I'm a novice with only a few orchids, & have a question about my
Brassia "New Start Galaxy". It's growing well & flowering like mad;
finished a batch in the spring & has just started a new spike, but the
bases of some of the bulbs are a dark brown. The colour looks like
they should be dead & soggy, but they aren't -- they're quite firm. I
thought maybe it was water collecting in the leaf axils (I do try to
water early in the day) but the brown colour on some extends across
the bulb where there isn't a leaf. I repotted it last fall & am STILL
trying to work out how often to water in the new pot because it's
quite big & hard to tell when it's dry in the middle. It lives on a
south windowsill. I know when the bulbs start to shrink a little I've
let it go too long, but nothing really seems to influence this brown
discolouration. Is this normal? It SEEMS happy....
Thanks.

Alison

It sounds to mee like it has a little sunburn.
I know they like a great deal of light but south I think is too much. I have
a brassia facing south too, and it toke 2 years before it started staying
green. I just gave it a little bit of shade during the worst daytime light.
I've also been told that they like a light airy pottingmedium and often
water. Try to way your pot before and after each watering. The waight can
tell you a lot about how dry it is.
Peter

"Alison" schreef in bericht
om...
I'm a novice with only a few orchids, & have a question about my
Brassia "New Start Galaxy". It's growing well & flowering like mad;
finished a batch in the spring & has just started a new spike, but the
bases of some of the bulbs are a dark brown. The colour looks like
they should be dead & soggy, but they aren't -- they're quite firm. I
thought maybe it was water collecting in the leaf axils (I do try to
water early in the day) but the brown colour on some extends across
the bulb where there isn't a leaf. I repotted it last fall & am STILL
trying to work out how often to water in the new pot because it's
quite big & hard to tell when it's dry in the middle. It lives on a
south windowsill. I know when the bulbs start to shrink a little I've
let it go too long, but nothing really seems to influence this brown
discolouration. Is this normal? It SEEMS happy....
Thanks.

Alison