Brassia Edvah Loo 'Nishida" - trouble blooming
 

Hi all,

Having trouble getting my Brassia Edvah Loo 'Nishida" to bloom these past two years. In the past the blooms were scant relative to the robust growth on this plant. Last year I repotted it to give it more room, it has completely filled the new pot. I tried giving it more light last summer but leaves began to burn so I stepped it back. This winter gave it the prime seat by southern glass door; the spot coveted by my cattleyas, lol:D. I tried benign neglect and kept it drier in winter. Not sure what else i can do or if I’m missing something critical to brassia culture. Do you think it would benefit from a major division, smaller number of bulbs in a pot to have less competition and more energy per bulb to bloom?

It takes up so much space now with no benefit of blooms to look forward to.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Not only intensity but daylength is important. How long are its winter days?

we have been digging a bit deeper into brassias, as we have only one (and a couple small divisions from it) that have never bloomed since we have owned them. ours have also grown very well vegetatively, and get the highest indoor light we can give them.

just sharing that i recently came across a pic in a German orchid forum that showed the blooming p-bulb wrinkly and dehydrated as heck, but was the first bloom the person got from it. methinks maybe we will try a dry period with our to see if it helps induce blooming.

i imagine in little rhodey you get short days and long nights, similar to ours, in winter...

Ah, good point ES. Thanks. Short winter days in RI, around 8 hrs at its worst. That may be it. My other orchids at the beach cottage I keep under a serious grow light (Spider Farmer) for 12 hours a day and they grow and bloom like it’s June year round.

---------- Post added at 11:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 AM ----------

Ah, good point ES. Thanks. Short winter days in RI, around 8 hrs at its worst. That may be it. My other orchids at the beach cottage I keep under a serious grow light (Spider Farmer) for 12 hours a day and they grow and bloom like it’s June year round.

---------- Post added at 11:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 AM ----------

Thank you for sharing that. You know, the first time I ever got this to bloom after waiting years was when I was traveling often and relied upon family to water it, which they rarely did. That’s why I tried the benign neglect. Lol.

As ES mentioned, maybe it’s daylight length which is our biggest limiting factor in the northeast as you know. I don’t have stock in the SpiderFarmer plant lights company but I tried them this winter and they were a complete game-changer for blooming and sustaining my other orchids and even basil this winter. They are pricey for lights but cheaper than a greenhouse :. I lived in Annapolis, MD for years and the little bit of extra light Down there relative to RI was helpful. Not to mention the steamy summers you guys get. Closeby to DE, Are you near Longwood Gardens? Their new orchid house is fantastic.

yeah, we prolly should get some lights....but we r reluctant to do so for different reasons. for now we will just have to keep trying with nature!

ahhh, DE is for germany (deutschland)...so no, not close to Longwood at all! hahahaha. but we did watch rainey oakes vid on the tour there. :drool:

Ah, my mistake, I should have paid attention to the Düsseldorf next to the DE. My neighbor in MD was originally from Germany and a life long orchid collector. I know Germany is a large country but in the area where she lived she mentioned the long dark winters were very challenging for growing orchids indoors. She did have much success growing a Coelogyne species and after many decades her relatives still keep it thriving in Germany.

That's a healthy looking plant. I think you're overlooking one critical aspect of getting them to bloom. They need a drop in temperature during their rest period. A night temperature of maybe 10-15 degrees less than the daytime temperature. That seems to set the buds and sorta kick starts them towards blooming.

Good luck with yours.

Thank you for that information! Yes, along with the winter lighting duration I’m going to follow your suggestion on the temperature difference as well. During the summer outdoors it has that temperature difference but definitely not during winter indoors, as it ranges from 62 F to 70 all throughout winter. Thinking of setting up one room to stay cooler at night with 12 hour lights all winter.