Help me raise my young Brassia...

[Kaykay]

Seeing as you guys have given me such great advice in the past, I thought I should turn to you guys first for this one! I've just placed an order for a Brassia Chieftain (verrucosa x longissima) from Burnham Orchids. It's a young plant, so I know I'm being a little on the ambitious side, but please, any pointers, tips or hints?

So you know, I grow Orchids in my (small) flat in London, so the conditions I have are those I have!
So far I have found happy spots for phals, a vanda, paphs and I'm planning on placing my new arrival next to a miltoniopsis I rescued from being a sunburnt wreck about a month ago, and seems to have thrived since. Is this a good plan? (Incidentally I'm very proud of having found so many little different spots in such a small area!)

What about potting for a young plant? Should I just go with finer grade bark mix? And any other tips for a new Brassia owner?

Thank you so much!
Kay
x

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Growing it next to your Miltoniopsis sounds fine to me.

How small is this plant supposed to be? 1 yr out of flask? NBS seedling? Sizes and dimensions please.

[greenbean]

I was under the impression that Brassias needed higher light than Miltoniopsis. A little less than Cattleya light levels and no strong afternoon sun (although in high latitudes it's probably fine)

However, since I only received my first Miltoniopsis a couple weeks ago and my first Brassia a few months ago, I gladly defer to those with personal experience over what I have read in books.

[orchidsamore]

The Brassia can take the same light levels as the Milt. In general Milts like cooler weather but London should be about perfect for it. The Brassia will do well in the same temps although they can take higher temps.

All orchids in the Oncidium alliance grow rather fast and can flower in 2 years out of flask. I would treat it like you are treating the Milt.

[cb977]

The only thing I can say is that I've realized recently that my Brassias do best on a shelf which gets almost full west sun.

Best wishes

[Kaykay]

Thanks guys so much for the hints! My Brassia arrived today, and seems a little older than I thought it would be,(already has 3 pseudobulbs) which isn't a problem and probably means that most of the concerns I had about whether I could raise it are not there anymore! I thought that I would be more relaxed by now about trying a new genus, but apparently the newbie neurosis remains...
I hope others find your contributions helpful too. I've learnt so much here from other people's questions.
Kay