Hi,
I have a really big brassia that is growing over the edge of the pot,
but I don't want to go up another pot size because it's already huge,
& it has got hard to tell whether it needs watering, because I can't
tell if it's still wet in the middle. The older bulbs have lost their
leaves, so I wondered if I can cut them off, & move the plant back in
the pot to give the new shoots room. I don't want to wreck it. Is it
safe to just hack off the old leafless bulbs? Where exactly should I
cut? Where the newer bulb comes out? Will the old bulbs get new
growth or are they "done"? I know about sterilizing the knife or
scissors, & dusting with cinnamon... just wondering if anyone had any
good advice on how to do this as I have never had to divide one
before.
Thanks!

Alison

Well, the leafless old p/bulbs are usually leafless becasue they've lost
their roots (One of those things people tell you when they tell you to read
your plants. Leafless p/bulbs = no roots). Is that a hard and fast rule?
Heck if I know. But I know its true for my plants. Once they've lost their
leaves the roots are shot. At my house.

That aside, the leafless/rootless old p/bulbs still photosynthesize and also
store nutrients that support the new developing bulb. I think Wang did
research on this and it was something like 20% of the carbon present in the
new p/bulb came from the leafless old back p/bulbs.

So.

I use the same rule of thumb as with Cattleyas. 3 back bulbs to support the
new emerging one.

If the resultant plant doesn't fit in your pot its OK to submerge the oldest
one deeper in the medium.

If that doesn't work, cut away the rootless old bulb and make the best of a
bad situation. I mean, face it. Sometimes you gotta make a hard decision.
What can you do? I wouldn't pot up single p/bulbs, given a choice. But
hey, sometimes you are left with that choice, and if that's where you are
then there you be.

A tip for the futu use an inverted net pot in the center of a huge plant
so it dries out and gets air at the same rate as the rest of the plant.

K Barrett

"Alison" wrote in message
om...
Hi,
I have a really big brassia that is growing over the edge of the pot,
but I don't want to go up another pot size because it's already huge,
& it has got hard to tell whether it needs watering, because I can't
tell if it's still wet in the middle. The older bulbs have lost their
leaves, so I wondered if I can cut them off, & move the plant back in
the pot to give the new shoots room. I don't want to wreck it. Is it
safe to just hack off the old leafless bulbs? Where exactly should I
cut? Where the newer bulb comes out? Will the old bulbs get new
growth or are they "done"? I know about sterilizing the knife or
scissors, & dusting with cinnamon... just wondering if anyone had any
good advice on how to do this as I have never had to divide one
before.
Thanks!

Alison

Alison,

You don't state the size of the pot the plant is currently growing in now.
If it's less than or equal to a 6 inch pot then you should consider taking
it up a pot size.

If it's in a larger pot 8, 10, 12 inch then you could divide it in half and
put a piece back into the current pot. You could keep the other piece and
pot it up or give it to a gardening friend. Be sure that each piece has a
growing end putting out new growth.

I recieved a single backbulb of a brassia from a friend about 6 years ago.
It has grown over the years to fill a 8 inch pot and could be divided now.
It took 3 years for that single backbulb to bloom.

Good growing,
Gene







"Alison" wrote in message
om...
Hi,
I have a really big brassia that is growing over the edge of the pot,
but I don't want to go up another pot size because it's already huge,
& it has got hard to tell whether it needs watering, because I can't
tell if it's still wet in the middle. The older bulbs have lost their
leaves, so I wondered if I can cut them off, & move the plant back in
the pot to give the new shoots room. I don't want to wreck it. Is it
safe to just hack off the old leafless bulbs? Where exactly should I
cut? Where the newer bulb comes out? Will the old bulbs get new
growth or are they "done"? I know about sterilizing the knife or
scissors, & dusting with cinnamon... just wondering if anyone had any
good advice on how to do this as I have never had to divide one
before.
Thanks!

Alison

A net pot buried in the center of a large pot to allow air circulation is a
great idea. I've been doing the same when planting in a 12" HB by placing a
layer of 2 1/2" pots or large lava rock on the bottom and covering with
gutter-guard, then planting as usual. The specimens grow large and lush with
no problems of rot or media degrading due to the increased air circulation.
I think anyone planning to pot an epiphyte to 5" pot size should consider
one of these mehods.
Gary

"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:bLnzc.53433$Sw.52937@attbi_s51...
Well, the leafless old p/bulbs are usually leafless becasue they've lost
their roots (One of those things people tell you when they tell you to
read
your plants. Leafless p/bulbs = no roots). Is that a hard and fast rule?
Heck if I know. But I know its true for my plants. Once they've lost
their
leaves the roots are shot. At my house.

That aside, the leafless/rootless old p/bulbs still photosynthesize and
also
store nutrients that support the new developing bulb. I think Wang did
research on this and it was something like 20% of the carbon present in
the
new p/bulb came from the leafless old back p/bulbs.

So.

I use the same rule of thumb as with Cattleyas. 3 back bulbs to support
the
new emerging one.

If the resultant plant doesn't fit in your pot its OK to submerge the
oldest
one deeper in the medium.

If that doesn't work, cut away the rootless old bulb and make the best of
a
bad situation. I mean, face it. Sometimes you gotta make a hard decision.
What can you do? I wouldn't pot up single p/bulbs, given a choice. But
hey, sometimes you are left with that choice, and if that's where you are
then there you be.

A tip for the futu use an inverted net pot in the center of a huge
plant
so it dries out and gets air at the same rate as the rest of the plant.

K Barrett

"Alison" wrote in message
om...
Hi,
I have a really big brassia that is growing over the edge of the pot,
but I don't want to go up another pot size because it's already huge,
& it has got hard to tell whether it needs watering, because I can't
tell if it's still wet in the middle. The older bulbs have lost their
leaves, so I wondered if I can cut them off, & move the plant back in
the pot to give the new shoots room. I don't want to wreck it. Is it
safe to just hack off the old leafless bulbs? Where exactly should I
cut? Where the newer bulb comes out? Will the old bulbs get new
growth or are they "done"? I know about sterilizing the knife or
scissors, & dusting with cinnamon... just wondering if anyone had any
good advice on how to do this as I have never had to divide one
before.
Thanks!

Alison

I tend to agree with what K said in as much as the best roots are sometimes the
ones where the pbulbs are growing out of the pot and getting both more air and
less water. Lack of root mass is generally caused by overwatering (generally a
factor that causes a plant to die). I would add that it is best to underpot,
leaving just enough room for a year's growth so that the plant is not
overwatered. Brassias seem to enjoy more light than the cattleyas and both
require good drainage.

.. . . Pam
Everything Orchid Management System http://www.pe.net/~profpam/page3.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

K Barrett wrote:

Well, the leafless old p/bulbs are usually leafless becasue they've lost
their roots (One of those things people tell you when they tell you to read
your plants. Leafless p/bulbs = no roots). Is that a hard and fast rule?
Heck if I know. But I know its true for my plants. Once they've lost their
leaves the roots are shot. At my house.

That aside, the leafless/rootless old p/bulbs still photosynthesize and also
store nutrients that support the new developing bulb. I think Wang did
research on this and it was something like 20% of the carbon present in the
new p/bulb came from the leafless old back p/bulbs.

So.

I use the same rule of thumb as with Cattleyas. 3 back bulbs to support the
new emerging one.

If the resultant plant doesn't fit in your pot its OK to submerge the oldest
one deeper in the medium.

If that doesn't work, cut away the rootless old bulb and make the best of a
bad situation. I mean, face it. Sometimes you gotta make a hard decision.
What can you do? I wouldn't pot up single p/bulbs, given a choice. But
hey, sometimes you are left with that choice, and if that's where you are
then there you be.

A tip for the futu use an inverted net pot in the center of a huge plant
so it dries out and gets air at the same rate as the rest of the plant.

K Barrett

"Alison" wrote in message
om...
Hi,
I have a really big brassia that is growing over the edge of the pot,
but I don't want to go up another pot size because it's already huge,
& it has got hard to tell whether it needs watering, because I can't
tell if it's still wet in the middle. The older bulbs have lost their
leaves, so I wondered if I can cut them off, & move the plant back in
the pot to give the new shoots room. I don't want to wreck it. Is it
safe to just hack off the old leafless bulbs? Where exactly should I
cut? Where the newer bulb comes out? Will the old bulbs get new
growth or are they "done"? I know about sterilizing the knife or
scissors, & dusting with cinnamon... just wondering if anyone had any
good advice on how to do this as I have never had to divide one
before.
Thanks!

Alison

Don't forget to try starting any backbulbs you cut off. I put a Sharry Baby
leafless backbulb in semi-hydro, treated it like hydro, and it has a nice
new growth coming now. I would assume it would work as well with Brassias.
It may take a while to bloom, but it's like getting a freebie if it does.
:-)
--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

"Alison" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
om...
Hi,
I have a really big brassia that is growing over the edge of the pot,
but I don't want to go up another pot size because it's already huge,
& it has got hard to tell whether it needs watering, because I can't
tell if it's still wet in the middle. The older bulbs have lost their
leaves, so I wondered if I can cut them off, & move the plant back in
the pot to give the new shoots room. I don't want to wreck it. Is it
safe to just hack off the old leafless bulbs? Where exactly should I
cut? Where the newer bulb comes out? Will the old bulbs get new
growth or are they "done"? I know about sterilizing the knife or
scissors, & dusting with cinnamon... just wondering if anyone had any
good advice on how to do this as I have never had to divide one
before.
Thanks!

Alison


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"Gene Schurg" wrote in message nk.net...
Alison,

You don't state the size of the pot the plant is currently growing in now.
If it's less than or equal to a 6 inch pot then you should consider taking
it up a pot size.

If it's in a larger pot 8, 10, 12 inch then you could divide it in half and
put a piece back into the current pot. You could keep the other piece and
pot it up or give it to a gardening friend. Be sure that each piece has a
growing end putting out new growth.

I recieved a single backbulb of a brassia from a friend about 6 years ago.
It has grown over the years to fill a 8 inch pot and could be divided now.
It took 3 years for that single backbulb to bloom.

Good growing,
Gene



It's a 10 inch pot. This was why I thought I should divide it. But
are the leafless back bulbs likely to get new growth? They don't
currently have growing ends, just a "dead" (?) end and the end that is
attached to the newer bulbs. I would still have 3 or 4 bulbs on the
parts that were repotted.

Alison

"V_coerulea" wrote in message .. .
A net pot buried in the center of a large pot to allow air circulation is a
great idea. I've been doing the same when planting in a 12" HB by placing a
layer of 2 1/2" pots or large lava rock on the bottom and covering with
gutter-guard, then planting as usual. The specimens grow large and lush with
no problems of rot or media degrading due to the increased air circulation.
I think anyone planning to pot an epiphyte to 5" pot size should consider
one of these mehods.
Gary

Forgive a dumb-beginner question, but what's gutter guard?
What could I use in place of a net pot? I live in the middle of
nowhere & such things are not available here.

Alison

(Alison) wrote in message . com...
"V_coerulea" wrote in message .. .
A net pot buried in the center of a large pot to allow air circulation is a
great idea. I've been doing the same when planting in a 12" HB by placing a
layer of 2 1/2" pots or large lava rock on the bottom and covering with
gutter-guard, then planting as usual. The specimens grow large and lush with
no problems of rot or media degrading due to the increased air circulation.
I think anyone planning to pot an epiphyte to 5" pot size should consider
one of these mehods.
Gary

Forgive a dumb-beginner question, but what's gutter guard?
What could I use in place of a net pot? I live in the middle of
nowhere & such things are not available here.


Gutter guard is a plastic --sometimes metal-- screening used to keep
leaves and other debris out of rain gutters. Any home improvement
store should have it.

J. Del Col

3-4 pbs is fine for divisions, if that's the way you want to go. Attached
as they are, the leafless pbs are mostly just acting as "storage tanks" for
the rest of the plant. If you have 2-3 leafless ones left from the center,
it's quite possible that they might sprout new growth -- esp. if they are
still connected to one another but not to the rest of the plant.

On the other hand, you will generally get more-bigger-better flowers out of
one big plant in one big pot, than from the same plant divided into 3-4
smaller pots. Also takes up less space. If you decide to go to a larger
container, I'd suggest a slat or net basket. And if you can't find a net
pot to invert for the bottom center, another kind of pot will do -- a
smallish clay orchid pot, or even a plastic pot with numerous drainage
holes. The point of the inverted pot is to avoid creating a soggy mass of
potting media in the center, which would have a hard time drying out before
the outer edges get crunchy-dry.
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

It's a 10 inch pot. This was why I thought I should divide it. But
are the leafless back bulbs likely to get new growth? They don't
currently have growing ends, just a "dead" (?) end and the end that is
attached to the newer bulbs. I would still have 3 or 4 bulbs on the
parts that were repotted.

Alison

Thanks for all the suggestions. Once a new shoot has appeared I will
unpot it & see what's going on!

Alison