Brassia won't bloom
 

I've had this Brassia (originally it was one) for many years. In fact it was so huge it was growing out of it's pot so I divided it into three. In fact, it's been two years since I divded it but even longer ago since it last bloomed. It seems to be doing all right, it's making new pseudobulbs, but no flowers. It's kind of a bummer, because without flowers it's kinda boring :lol:
I mean I really enjoy flowers, even should it be once a year like with Oncidiums. But this hasn't done anything but make pseudobulbs in years.

What am I doing wrong and how could I encourage it to flower? I live in Northern Europe and we have seasons here, summers are nice and warm and bright. I do keep the plants indoors but wintertime the temperature in the house is 19 C (66.2F) - 20C (68F) mostly during the day. We only put on the heater in the evenings when we are home from work.

I do have growlights, so in terms of the low light of the winter this should help. They're not the closest to the grow lights but it should still make a difference I should think.

The pale green leaves, tending towards yellow, suggests it's getting plenty of light - maybe a little more than it needs. But that shouldn't keep it from flowering.

I see no pleating of the leaves, and the pseudobulbs are not wrinkled. That suggests you're watering it properly.

I think the problem is those plants are too small to flower, especially if it's been two years since you divided them. Some Brassias need to be large plants to flower. Is it a species, or a hybrid?

Are you fertilizing? They grow much faster with fertilizing.

i agree with ES- brassia flowers are big and require a lot of turgidity to hold their shape so they need a lot of energy reserved in order to bloom in my experience

I think it was too small to divide 2 years ago considering the total number of bulbs two years later. Plants are still recovering / getting back to blooming size.

Yes, it's a hybrid.

Actually, I think the fertilizing might be something I could improve. It's something I don't do often, as I tend to forget. Also sometimes I make a mix of 2 litres of water and a teaspoon of the fertilizer as the description reads, but then I don't water all my orchids on the same day, as they dry different. So then I don't make a 2 litre mixture if I just got one or two plants to water. :lol:

Maybe I should like get another watering can, I've only got one, and I've got a lot of regular plants too that are not orchids. (Of course I have a different fertilizer for those).

Another thing I thought might be the issue is the temperature in the winter, but then maybe that doesn't make so much of a difference?:hmm

---------- Post added at 03:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 AM ----------

Well one of them indeed only has the three bulbs but the other ones have like 5 or 6. I really had no choice I had to divide it back then it was sticking out of the pot, like literally growing outside of it. It was so huge and growing upwards. :lol:

Interesting thing though is that I came across a Brassia at the plant shop yesterday and it didn't have more bulbs than mine do, but yet had flowers. :hmm



I know some people keep these Brassias mounted, but that's not an option for me, as I don't have a greenhouse. The air in my house is too dry for that.

It's usually fine to store mixed fertilizer for at least a week. You can mix it in smaller quantities. You can use orchid fertilizer on most other plants, and you can use fertilizer for other plants on orchids, depending on how it's mixed. Plants are not picky eaters.

Most Brassias are fine with home temperatures. Cooler winters shouldn't be a problem.

As to size, there are very large and quite small Brassia hybrids, most of which grow strongly. Some can have pseudobulbs 8" / 20cm tall, or more. In 2 years since division I think yours should have made more new growth. Even some species can make multiple growths per season. Try to be more regular with the fertilizer.