brassavola nodosa - Orchid Board

dragom · #1 09-09-2008, 07:10 AM

I recently was given a nodosa from a friend being new to orchids please forgive me if I don't get the terminology down right I have no idea what is what right now but I am trying to learn. Anyways when I got it it had bloomed and we got a week or 2 out of the blooms before they started losing its fragrance at night. I am not sure of its care is it pretty much like any other cattleya?? Does it need more water or less water? Any special needs I should know about.

kiki-do · #2 09-09-2008, 08:44 AM

Hello Dragom!

Brassavola nodosa is an awesome plant. They need lots of light. Their tips of their greenery are usually a little purple and that is a good sign that they are getting an adequate amount of light.
How is your plant potted? Is it mounted? Mounted needs more watering. I'm not an expert, but I have one and when I bought mine (it's mounted) I was told not to let it get completely dried out.
Others will chime in here to help you.

Sandy4453 · #3 09-09-2008, 09:40 AM

Hi. I'm not a pro with this one either but as kiki-do has pointed out, it will depend on whether it's potted or mounted.

They need high light to bloom. Mine is potted in very little medium, I run water (w/fertilizer) through it about every other day in summer, every few days when the weather cools down a bit. I believe the blooms should have lasted a bit longer but again, I'm not sure about these. I had my first bloom this past summer which lasted over a month, scent and all.

Enjoy!

Royal · #4 09-09-2008, 10:31 AM

Hey dragom, Welcome. You're getting some good tips here. I just wanted to add that in nature these guys get very little bits of rain from fall through winter. But during the active growing season they get dumped on! I don't know if it is essential that they get a dry winter rest, but mine always do because I bring them inside when fall temps dip. By that time they're about to bloom anyways so I'd bring it in anyways.

So, it's pretty drought tolerant so it's ok if you miss a watering or two, but push it with lots of water and high light while actively growing.

kiki-do · #5 09-09-2008, 10:46 AM

I agree with Sandy, the blooms should have lasted longer. Perhaps you could give us more details about your growing techniques and a picture would definitely help. Then we can zero in on any specific information you may need.

dragom · #6 09-09-2008, 11:40 AM

Being in Indiana everything has to come in during the winter months but I do plan on getting it outside during the summer months. I will have to take a picture of what I have it in right now. Being new you guys will have to fill me in on some of the terms like what is mounted??

Dorothy · #7 09-09-2008, 12:08 PM

Make sure your fertilizer isn't too high in Nitrogen as it will impede blooming ..
Follow First Rays info on fertilizing and nitrogen amount - Fertilizers & Plant Nutrition and fertilizer calculator - Fertilizer PPM Calculator

Royal · #8 09-09-2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragom

Being in Indiana everything has to come in during the winter months but I do plan on getting it outside during the summer months. I will have to take a picture of what I have it in right now. Being new you guys will have to fill me in on some of the terms like what is mounted??

Mine stays outside until night temps get down to about 50F.

Since most orchids we grow are epiphytes (growing on trees and branches, not in the soil), putting them in a pot is really for our convenience - not the plant's. The chunky bark medium kind of simulates a moist tree branch. Some try to emulate nature by letting the plant grow on a stick, log, slab of bark from a cork oak, cedar planks, driftwood, and lots of man made materials. The plant is "mounted" onto the piece of bark by wrapping or tying it. The roots will attach themselves over time, growing just like they do in the wild - not in a pot, but on a tree!

Some folks that live in tropical areas can mount orchids to trees in their yards. It freezes here so a portable mount allows me to bring it inside over the winter.

Some orchids take to mounts better than others. Some orchids prefer them as they grow somewhere in nature where it dries very quickly. B. nodosa is one of these that does well mounted. That's why so many people asked this question, it's commonly sold mounted.

Dorothy · #9 09-09-2008, 03:25 PM

Dragom - check out this thread and the photo of a Brassavola Little Stars mounted on driftwood - http://www.orchidboard.com/community...driftwood.html

Ross · #10 09-09-2008, 03:31 PM

I water mine (all are mounted on sticks) daily and try to get them into full sun, either in a south-facing window or outside. I use 125ppm nitrogen MSU mix in RO water daily.