Brassia advice wanted

[kimstwin]

Hello! I have been growing orchids for 10 years. This is one of the first plants I bought. It has not flowered in 4 years. She is currently in an eight inch pot.

She grows lots of keikis from the back bulbs. In fact, I have potted up a few in hopes to grow another plant like her. I am scared to do too much with it, because this is my oldest and most favorite plant.

Should I move her outside (I live in central FL) to a shaded location in my lanai? Maybe she needs more light? I have considered dividing it also.

I have a small cattleya and numerous phals that flower in the same location where this plant is kept.

[MrHappyRotter]

The leaf color looks pretty good, normally when these guys aren't getting enough light, the leaves get very dark green.

However, yes, I definitely recommend putting it outside in the warmer months. I bet a little fresh air and sunshine will do the plant good, and possibly convince it to bloom.

One word of caution -- keep it shaded at first outside, then slowly move it into a little more light until you get to the final "spot". This will give your brassia time to acclimate to the increased light levels without getting sunburn.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I noticed that some of the leaves are accordion shaped, and some of the subsequent growths are rather small for an established plant.

Did the roots get damaged heavily at one point or was it a problem with keeping up with the watering?

Did you buy it with those leaf deformities?

Those leaf deformities are usually a result of inadequate watering or inadequate humidity.

I imagine that since you're in FL, humidity should not be an issue. However, since it is being grown in cultivation, I would assume the other 2 options would be severe root damage, or a short drought that was somehow corrected.

I think the answer to your question might be related to what I'm talking about.

Like "MrHappyRotter" had mentioned, it is not likely that it is not getting enough light as the leaves look to be the correct shade of green.

[kimstwin]

I don't think it's a root problem. I attached a pic that shows the roots better.

I may be a drought causer (I'm a bit of a negligent waterer at times). Some of my oncidiums have pleats too.

I've had it for 10 years, so I really can't remember what it looked like, but it was smaller.

[james mickelso]

You have this potted in a fairly coarse media so you can water it more often. Brassias like to be kept fairly damp, but not wet all the time. The growths are pretty small for a mature plant. Do you feed it regularly? Consistent watering and feeding once or twice a month with 100 ppm fertilizer will really perk this plant up. Be very careful where you place this outside. The leaf color is just right. The leaves are very thin and damage easily in too bright a light. Keep it shaded. No direct sunlight after 8am or before 6pm. Consistent watering and fertilizing is a must. When was it last repotted?

[Fairorchids]

Bulbs look too small for an established plant, so more feeding (& water?) is called for.

Phalaenopsis are low light plants (60-70% shade). I think it needs a bit higher light levels.

Outside humidity may not be enough. When Ratcliffe was in Orlando area, Paul Phillips commented on the surprisingly low humidity level.

[james mickelso]

Here is Brassia Rex 'Sakata'. This is kept in moderate light like yours, watered every week and sometimes twice a week. It is fed during it's growth season at 100 ppm, and rotated weekly so all sides get light. It is in clay and is around 10 years old from a couple old recued pbulbs. It blooms every year off every new growth and is potted in a medium bark/spong rock/charcoal medium. I could water it more often but it is an established plant with numerous roots. Care must be exercised when watering established plants as the roots are thin and numerous. This creates a dead zone under the central part of the plant where fungus can take hold. Since your plant is growing new pbulbs, if you know how to repot, I would repot this now. Those new pbulbs probably have roots around 1 to 2 inches in length which is ideal for repotting. If you are going to repot, please let me know and I'll help you do it right. There are a few tricks. So without further ado...here is Brassia Rex 'Sakata'

[kimstwin]

I think I will put this on my shaded potting bench on my lanai and bring it in at night. I'll have to watch it really close because its never been outside in the 10 years we've been together.

I am planning to repot, I just wanted some feedback first because I thought about dividing if it would help.

I'm not great about fertilizing. I had a cattleya type that sent up lots of empty sheaths until I got better with it.

This spring as I've been repotting, I've been using the new extended release fertilizer from repotme.com. I haven't used it yet on my brassia.

I last repotted her 8/2012. I read they don't care to be repotted frequently.

She's in a mix of large coconut husk chips, large charcoal, and large perlite.

I have a fresh bag of phal mix I'm thinking of using from repotme. It has medium husk chips, medium granite, medium perlite, and a small amount of sphagnum moss.

[kimstwin]

So I repotted this plant a couple of weeks back. I ended up dividing it. When I got it out of the pot, it seemed there was a natural delineation of a couple pieces of the plant.

I ended up with one large piece with two divisions. By dividing this plant, I was able to place it in my best windowsill because the pots will fit.

All the divisions are growing new roots right now.

I will try to attach a pic of the end result.

[NYCorchidman]

They look better divided. Good job!

I think your brassia looks fine except as you admit, you might have damaged the plant with severe drought at some point causing the plant to drop leaves prematurely and some of the surving leaves are crinkled.
Drought at the wrong time will also cause no flowers.
For example, these plants spike as the new growth matures. When you dry them badly, then there will be no spikes.
So try and water diligently while it is growing and continue on until you see flowers.
After flowering is done, drought may do less damage but try to water it good at all times.

I see many keikis sprouting in older leafless pbs.
They should grow to flowering size in time.

Make sure you water it good, otherwise you will see this kind of "disaster" again.

With so many years you've had this plant, it would have formed a large specimen with multiple flowering spikes all over.

At least, now you are starting over with multiple plants!

Good luck!

Oh, regarding the light, it is fine where it is.
Brassia needs bright light, but no direct sun as many orchids do.
Usually they grow nicely with cattleya or slightly less light. So where it is now with other cattleyas of yours is fine.