Could certainly be heat-related ES, such as unnoticed extreme heat. A heat pad is being used too. Temperature monitoring both above the leca, and also down in the depths of the leca could provide some details for looking into.

Also could look into rate of change between two significantly different temperatures, which could show up in monitored temperature readings (above the pot and also inside the leca) - maybe readings every 5 mins could be enough.

Appreciate everyone's thoughts on this.

LEDs and bottom heat are turned off at the same time each night, but I can't imagine it would be too drastic of a temperature shock, seeing that the bottom heat and LEDs raise the temperature of the whole plant by roughly 10F or less than room temp. Monitoring temperature using an infrared heat gun, the temperature of the leaf tips and inside the s/h hole never get hotter than 85.

Something I was thinking that might be the problem is maybe the spike got too close to the LEDs?

Here's a pic in the wild:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ca436151_c.jpg

The panel runs pretty cool, and again using a temp gun, the tip of the spike is no hotter than 85. But maybe that combined with it being on the top shelf and closest to the ceiling fan that I have running on low 24/7 desiccated the buds?

Carefully inspecting I don't see any signs of buggers unless they are really good at hiding.

I was also slightly hoping someone would say that the plant might just be too small to have a proper bloom. I got this plant around March of this year and it came as a 3 leaf division. I'm new to brassavolas but I didnt really expect it to spike this year.

VM ----- not sure if it could be linked, but could also factor-in a rate of temperature change between two temperatures. A slow enough change is usually ok. DC and/or ES touched on that scenario already.

That's possible too VM. Anyway, your orchid is looking great.

I was thinking about heat if the spike got right up against the lights, but seeing your setup, that is not what happened. I more and more wonder about thrips. They are so small they can be hard to see.

I guess I just don't want to believe it's thrips because many make it out to be such a death sentence and I've never dealt with them before, but it just might be exactly the problem.

A few weeks ago my vanda who lives in the same room flowered and had about 10 buds but only 4 of them opened. The rest turned yellow and fell off. I didn't think too much about it and for weeks now haven't seen noticeable damage to any of the remaining flowers.

However...just now I gently blew on a vanda flower and saw a single very thrip-looking bug come crawling out. :(

Let's say I've accepted this fate, where do I start?

I've looked through a few posts on this board about dealing with thrips and there's pretty mix results with some people saying that insecticides work while others say they are pretty resistant to them.

I only have neem oil on hand right now and feel safe about using that indoors around my pets because I have used it before on houseplants. Will neem oil deal with thrips? I have a few plants in bud right now that I would really hope to not lose. Is it a good idea to spray every single plant?

Especially with that Vanda story, which is perfect for thrips....

I've read they are endemic in the Austin area, so you won't be able to get rid of them. Vanda growers I know say only the spikes are at risk. They spray developing spikes weekly from early on with a blast from an aerosol can of a general contact insecticide.

Read this before you nuke the collection! https://staugorchidsociety.org/PDF/T...ySueBottom.pdf

---------- Post added at 08:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 PM ----------

Yep, they're here! My Cyrtopodiums are covered with them in the spring, but they grow and bloom just fine. The thrips disappear around the same time every summer whether I spray or not, so this year I only sprayed once to knock 'em back and I might not even spray next year. I haven't found one on my Cattleyas, not sure why!

great resource, thank you!

I went out and bought a general rose and flower insecticide containing cyfluthrin yesterday. I know that it is probably safe and widely used but I got a bit nervous using it indoors..:lol:

so instead made a dilute dish soap and warm water mixture to spray the plant with and poured the remaining into the pot to flush the media. Rinsed it afterwards. Will repeat this weekly and see if the new spike makes it.

Now knowing they're endemic to this area, I'm going to try to just treat where it is needed and leave them be if they aren't causing any trouble. So far they leave my leaves and roots alone.

I read that they have an affinity towards vandas, cattleya types, and dendrobiums. Maybe this is a better question to ask in the pests section, but I have a bulbo rothschildianum spiking that is probably going to be the highlight of my adult life so far. Wondering if I should be proactive and treat the bud while it's growing or trust that they will leave them alone?

Having the tragedy of buds opening with brown around the edges from thrips, I would be inclined to treat at the bud stage. Others may have other experience... I haven't had much issue with them on Paphs. But Catts and Cyms, big time.

Did you give it a blood offering? Perhaps your plant wants something more than just water, sun, and air circulation. My nodosa finally set low spikes this year, after failing to bloom for six years, after I accidentally stabbed my hand on its neighbor's mount hanger. I'm drawing the line at an accidental blood offering - I'm not performing a voodoo ritual.

In all seriousness, pests, mechanical shock or a sudden change in ambient conditions could have caused the plant to drop its buds. Could have also been exposure to a source of Ethylene gas or even getting your skin's oils on the buds. I've had plants that dropped their buds because I put my hands on them. Best thing to do is wait for the next spike and see what happens.