Stake Brassia Caudata spike?

[EH Allen]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and have several plants - very successful with standard cymbidiums and have managed to coax 2 oncidiums into bloom previously.
My question concerns an unlabeled gift, a Brassia Caudata according to the donor. It's a miniature and after 3 years is sending out its first spike. Will the spike ultimately be pendulous? Does it need staking?
Thank you.

[WhiteRabbit]

Brassias can get long spikes with large flowers, which will cause the spike to bow, or hang low - so, if that might be a problem handling the plant, or be a space issue, you may want to stake it.

[EH Allen]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Since this is the first spike in 3 years it will be kid gloves all the way.
Cheers

[silken]

I looked at this one in Orchid Wiz. All of the photos show it left to arch naturally. They grow upward or sort of outward then arch over. You can stake it if you wish to tho.

[EH Allen]

Thanks. I appreciate your input.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It arches - it's not pendulous.

I probably wouldn't stake it upright. I'd most likely support it, (if you felt the need to do so), by putting a stake where it is stable, and use floral wire to support the arching spike onto the stake. The stake shouldn't be very tall. Make it only an inch taller than the height of the arch on the spike, (if you get what I mean).

Btw, this is what your plant's spike/flowers will look like, if you weren't aware already:

Panoramio - Photo of Brassia caudata

It is a species, not a hybrid.

The way species names are written, the genus name, Brassia, is capitalized. The species name, caudata, is in lower case.

Pretty cool plant, I think you lucked out.

[MrHappyRotter]

It's a beautiful species, lovely fragrance and cool flowers.

Like others have stated, the spikes are better described as arching rather than pendulous. Some people prefer to stake for a more vertical display. Others, like myself, prefer the more natural display. So, whether or not to stake is probably more of a personal aesthetic preference.

In the case of Brassia caudatum and other long petaled orchids, it's generally best to let them arch naturally. You can still do some minimal staking to direct the spike in the direction you want (i.e. a little to the left), but if you stake the spike upright, the petals get "tangled" and I think it looks messy.

For short petaled Brassias, I still let them arch. However, you can get a good display of them even if you stake upright.

[EH Allen]

Hi Philip
Thanks for the info, clarifications & pic. I'm on board with your staking advice. I'll take it one day at a time and see what the plant tells me. And yes, I definitely lucked out.
Cheers
Allen

---------- Post added at 10:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 AM ----------

Mr H Rotter -
Thanks for the advice.
Much appreciated!