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Orchid
jbw1984

Zygopetalum & Brassia

10 years ago

Hello. I have a question about my zygopetalum and my brassia. I'm in coastal southern California where wintertime temperatures range from 45-60 at night and 50-80 during the day. (The upper and lower parts of those ranges are rare, with the hotter one being more frequent--it happens when we get winds blowing off the land into the ocean, and they tend to be dry.)

I have several phals and reed stem epidendrums that do well here (although I burned a couple of the epis recently with too much sun--they are outdoors). I also have a miltoniopsis and a cymbydium that is outside, that also do well but are getting a little too much sun. This is all just to give you an idea about the climate.

I have a zygopetalum and a brassia that I keep indoors. I've had the former for about a year and a half (it was in bloom when I bought it in the spring, and did not bloom the following winter, and has not bloomed yet this winter either). I've had the latter for a year and maybe three months; again, was in bloom when I bough it, it shortly thereafter released another, smaller spike; and then has not released a spike this winter.

Both of them have produced a lot of new growth, but the pseudobulbs have not really matured on either of them yet. They're very small or undetectable

My question is: how long should it take for pseudobulbs to mature to blooming? Is it one season, two, or more than that, on these plants? I am trying to determine whether I need to adjust their conditions--on the one hand, they produce a lot of growth and I don't want to make them worse off; on the other hand, I also want to try to get them to bloom. My two question marks are whether they get enough light and water. The zygo in particular is probably borderline on light; it's in a west-facing bathroom with a 1.5'x3.5' window, and it's situated about 3' from the window. I am paranoid about overwatering orchids, and so I let both of these dry out before I re-water them.

The pictures do not give you a good sense of how much light they're actually etting because it is overcast here this morning.

Comments (4)

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I think you would have the same problem as here......most orchids are grown outside under an appropriate level of shelter for the Genera. So growing indoors is pioneering.

    The only orchids grown indoors here are Phalaenopsis.

    Anyway, the flaccid leaves on your orchids suggest some unhappiness with your growing conditions.

    Generally I'd say a Brassia would need more light than a Zygopetalum and some orchids may need weather in the form of climate changes that occur with the seasons.

    Another hot, horrible day outside with the sun blazing down. Most of the orchids "Outside" have at least two layers of 50% shade-cloth as cover.

    Suggest you contact local orchid societies to get detailed advice.

  • 10 years ago

    i've had no luck with Zygo's. I love them and have tried them repeatedly while living in NY. I might get blooms here and there but they always died off.

    My Brassia grows like a weed here in Florida. It hangs under a tree, gets morning sun. It always blooms from the new growths. I am a bad waterer yet they grow and bloom.My Brassia grows in a basket with some large bark.

    Looking at your photos, I would suggest moving them outside. As Arthur said, the leaves are flaccid and dark green.

    I have similar temps as you in Florida, although some nights have hit the upper 30's. I have not brought any inside. The Brassia seems fine and is still in bloom.

    You have the climate, try them outdoors.

    Jane

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  • 10 years ago

    Thanks for your insights. I agree with both of you, but growing outdoors is tough for me because I just have a balcony on the 2nd story. Even the least sunny spot is too much sun for most orchids, and there is no good way to put up shade cloth. But I think maybe I need to get creative.

  • 10 years ago

    Jbw, I put my orchids outdoors on a deck when I lived in NY. I used a combination of patio umbrellas and window screens. Actually, the window screens worked the best.

    My deck faced South and literally baked in the sun all day. I put some window screens along the railing and put the orchids underneath. It protected them from the harsh sun and they grew very well with little sunburn.

    I have photos somewhere on an old computer. I'll look for them and post it for you.

    Yes, we can be creative to get these lovely plants to flower for us.

    Jane

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