, it drops to 55-60%.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Masdevallia veitchiana are usually grown in pots filled with loose, quickly drying substrate. Quite fine bark is mixed with various amounts of chopped sphagnum, perlite and charcoal.
It is recommended repotting these plants every year. Repotting is most often done at the end of winter or early spring.
Watering:
From late spring until autumn, rainfall is moderate to heavy, but it is much smaller for 4-5 winter months. The cultivated plants should be evenly moist during active growth, but at the end of autumn the amount of water should be reduced.
Fertilizer:
It is recommended that every 3-4 weeks 1/4-1/2 doses of balanced orchid fertilizer are used if the plants are grown in sphagnum moss, tree ferns or osmunda ferns. If grown in the bark, the fertilizer should be applied every 1-2 weeks.
At the beginning of the year, when the plants are actively growing, apply high-nitrogen fertilizer, and from mid-summer and autumn, change to the use of high-phosphorus fertilizer to improve flowering.
Rest period:
In winter, the amount of water grown for Masdevallia veitchiana should be slightly reduced, but they can never dry up completely. If these plants are grown at low temperatures, they should be kept slightly drier than when growing at warmer nights. Fertilization should be reduced until spring, when the amount of water increases.
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