Brassavola nodosa dropped all of its buds
 

I bought this small division earlier this year and it has since then grown two new pseudobulbs. A few weeks ago it started spiking and I was soooo excited. Just this week, each bud suddenly started to wilt, yellow and eventually fall off. They were still pretty small, about 1 cm long. Another spike is forming on the other pseudobulb and I am hoping to not repeat this.

For those growing nodosa, what could've happened??

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Growing it very warm under LEDs with heat pad under the pot.

It is possible that the extra heat was enough of an environmental change to make the buds blast. B. nodosa doesn't need to grow that warm. (I put mine in the greenhouse for the winter, but once it starts to spike, in the early summer, it goes onto my patio - where it gets some cool nights. Even now, while I think nights are unpleasantly warm (like 71-72 deg F/22 deg /C) by Texas standards I think that's still pretty cool. They won't go back into the GH until they stop blooming (they're still putting out new spikes) or nights get below 60 deg F/15 deg C or so whichever comes first. (Days are running 85 deg F /29 deg C to 90 deg F (32 deg C) and I expect that weather pattern to hold for awhile even as nights cool a bit. So the plant might be happier if somewhat cooler.

Does pot have drainage holes? I'm new to these but 2 recent buys from sev months ago are spiking. Placed under lights and watered 3x/wk but roots must dry out bet. waterings. They're potted in gravel from the grower,a new medium for me to work with,so I know a dry cycle will occur. Bottom heat unnecessary.

I don't grow nodosa ------ and haven't grown with artificial lights before. So that's awesome how you grow with LEDs.

Assuming the heat pad is working just fine, and temperatures change gradually and smoothly, or just kept relatively constant ------ then maybe could turn attention to the temperature of leaves and/or buds due to the LED.

Do the LED lights do a 'soft start' and a 'soft stop'?

I was thinking that it would probably be nice to have a system that slowly and gradually ramps the light level up (or down) ------- to slow down the temperature changes in leaves/buds etc.

I don't ramp up / ramp down my LED's but when I used to keep planted fish tanks I did. You can find these kind of ramp up timers for LED lights in the fish world. Not sure if there is a benefit for orchids or if its been tested. Interesting topic

CH ...... true! For orchids, and the distance of the light from the plant ----- the ramping might not be necessary. Thanks for mentioning you used to do that with planted fish tanks! Very interesting!

i grow these in full sun for the morning to about 1 and then BRIGHT shade until dusk...they get COOKED and are fine so the total heat might not be the issue but the change and relative shock perhaps?

you mentioned it was earlier this year that you got it, how long exactly?

I grew under lights for many years. There's no need for that.

---------- Post added at 09:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 PM ----------

I saw this thread earlier today and have been wondering about the bud drop. I honestly can't think of a reason for it to drop buds once initiated.

I would only be guessing... unnoticed extreme heat; bugs; spider mites; do thrips do this? I think you might have them in Austin.

Heat would not bother this one, plus its grown inside!