Rootless Brassavola Nodosa

Hey everyone! I haven't been posting here on DG that often, but my orchid collection has been rapidly growing (ask Rolando! ). I'm rapidly approaching the triple digits!!

But, nothing is more disheartening when one goes to repot a newly acquired orchid than it is to find a rotted mess lying within the pot.

I've had this little Brassavola nodosa 'Pat's' x self for about 2 weeks. I've been tied up with schoolwork before winter break and applying to colleges ... so the little guy was just placed on the shelf. I've watered it maybe ONCE in the time I've had it ... and something didn't seem right. It had two new growth shoots the day I had received it though they haven't moved an inch. And one leaf had yellowed and fell off.

I decided to lift it out of it's pot to find a mess of rotted roots with decomposed bark (almost looked like regular ol' potting soil). There are very few somewhat viable roots left on either of the two individual plants that were in the pot. I've let the guy dry out and potted it up with fresh medium ...

My question now is: Is it just a waiting game at this point? Anything else I should do?

I was so frustrated I almost tossed it and ordered a new plant from a more reliable eBay seller. Figured I'd give it a few weeks and ask your guys' opinions before I went that route. :(

If you're tossing it, please toss it my way?? Seriously, the leaves look pretty good, considering. I'd definitely give it a chance for a few months. I've got one that's got a huge root mass with lots of grotty-looking ones, and it's putting out flower spikes.

btw, from what I've seen and read, Brassavola nodosa likes its roots to be all bunched up together. The first plant (plants, see pic) I saw was at Marie Selby Botanical gardens, and the root ball is the size of a basketball with leaves coming out all sides, and blooms to knock your socks off. I've also heard, on a thread a few back, that there is one the size of a large watermelon at the Biltmore conservatory.

You might want to consider leaving them together in the same (new) pot, but I'll defer to Jim or Laurel's expertise on that.

Elaine's pic of that specimen plant should give you a clue. They do very well mounted. There is a thread about mounting on this site so read up on it and then see if you can find a piece of wood or a tree fern block. Wrap the roots in a little moss and wire it to your base. It will love you for it.

Jim

Whoever sold you that orchid should get a tongue lashing. I'd not do business twice with someone who sold a plant potted like that. Shame on them!

If you are growing indoors, on a windowsill, mounting may not be a practical alternative and if potting is best for you use two 4" terracotta pots with a bark mix that's been soaked over night and well drained. Don't worry about leaving the plants dry out for a day. Place a few packing peanuts for drainage at the bottom of the pots. Orient the plant so that the old pseudobulbs are near, but not against, the edge of the pot and the new ones are growing towards the middle. You may need to use a chopstick and some coated wire, yarn, string or something similar to anchor the plant upright. Once the plant is repotted wait until it is almost dry before watering again. Keep the plant on the dry side until you see new roots extending into the mix. Mist the plant in the mornings and mist the new roots regularly once they start forming. Don't fertilize.

I would pot up two separate plants because that's what you've got. It's easier to manage the individual specimens. Plus, if you lose one to rot it will not spread to the other plant.

B. nodosas can bloom on relatively small pseudobulb groupings and grow fast once established. They don't like to be soggy and don't require the high humidity of some orchids. If you go with a mount I would not use sphagnum because you already have a situation with rotting roots. I don't see viable roots there that would benefit from being kept wet. What I would do is dust the roots with cinnamon regardless of how you repot and if you mount them leave them bare on the mount until you see roots worthy of covering with a little sphag. That would be when they are at least an inch long.

Now get back to those college apps.

If these guys survive I'll be glad to send you one of them in turn for a spathoglottis!!! :P That specimen is absolutely stunning. I can only hope to get these guys to look like that some day.

Trust me! This was the first and last time I will have purchased from this seller. The plant looked fine from the surface ... I'm just kicking myself I didn't repot upon receiving it like I normally do, so it didn't have to sit in the mess that was concealed under the top layer of "fresh" bark.

I grow all of my orchids inside under lights in my bedroom 75% of the year. They will be heading outside into the shadehouse I'm constructing this summer. Because of this, I'd like to avoid mounting. It seems impractical for me to mount ... I repotted both of the guys together after the roots were cleaned and dusted with cinnamon in a 6" pot (all I had on hand), though I may split them up and pot separately when I get a chance to hit up Lowes/ HD.

For now I guess I'll just let them be and cross my fingers.

The college apps are all sent ... I'm just waiting [and stressing] about the acceptance letters! This whole "6-8 week period" in which it takes to hear back is going to be the most nerve wracking 6-8 weeks I've ever had.

Then we'll just have to keep your mind off the college apps by plying you with orchid lore, right? Yeah, that gorgeous one at Selby is what really got me hooked on the Brassavolas. The flowers are fragrant at night, too, did you know? Your bedroom's going to smell like a bordello. Common name for B. Nodosa is 'Lady of the Night'.

Seriously, I'm sure those two little guys will survive. But I already have two B. Nodosas, plus a B. 'Little Stars' and a Bl. 'Yellow Bird' so you should keep those two of yours together, I think. I'm keeping a spathoglottis inside my pool cage (so it won't get infested with garden critters) with your name on it. I'll send you pictures of it whenever it does something notable, and will send it to you as soon as we can be sure it won't freeze it's little buds off coming from FL to NJ. They are so pretty right now I shoot a picture of them every time I walk by - I have this great little camera that also answers phone calls; some people call it a 'smart phone'.

I am DYING to smell the Brassavola in bloom (along with my Max. tenufolia). Actually, I have a Brassavola digbyana v frimbripetala on my watch list on eBay. I love the unique blooms, any idea if they're fragrant too?

All the spathoglottis pictures you're posting are enough to make me want to say screw college to come to florida, wrap it in a blanket, and bring it home! March cannot come soon enough!!! I've had a tiny 6" tall single growth spathoglottis plicata and kimballina a year or so ago. It seemed as though the two tiny plants (which I shelled out 20$ a piece on) went downhill from the time I opened the shipping box. Ever since I've been dying to find a blooming size plant. It just never happened. So the wait for this is almost heart wrenching! Keep that smart phone handy! I have found myself staring at the pictures.

It's more correctly Rhyncholaelia digbyana and yes it is fragrant at night but usually only in the dark. If you turn on lights the scent will dissipate almost immediately. This orchid gets fairly large and needs a lot more light than Brassavolas and most Cattleyas. Unfortunately it's not a good plant for under lights. I have one and it is lives at the top of the greenhouse, in full light, with the Vandas. There is also one on a palm tree on my lot line in Miami that faces west. That should tell you how much sun they need. In addition, they don't reliably bloom every year as they are tricky and need a drier period once the new pbs mature. They grow very slowly.

That's good to know, Laurel, thanks! I was lusting after that fringed digbyana, and I probably could grow it, but it sounds fussy so I'll pass and hold out for 'David Sander' instead. I think they're calling it a Rhyncholaelia now, too.

Franco, here are the Spaths I got at HD yesterday. They keep getting more in so there's certainly a supplier with lots of stock somewhere down here! I'll keep both of these guys inside the pool cage and send you the best one when the weather warms up.

This message was edited Jan 1, 2012 12:47 PM

That somewhere is probably Apopka where you can get them for a song.

Jim

Thanks for the information about the digbyana. I might pass as well. I'm running out of room rather quickly ... earlier today I entered "joke" bids on 4 different brachy paph hybrids (with bellatulum, concolor, and godfroyae parentage) on eBay. The auctions were at 99 cents each, despite the fact I see these normally sell for $50 on up each. To say the least, I won all 4 plants for a total of $12.12. Yes, twelve dollars and twelve cents. I'm absolutely thrilled, but I have no idea where I'm going to put the plants.

dyzzy: Thank you SOOOOO much for what your doing. Those plants are huge! I'll be counting down the days until my Spathoglottis comes home!!!!

I have paph concolor v. regnieri. Smaller plant so you shouldn't need much space for this one.

The problem is .... I barely have any space. I now have these 4 plants coming, along with two vandas, two bulbos, and two epidendrums. I think I need to start putting shelves on the wall with personal light fixtures for each. D'you think my parents will mind? Yeah right.

Time for an update on the brassavolas ... I just went and took a peek. Picked up the pot and 4 leaves fell off the one plant leaving me with a little dried out rhizome that is now in the trashcan. Maybe keeping them dry wasn't a good idea? The other had one leaf that yellowed and fell off. So I tossed it in a styrofoam cup full of water and placed an order for 8oz of KLN. I've been meaning to purchase it for awhile.

I'm not very hopeful for the little nodosa so I think I'm going to begin the search for a new one. :