Newly Mounted Brassavola Orchid

[Roberta]

I don't think you killed it, ES is correct, these are tough. But to get it to grow to its potential, I think you'll find that the mount isn't the best approach. If you see it start to decline, don't wait too long to switch to pot or basket. The roots need to dry between waterings, but not stay dry. These plants are native to Central America, and depending on the exact species, the range can go from Mexico to Venezuela, in general at lower elevations (so warm and humid) The "warm" part you can achieve with house heat, but the "humid" part on a mounted plant is not so easy, that's where pots come in - the humidity in the house may be 20%, but in a pot with loose bark, you can maintain a "local" humidity in the root zone more like what the plant wants.

[CindyLouWho]

Thank you! Would the bark chip mixture be all that’s needed in a basket, and where do your normally purchase the baskets?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by CindyLouWho

Thank you! Would the bark chip mixture be all that’s needed in a basket, and where do your normally purchase the baskets?

That should be all you need. You may be able to find plastic baskets at your local garden center, also at shows or online. If you have a ceramic pot with holes in the sides, that works well too. I actually started mine in a terracotta pot with just a good drainage hole, and that worked well too. The plant pretty much climbed out of the pot and I just dropped the whole thing into a basket. So you really don't need the basket, as long as it drains well and you let it pretty much dry out between waterings. The advantage of the open basket (or pot with openings in the side) is that it is harder to over-water.

The goal is humidity (not soggy-wet) with lots of air around the roots. There are lots of ways to achieve that so if you can't find a basket, no worries.

[CindyLouWho]

Thank you so much! You’ve been very helpful!

[malteseproverb]

Cindy, I have this plant and I live close to you. I keep it in a hanging basket with just some bark, and it really does like to dry out. I watered it twice a day in summer and kept it outdoors, but in the winter I water once a week. I tried watering more often than that and it started jettisoning old growths. As soon as I resumed once weekly watering it went back to normal. I'm an underwaterer and I still wouldn't keep this in a pot. If you like to water, keeping it mounted might actually be good for your relationship with this plant. My other advice is to give it AS MUCH SUNLIGHT AS POSSIBLE. It doesn't bloom without it. That's my take on this one.

---------- Post added at 10:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 PM ----------

Oh I'll add that it likes to be kept warm. My house temps fluctuate from 70s in the daytime sunlight to 59 at night with the heat off. I've found that it really prefers to be kept above 65 degrees all day, but I'm not made of money. I have noticed that it would prefer to be dry rather than cool and moist. But if your house is kept toasty most of the time you might want to water more often than I do. I've had this plant a few years and have learned a lot from trial and error. In the summer it's easy, but it can become temperamental in the winter.

[jkofferdahl]

I'm a bit late here, but I think you did well. I love to mount Brassavolas. Hopefully you mounted it at a point where it was initiating some new growth, but Brassavolas are tough plants (as ES pointed out). You have enough root mass still on the plant to give it some support, and don't be too worried if you get a bit of shriveling. As new growth develops the plant will grow new roots which will attach to the mount. I'd keep it in a bit lower light until it gets going again and then move it back to the original light.

[CindyLouWho]

Thank you so much for your helpful advice! I took a great class on Orchids st Duke Farms in NJ and I was feeling very confident. We learned how to report orchids, I had some Phalenopsis that were done flowering so I repotted them. Enter the fungus gnats, I took a look at the roots and they were rotted! I only watered them every 14 days so I was surprised by this! Moral of the story one class does not make you a pro!

[UsagiGreenPaw]

Originally Posted by CindyLouWho

Thank you so much for your helpful advice! I took a great class on Orchids st Duke Farms in NJ and I was feeling very confident. We learned how to report orchids, I had some Phalenopsis that were done flowering so I repotted them. Enter the fungus gnats, I took a look at the roots and they were rotted! I only watered them every 14 days so I was surprised by this! Moral of the story one class does not make you a pro!

I'm curious. Was the root rotting part of that weird cycle where the roots dry up from not being watered enough, and then wont uptake water because they're dead, which in turn causes the dead roots to rot and get mushy?

[estación seca]

Fungus gnats should be absent from a freshly-repotted Phal, since they prefer to feed on decaying organic matter. Maybe there were already dead roots you didn't remove.