Orchid Culture - Questions & Answers from This Month
by Sue Bottom, from the St. Augustine Orchid Society Newsletter. Email us with any orchid question. If we can't answer it, we'll find someone who can! Send photographs too!
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Bumpy Leaves on Phalaenopsis
Q. Can you help me? These 2 bumpy leaves just suddenly appeared on my flowering phalaenopsis.A. I think you have edema, which are blisters that form when the plant can't shed enough water through the stomata so it puffs up like a blister. It happens when you water late on a warm day and it gets cooler at night or when you water and the day turns gray. There's no cure, and it really doesn't hurt the plant. (May-25)
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Moss on Vanda
Q. I fertilize my vandaceous plants heavily, which eventually leads to a buildup of ‘moss’ on the roots. I plan to spray them with Physan 20. I plan to apply it through one of the green top plastic jars which dispense 20 gallons. How much Physan should I put in the jar?A. I think that's mold growing on the vandas in the places where water accumulates from rain and fertilizer applications. If you have a hose end sprayer you can set on flat, you can water blast the mold off the vandas, and then apply a protective Physan spray. You'll use 1 to 1.5 tsp per gallon, so if you're making 20 gallons, you'd add 20 to 30 tsp or 5 to 6 fl oz of Physan to the jar and fill it to the top with water. (May-25)
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Brassavola digbyana Doesn't Bloom
Q. I am about to repot this Brassavola digbyana, but it has never ever bloomed and I don’t want to keep on doing the same thing but expect different results. I was going to put it in a clay pot with typical cattleya mix. It’s been living in my greenhouse in the winter and shade house in the summer with 50% shade cloth. I really don’t know why it won’t bloom. Could you give me advice as to how to treat it?A. If you have a healthy plant that you haven't been able to bring into bloom, the likely culprit is the plant hasn't been able to store up enough energy reserves to bloom because it is not receiving enough light. Brassavola, now Rhycholaelia, digbyana is a very very bright light lover. The leaves will get a white starchy coating on them when the light is right, and you'll get beautiful fragrant green flowers in the spring. (May-25)