Brassavola Nodosa
 

Dear Frends,
I have this plant since three year, in three years it grow well, but no flowering since three year, this plant is under green shed, one frend sugest me to place it in open sun, second opinion is stop watering fr a week.
Please advise me what to do.

I would gradually introduce it to higher and higher light conditions. If you just throw it into full sun conditions it will just burn and die. Slowly acclimate it to brighter and brighter conditions over the course of a few weeks to months. If you see red/purple on the leaves, thats ok. If you see rapid yellowing, followed by brown or black, that means the plant has a sunburn.

In Karachi average tempreture is 30 degree centigrade and stll in shed very bright light and one thing how can i measure the light manually and wht maximum light it need

What fertilizer are you using? N-K-P ratio at what amount ? .. High nitrogen can impede blooming ..

I've had mine for a very long time, about 20 years, and it grew well but bloomed very little. This year it was almost thrown out, but I decided to put it outside, as a last resort. It got almost full sun for about six hours a day, right off the bat. Some growths got toasted almost immediately, but I let it go. To make a long story short, it has eight buds and blooms on it now, and about 20 new growths. High light and heat, about 95 degrees F, seem to have done the trick.

Kim

Dorothy, I am using growmore 20-20-20 ratio weekly basis at 1 gram/liter.
Tuvoc, i am also thinking to do the same,but have no courage to throw my child in open sun,other plants r blooming in shed , wht is flowering season fr Brassavola.

Mr.Green, I wouldn't recommend anything as drastic as I tried, but these guys can take a lot of light. Do it gradually, and you should be fine. The blooming season is usually summer and fall, but they can bloom anytime. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Kim

Agree with the others.. from the pictures, your plant looks very green for a brassavola, which means that it is not receiving enough light to bloom. :evil: Gradually increase the sunlight until you get a purple tinge to the leaves, then most likely it'll put out spikes. :goodluck:

I would agree that you need to slowly introduce to more light and fertilize weekly. I see no reason why it won't bloom with those conditions. Good luck.

Guess I agree with the consensus here. Purple tinge to the sides if the leaves is the target you are after. Also be sure to soak it daily, then let it dry totally overnight. If it is going to rain, don't water.

We discovered back in the 50's that growing orchids under green sheds will greatly reduce blooms. Green absorbs the wavelengths that lead to blooms.

I have anothr shed 45 X 22 ft ready on roof without net, flooring marble and Very hot at summer, maximum 45degree centigrade, if green net is not recomended fr orchids, wht net i need. I am thinking abt bamboo shed,
2 x 2 inch room, If any body has some photos of bamboo shed, please post me

Most orchids grown under shade cloth I have seen go with black, white, or the silver-colored, aluminum-coated Mylar product known as "Aluminet", which has the advantage of reflecting-, rather than absorbing the light, greatly reducing the temperature below it.

thanks Ray, wht abt bamboo shed, with 2x 2 inch holes, i have seen in nurseries, aluminium net is not available only black and green net is available, i m thinking to transfer in this shed all dendorbiums.

Hi Mr.Green,

Bamboo sheds are also used in Venezuela with success, however, I prefer the black net. My Aunt and I had better results with our plants under it (well, all her plants and the very few ones I had under the net, as most of my plants were growing outside on the trees). I think important for bamboo sheds is not only the size of the holes, but also the thickness of the bamboo sticks, which are the ones shadingthe plants (if I remember correctly, I think for the ones used in Venezuela, the bamboo sticks were half to one the size of the holes: in your case, 1 to max 2 inches wide)

As per your Brassavola nodosa, let it grow at full sun (adapt it slowly to it, in order to avoid much burning!). Keep in mind that this plant normally grows in xerophytic areas. In venezuela, you find it growing on Cactus or rocks at sea level and full sun (sometimes being bathed with salt water quite often!) It likes a lot of sun and hot temperatures!

Thank You Ramon,
Is it posible that sent me drawing fr bamboo shed, may be i l get a better idea,
Brassavola i am hanging at terrace, where four hour morning sun light available.

Sorry to disagree with you all but I would stop fertilizing altogether for awhile. Sometimes the plant has no reason to reproduce (flower) if it is getting all the nutrients it needs from the fertilizer. My nodossa will spike every year when the temperature takes it's first real significant dip in the fall. If you live in an area that never really gets cold, you might need to simply move it to a different location so there is something different in its light and temperature.

Sorry Kent, but I have to disagree. A plant's whole raison d'etre is to reproduce!

The biggest/most/best blossoms occur when a plant is being grown to its maximum potential, and that means adequate light of the correct wavelengths, proper nutrition - chemical makeup, ratios, and mass - and adequate water, and the elimination of other stresses.

Changes in day length and in temperatures can have effects on blooming as well, but I am not aware of that with this particular species.

FWIW, more often than not, if a reduction in feeding (not referring to plants needing a winter rest, like Den. nobile hybrids) leads to a period of blooming, then it is likely the plant was getting too much nitrogen in its diet, relative to the other minerals.

I had one growing on corky bark. It flowered regularly. I think a good exposure of roots that ramble all over the bark showing countless number of green root tips did all the magic. This plant cant take a lot of sun but I have never seen them developing any pigmentation. As you know white flowered orchids seldom have tints on their shoots. Try to grow your plant on a raft or slatted basket and see the reward.:goodluck:

You have rightly observed that Brassavola nodosa was one of the xerophytic orchild. The others with similar terete leaves are Oncidium cebollata, Stultitia steelii, Vanda teres, Aerides vandarum. In respect of the brassavola nodoa grown by Mr Green I noticed few leaves instead of being cylindrical (typical) were opened in their entire length along the median. This is a culture problem. These are soft growth which will not mature to promote flowering. I have been using UV stabilised agronetting for growing orchid in Bombay successfully.

R Srinivasan, can u send me literature of UV stabilised agroneting, is ths black net

however, I must say that Oncidium cebolleta does not grow as xerophitic in venezuela, but ine the Llanos region: deciduous forests, with six months heavy rains and six months completely dry and temps going up to 40°C. For the others I cannot give first hand tips ;)

Mr. Green, Kim advised that the plant blooms primarily in summer and fall. Keep in mind however, that your seasons do not correspond with the Northern Hemisphere so your flowering season will be different. Just wanted to throw that in, in case you had not already considered it.

Karachi is a little cooler than Mumbai but enjoys the same coastal moist sea breeze. You may expose your Brassavola to full sun during winters, i.e.,from mid October till mid march. This will enable the plant to mature and induce blooms. I do recommend any nutrient with more emphasis on P and K.

My :twocents:: mine did pretty much nothing in a pot for ages. I mounted it on cork and hung it right under the T5 bulbs (less than five inches away), and it popped, a half-dozen blooms within two months. I've also kept it a bit more dry than it had been in the pot.

On both the Pacific and Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, we find Brassavola nodosa growing along the shore on coconut palm, wild frangipani, beach almond and mangrove tree trunks. They appear to flourish also on volcanic rock cliffs and enjoy some salt spray at times... being some tough dudes liking full sun and long dry seasons with near drought conditions. I grow my plants on coconut husk halves hanging on wires situated under a sparse leafed tamarind tree. They flourish and flower in abundance when generally ignored and left to grow wild in the more dry natural tropical elements.

This plant is growing on charcoal, no cocunet and after brought in direct sun light, few leafs have little purple tinge, it was before in shed, where humidity is nearly 60 to 70 %, and get showering twice a day, now on terrace humidity is low and i am watering one time. can i dip in water in morning for 5 to 10 minute or leave him like that for further time

Hard natural charcoal should be fine and make the transfer to a more sunny spot gradual. Some of my sun loving Brassavandola leaves have become definitely dark purple and that appears to be ideal with them. Watering them often during their non-growing stage which would correspond to the normal dry season in their native habitat, might be a problem since they definitely like this rest under arrid conditions. Maybe misting them twice a week in the mornings would be more beneficial and give them a bit more water and diluted fertilizer during the wet season.

This is exactly when mine started blooming...when I gave up on it.

Responds favorably to high light and humidity. When it's not putting out new growth, I cut back significantly on watering.

Dear Green61, You may contact the supplier of Agronet at Welcome to Home Of Shadenet . I have in use one of their agronet cutting down 75 per cent of sun for my foliage plants from 2001 ,still going strong!There are many other suppliers whose net address I shall mail you soon.

Regardless of where Oncidium cebollata grows with how much ever rainfall it gets in a year, its description as xerophytic come entirely from its terete shape. Quill-like leaves give such plants greater capacity to withstand prolonged dry weather. The stomata of such leaves remain deeply imbedded unlike broad-leaved orchids and they can reduce loss of body moisture through transpiration.

Brassavola nodoasa's habitat is basically equatorial where the photo-periodicity ( i.e. the day-length) does not play any role in initiating blooms. It is the maturation of every healthy new shoot that give you those lovely clusters of white fragrant flowers. I find them flowering in Mumbai any part of the year. I have a hybrid of B. nodosa and Cattelya Bowringiana raised locally by an orchid enthusiast which flowers throughout the year. It has that unmistakable spathulate lip of B. nodosa. There is no limit over the frequency of watering , so long as the growing medium dries out well. Like B Nodosa this hybrid too can grow into an embarrassment. I have lost count of gifts of its offset to many plant lovers. It is truly a sturdy super-sympodial orchid.

Dear thanks for address, and can you post some pictures of this B.nodosa and cattelya

In Costa Rica, on the Pacific coast the Brassavola nodosa grows in abundance alongside Laelia rubescens and appear to share the same ant colony protection.

Dear Green 61, I am forwarding an e mail received from my niece containing photographs of the hybrid I had written about between Brassavola nodosa and Cattelya bowringiana. This particular plant is growing in ordinary gritty sand and exposed to temperature exceeding 38 degree for most part of theyear. In summers, it can hover around 42 degree Celsius without ever suffering leaf burn.[IMG]PA090015JPG, PA090016JPG[/IMG]

Dear R Srinivasan, where are the pictures

Brassavola Nodosa x Cattleya Bowringiana is BC (Brassanthe -New name) Maikai and it is a very strong grower. My plant fills a twelve inch pot and is growing over the sides. It seems to bloom each year around Christmas.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/o...1859168298.jpg

Photographs sought by Mr Green 61.
 

Thank you for enlightening me about the name of this primary hybrid. I have forwarded the photographs received from my niece who grows this hybrid in Chennai. I hope the snaps are good enough for dispay in the thread on Brassavola nodosa.

Another thing that might help to aid blooming and give more blooms is to use a higher phosphorus or bloom booster fertilizer. They have a high P ratio in the n-p-k compared to other fertilizers. try gradually increasing light and adding more phosphorus to fertilizing and you should get blooms. You can stop watering as frequently and grow on the slightly drier side, but only if temps decrease as well.

Brassavola Nodosa
 

Dear Friends, Thank you very much, from last three month, this plant was in open sun, and now you all can see the result, i again thanks all forum members for cooperation and guidence.