About a year ago I received a single brassia rex back bulb.
A new pseudobulb developed from the base and while it didn’t flower I watched the growth develop fully. The only noticeable damage the plant experienced was a nutrient root burn. After this I’ve been using a more dilute fertilizer and flushing the medium occasionally with distilled water.
Here’s where I’m a little confused: my brassia grew two new large pseudobulbs during it’s second growth phase. This set is different in that atop of the pseudobulbs are round 1” “mini-bulbs” (for lack of better language) with their own set of leaves. There are no signs of roots and after a couple months they haven’t grown any larger.
From what I’ve gathered online a damaged back bulb can develop a new bulb from the top. Is that what these are and if so should I look for root growth to propagate?
I haven’t seen this orchid flower yet but from what I’ve read they appear at the base of the pseudobulb.
Can anyone help guide me by sharing what’s going on with my brassia?
(The picture in the car is the original pseudoulb.)
Last edited by somewhere that’s green; 02-04-2021 at 10:17 AM..
I haven’t seen this orchid flower yet but from what I’ve read they appear at the base of the pseudobulb.
Correct- the inflorescence will emanate from between the base of the pseudobulb and one of the side leaves.
I've never seen a brassia do that with the little knob but as seca said, I'm sure it's fine. It looks nice and healthy but you'll likely need it to add a couple more new growths before it flowers but maybe not..
With 2 leaves at the top of the pseudobulb there have to be 2 nodes. There may be almost no expansion of the internode above the first leaf (when all you see is leaves) or there may be enough expansion of the internode that you see it (as in your later pictures). The internode is there either way, just a little difference in how it develops, possibly as a result of more vigorous growth. In other types of orchids (many Dendrobiums, for instance) you always see multiple nodes and internodes on the pseudobulb. All pseudobulb orchids are variations on a theme, and growth and development is a complicated process that is never completely uniform.
i see this growth habit a lot with Prosthchea species, not sure what exactly triggers it or does not
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