Brassavola nodosa- how to "treat" :)

[mrs.TF]

Is there any guide about how to keep/grow/bloom brassavola nodosa around ?
I have looked all over the internet, but I could not find anything, it seems it's "by the ear"

I would really like to put it on a bark or something, how do I do that?
What kind of bark, does it matter? Do I tie it with a string for the roots to get attached to it?

Thanks again everybody, you are a great help to me.

[Royal]

I agree with Steve. Dividing it could have set it back, and dividing it further will decrease your chances of getting blooms. The bigger the plant, the better it should bloom. Keep it as big as you can handle.

Snow makes a good point too. Too much nitrogen can inhibit flowering. Stop fertilizing totally in the fall.

You should check some "growing on mounts" threads. There are many methods. Cork Oak bark is common, as is Cedar and Cypress wood (not bark). Lay the roots on the slab and cover with a little pad of sphagnum moss. Wrap with fishing line to secure it tightly. Give it a season to establish, then the fishing line should not be needed anymore.

[karren]

B. nodosa does well mounted and in pots, but the mounting process may cause it not to boom the next cycle. Mine only blooms once a year, in winter, here in the Ohio Valley. The thick, pencil like leaves are an indication it needs a lot of light. As you expose it to more light, first the edges ot the leaves will get a reddish cast then with more light most of the leaf will turn reddish/purple.

I find it difficult to give it enough light. Outdoors from now until fall it will turn most of the leaves red. In the fall when I bring it in the red fades even though I have it in a greenhouse with high intensity lights. It is just finishing its bloom and ready to go back outside and I took pics of the leaves today at their greenest. The last pic is just so that you know it bloomed this year.

The brassavolas also like to form this big mass of roots, I think that it makes its own microclimate. When you start to get this big ball of roots then you will get more blooms.

Last year this plant put out many spikes but the flowers dried before opening. I thought it was because the plant, which was mounted, had the root mass vertical and the water was just running off. So I transferred it to a large cork raft with the root mass horizontal so that the water could soak in. I justed moved it, squashed it down and tied it-- no pruning of the root mass. It rewarded me with a massive bloom this year. It took 1st place in Cattleya class and got the Betty Forker Cattleya Alliance Memorial Award.

[mrs.TF]

Oh lala!!
That is a wonderful plant karren !
I love this cork thing..
When I have changed pots, indeed there were a ball of roots, a lot of them dried though (brown roots with the middle being like a thread), I have cut those..

I will give her this year, I will take it gradually out on the balcony (right now is still cold outside, by day 10-15 degrees Celsius, by night 4-5)
Then next year in spring, after she hopefully had bloomed , I will put her on a cork..

Thanks people!

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by karren

B. nodosa does well mounted and in pots, but the mounting process may cause it not to boom the next cycle. Mine only blooms once a year, in winter, here in the Ohio Valley. The thick, pencil like leaves are an indication it needs a lot of light. As you expose it to more light, first the edges ot the leaves will get a reddish cast then with more light most of the leaf will turn reddish/purple.

I find it difficult to give it enough light. Outdoors from now until fall it will turn most of the leaves red. In the fall when I bring it in the red fades even though I have it in a greenhouse with high intensity lights. It is just finishing its bloom and ready to go back outside and I took pics of the leaves today at their greenest. The last pic is just so that you know it bloomed this year.

The brassavolas also like to form this big mass of roots, I think that it makes its own microclimate. When you start to get this big ball of roots then you will get more blooms.

Last year this plant put out many spikes but the flowers dried before opening. I thought it was because the plant, which was mounted, had the root mass vertical and the water was just running off. So I transferred it to a large cork raft with the root mass horizontal so that the water could soak in. I justed moved it, squashed it down and tied it-- no pruning of the root mass. It rewarded me with a massive bloom this year. It took 1st place in Cattleya class and got the Betty Forker Cattleya Alliance Memorial Award.

Great plant Karren and congrats on the award! Well deserved!