Max. triloris bud blast

[fishmom]

I have had this Maxillaria triloris 'Heather Nicole' since 2012. It bloomed successfully that year. Since then, it has had several bad experiences outdoors with excessive heat and drying out. It has also had some fungal issues this year, as you can see from the black spots on some leaves in the second picture. Last year, it produced spikes that blasted during the time it was indoors for the winter; I put that up to bad luck. But this year it produced 6 or 8 apparently healthy spikes and every one blasted before opening.


You can see the remains of two of the spikes in the foreground of the first picture. They were firm and fat until they suddenly turned brown and soft. At that point they separate easily from the plant.


I have always watered my Maxies from the top, and they seemed to like it. But could the blasting be the result of water getting into the buds? What else would cause such a complete blasting?

[No-Pro-mwa]

Are those spikes or new growths? At least 2 of them look like new growths to me. The psb look pretty yellow could it be to much sun?

[fishmom]

The 5 new growths are new p-bulbs, as far as I can tell.

The bulbs ARE very yellow, although the leaves are an appropriate medium green. I thought this was just the nature of the plant, but now I am not sure. It has been in a south-facing window with a light curtain, and perhaps some of the very sunny days we had this winter gave it too much light. I plan to monitor more carefully in the future.

ETA: I looked at some pictures of triloris, and at least one shows very yellow bulbs. Others are more green, though, which makes me think light may be the culprit here.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Well that very well could be. I don't have this one it was just the only thing I could think of. Seems funny they would do this. I hope someone with more knowledge will chime in.

[Optimist]

What is the humidity like in Benicia, CA?

[fishmom]

Inside our house, where the plant was when the buds were growing (and blasting) it stays near to 50% most days. After losing the first spikes, I put the plant in my indoor greenhouse, around 60-70% humidity, where it lost the last two spikes. Outdoors, we are up to 90% at night, but usually less, and during the day it depends on the temps. At this time of year, 40-60 % is pretty average.