Why would our brassidium 'shooting star' flower buds be falling off?

[tdes]

So we recently picked up what we thought looked like good healthy brassidiums (and a couple other kinds of orchids), trying to branch out from just having phalaenopsis.

As far as we can tell they don't have any insects like mites, and all the other orchids around them seem to be really happy and blooming; but for some reason the flower buds on the brassidiums have been turning yellow then red, then falling off without blooming.

All of our apartment windows face north so we have them under some T5 lights. Thanks to a ton of other house plants the humidity runs between 55-75%.

The only think I can think of is maybe they got hit with too much cold going from the store to our apartment, or maybe the temperature dropped too low one night (we're in North Dakota so our apartment might get a bit cold at night - but I don't think it would go below 55-60 degrees).

We'd really like any help so we can keep them alive and happy (and hopefully get them to bloom next time around).

[tdes]

Maybe some pictures will help! Here's what the spike looks like with the sad buds, and our setup.

[RandomGemini]

Bud blast. I usually see this when an orchid is exposed to a sudden change in environment, like when I bring a new plant home, or when the buds get exposed to a draft. There may be other causes, I'd google the term "bud blast" and see if anything fits what you have going on in your environment.

[tdes]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

Bud blast. I usually see this when an orchid is exposed to a sudden change in environment, like when I bring a new plant home, or when the buds get exposed to a draft. There may be other causes, I'd google the term "bud blast" and see if anything fits what you have going on in your environment.

Ugh, that certainly sounds like it could be the culprit. Well at least they won't be getting exposed to any more outdoor drafty conditions now that they have a nice home in our setup.

Thanks!

[shushu45]

Originally Posted by tdes

Maybe some pictures will help! Here's what the spike looks like with the sad buds, and our setup.

I like ur set up. Where did u get the lights??

[tdes]

Originally Posted by shushu45

I like ur set up. Where did u get the lights??

They're hydrofarm's T5 grow lights. Ordered them off Amazon because I wasn't really happy with anything I could find in a store around here. I'm really happy with them! They don't seem like they've upped our electric bill at all, and they came with a nice power cable with an on/off switch. It seemed like everything I found at Lowe's/Home Depot I would have had to put together myself - and I'm not an electrician so that scared me a bit.

[shushu45]

Originally Posted by tdes

They're hydrofarm's T5 grow lights. Ordered them off Amazon because I wasn't really happy with anything I could find in a store around here. I'm really happy with them! They don't seem like they've upped our electric bill at all, and they came with a nice power cable with an on/off switch. It seemed like everything I found at Lowe's/Home Depot I would have had to put together myself - and I'm not an electrician so that scared me a bit.

That was going to be my next question. How is the electrical out put. I got some lights from lowes and my bill went sky high.

[tdes]

Originally Posted by shushu45

That was going to be my next question. How is the electrical out put. I got some lights from lowes and my bill went sky high.

I'm real happy with them, so far I really haven't noticed it. And we're running 4 of them - two on this rack and another two on a rack for african violets and other cool houseplants we can't grow normally because of our terrible north facing windows.

[shushu45]

Originally Posted by tdes

I'm real happy with them, so far I really haven't noticed it. And we're running 4 of them - two on this rack and another two on a rack for african violets and other cool houseplants we can't grow normally because of our terrible north facing windows.

I'm going to have to consider buying a few. Thanks!!

[lexusnexus]

tdes, looks like you've got the 4' version of the racks I have. Love them because they are so solid. Mine is purely for house storage but I want to buy one or two of that size for plant growth. Do you have wheels for them? Or know of a source for the wheels?