B. Nodosa Overpotted.... OOPS

[Cattleya17]

Hello i got this Brassavola about 2 years ago and it was from normans. Beautiful and large! 40 or 50 growths. its never bloomed It stared to rot cuz the sphag it was growing in was packed very tight! never dried out in the center. I found that out when i noticed growths would snap off and fall ofd when the plant was slightly jostled. the base of the fallen growths were squishy!

so i postd at another forum and they said get it out of the sphag. so i did and put it in a pot with lava rock. the pot is too deep im just now realizing. It went from a 5 inch pot to like a 8 or 10 inch pot and maybe twice as deep (Stupid Right). the pot is cold after watering and they are still snapping off. it slowed down but still going. all my other potted orchids pots are not cold after watering. so im thinking that because its too deep and big its not drying and staying kind of cold . it keeps advancing and making new growths but one side of the plant where the growths are snapping you can easily see that alot of the growths have snapped of. it looks like a bald spot on the plant and the new growth that sprouts from that area is not always looking so hot and kind of limp, i think it has a problem. so there is one side of the plant that is Thriving and is growing like crazy! So my Plan is to un pot it and cut all the declining side of the plant, the other thriving side is large enough to split into two plants, and split the heathy side and get two new healthy plants. im gonna try bark i have a B. Little stars in lava rock that is got three Bloom sheaths and is makin roots like crazy! i plan to use appropritly sized pots.


It not makin too many roots that i can see the new ones it made just plunged into the lava rock, but im sure it will start very soon the new growths are full size and should make some more roots soon. all plants get watered once a week and some times i forget and its a couple of days late. do you think this is a good game plan???

[DebsC]

I'd get it out of the pot that's too deep and too big, for sure. After cutting out the rotting parts, dust it well with cinnamon or spray the whole plant with a good fungicide.

Good Luck with your plant!

[isurus79]

Sounds like a good plan, but why are you going to split the healthy half in two? Just curious. Also be sure to make sure the new pot is shallow. Thats more important that over/underpotting. Post pics if you can as well. That always helps with any advice!!

[Cattleya17]

Ok Thanks! i wish i could have found like a bulb pan. but i only found some azelea pots. which is what the Little Stars is growing in. i think it will do much better in this pot.

To answer your question about splitting, i was gonna do that cuz i thought that the healthy half of the plant would not fit but after looking it most likely will fit in the one pot. i bought the pots yesterday, they are maybe 2 inches deep maybe 3. maybe same width. Here is a link to the photos! ive been having alot of trouble posting them in the post. even after resizing them to the correct size too. so here is the link if you click the photos it has a dscription of what each is. Thank you so much!
cattleya17/Brassavola Nodosa - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Please click each photo

[Royal]

Those photos don't look that bad. I see where the old p-bulbs broke off. That pot does look pretty deep, but I don't see that causing a big problem as long as you let it dry between watering. Sometimes I only have the deeper (traditional shaped) pots, so I just line the bottom with large chunks of lava or styro peanuts. Getting the pot up off of a solid surface and onto a grate or something might let more air get underneath and aid in drying.

I guess what I'm saying is, you may be over thinking this. Getting it out of the sphag was the best thing you could have done. It will just take a little time to adjust. You may need to tweak a few things in your watering schedule, but like I said, your pics look pretty good. Don't loose too much sleep over it. After all, it is a nodosa. They're tough little buggers.

[Lorraine]

I agree with cleaning up the bad parts of you chid and treating it. A suggestion if you do not find shallow pots to use would be fill the deeper pot half way with packing peanuts to allow air to be inside and use a looser mixture such as a tree firn mix. You can water more often and it dries out quickly even if the pot is larger.

I had a B nodose that was given to me earlier this year and kept 2 large pieces and put in a shallow hanging basket with cocoa mat liner, a lot of the treefirn mix and it has lottts of room to grow. (I planted it that way on purpose) It keeps blooming, even has 4 more spikes on it.

B nodose didn't seem to have deep roots from what I've seen. I also have some growing on cork mounts with some spag moss behind it.

Good luck.

[Cattleya17]

Okay maybe you are right! it doesnt look that bad. it just kinda got me scared i guess. So should i just let it be and make extra sure it completly dry before watering??? its in straight lava rock. or should i Unpot it and put peanuts halfway up?

Tell me if im wrong: putting peanuts halfway up would then in a way make the pot shallower?? cuz then there will be alot more air in there.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Cattleya17

Okay maybe you are right! it doesnt look that bad. it just kinda got me scared i guess. So should i just let it be and make extra sure it completly dry before watering??? its in straight lava rock. or should i Unpot it and put peanuts halfway up?

Tell me if im wrong: putting peanuts halfway up would then in a way make the pot shallower?? cuz then there will be alot more air in there.

I gotta go with Royal on this one. I dont see anything wrong with your current system. Clay pots are very porus (as long as it not glazed) and breath very well (ie. air can flow through the pot) and lava rock is extremely porus as well. If you want it to dry out more, mount a small fan above your grow area and the air movement will help dry you media much quicker than before. A little bit of wind on a continuous basis goes a long way in aiding dryness! If you do that, either have the fan on a low setting pointed at your nodosa (and Little Stars for that matter, their cultural needs are identical) or have it at a slightly higher setting, but on a rotating basis. No need for hurricane conditions!!

[Cattleya17]

Okay Cool! i will get a small fan i used to have a big box fan but it made everything to dry! it broke which im actually relieved that it did. its collected alot of dust and blew it around the room anyways. its a good thing i came here for help. you guys know how to help and talk a guy off the ledge. i guess it really isnt that bad LOL. better safe then sorry right???

Thank you!