Sorry to keep the thread hanging so long, sorta put it on a back burner.
Good news and bad news.
This last friday we went to Carter & Holmes for their open house, as we often do since it's a pleasant 1.5 hr drive from where we are. Picked a few nice plants including a Brassavola cucullata that has a bud opening at this very moment, so you might see that. While there I gave one of the workers there the third degree about the coerulea in specific.
The good news is that we have a fairly definitive diagnosis!
The bad news is that diagnosis is a terrible, nasty infection of mites. They've screwed up either the new leaf or the entire crown. I've already taken action against them but the plant's future is uncertain. The magenta, by the way is alright, it's a minor infestation and the new leaf has grown by leaps and bounds since the photo in the original post.
I was told I have two options: do nothing and hope a new leaf starts, or make a seedpod. It's a catch 22 situation, the crown might be so gone that there's no hope of a new leaf and if all of the flowers fall off, there's no chance. But if I make a seed pod, I could severely reduce the chances of the crown regenerating. I think seedpod is the way to go though. It's on its second flower and a third but is on its way and I think its overall less risky, since the crown is not looking so good and the only way for the seed pod to fail is if the plant kicks the bucket within the next six months. And, as a bonus, as shallow as this is, there's a chance some albas will arise from the seed population which is one of the things pushing me in that direction.
Edit: accidental smiley, how odd
Last edited by CPKidofAugusta; 08-24-2014 at 07:33 PM..
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