Brassia stem rot

[dbloom]

My brassia stems have recently turned brown, become "sloppy" and now fail to support the rest of the plant.
They are indoors in a relatively bright widow area alongside some phalenopsis which are doing OK as are several sarcs.
Should I take the plant out of the medium? What do roots with rot look like? I'm quite new to orchid growing so need some help - thanks

[WhiteRabbit]

By "stems" do you mean the flower spikes, or the pseudobulbs? Can you post a photo?

[Bud]

Right, pictures will help us advice you. Roots support the plant not the 'stem'. Brassia don't have 'stems' as parts; they have bulbs, leaves and inflorescence or spikes that produce flowers.
Check the bulb if it is soft and mushy, it might be root rot. These kind of plants have fine roots that will easily get damaged from being uprooted from travel. Make sure this dry our every watering intervals. If water remains stagnant around its roots it will rot.

[dbloom]

Thanks for the replies. The problem is with the pseudobulbs all of which are now mushy and brown. Because all of them are the same I assume I have killed them with too much water. I am concerned that I do not water them correctly so next time I will let them dry right out before I water.

[WhiteRabbit]

Aw - that's too bad

I haven't grown any straight Brassia, so I'm not sure about the watering - I have grown a number of intergeneric hybrids containing Brassia - they generally don't want to dry out completely, but shouldn't remain soggy either.

I use skewers in my orchid pots/media to help me determine when to water - might be something to try ...