I am seeking possible causes of and solutions to the bud blast habit of my
cochleanthes amazonica.

When I got it in November it had 5 buds, all of which proceeded to blast,
and I thought this was just due to shipping and environment change. But then
in February it put forth a new bud, which seemed healthy at first and then
blasted. I thought maybe I had gotten water onto the bud while watering or
maybe the humidity was not enough. Then in March another bud started. I was
extra careful with this one, and it succeeded in growing longer than the
previous one, but now again it is in the process of blasting. Grrr!!!

Here is what is happening in more detail: when the bud starts growing it is
nice and white, but then little black dots start forming on the bud and
peduncle (I read somewhere that a cochleanthes spike is called a peduncle),
then the bud turns brown and soft, and when I removed the last one it was
merely a brown shell with little substance. Any idea what could be
happening?

The environment this plant is in:
-- low light situation in northern windowsill supplemented by a plant light,
very close to where my Phals are thriving (although of all my orchids this
one is probably getting the least light. Could that be the cause? In Phals I
know that too little light would cause the plant to just not spike/bud at
all. If the cochleanthes has enough light to spike and initiate bud, could
it not have enough to finish the process?
-- humidity may be a problem (I'm trying to keep the humidifier running, but
it is not on all the time)
-- I am watering the cochleanthes every 3 days now, used to water it 3 times
a week, but was afraid that I might be overwating it. I am now very careful
not to get any water onto the bud or peduncle.
-- this plant is in a see-through transparent plastic pot filled with fine
bark, and as far as I can tell there may be algae or moss growing inside the
pot, it looks pretty green in there especially on the side of the pot facing
the window
-- the plant just started growing new roots, and two of them are growing up
outside of the medium, but I can see at least some new roots inside the pot
-- anything else I should consider?
-- is there any point in repotting? As I said I got this plant in November,
and the bark is definitely still fresh enough, not decomposed. But there are
all those algae or moss inside. Could they be part of this problem?

What would you suggest that I try to do to keep this cochleanthes from bud
blasting again?

Thank you for any suggestions,
Joanna

Joanna: The possible causes of bud blast are myriad:

Too hot -- too cold -- too much diurnal shift [a problem for us in the swing
seasons -- nothing seems to enjoy a 30+ degree temp change within 12 hours
:( ]
Too wet -- too dry -- humidity too low
Thrips, aphids, possibly other insects
Severe botrytis fungus
Plant attempting, and failing, at "swan song," or aborting the bud in an
effort to survive

From your description, I would most suspect either humidity or insects,
although the black spots do also sound kind of like the botrytis ... all
just long-distance guesses. I do not think the moss/algae in the pot is the
culprit, we see plenty of that around here with no ill effects.

Good luck, Kenni
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
I am seeking possible causes of and solutions to the bud blast habit of my
cochleanthes amazonica.

When I got it in November it had 5 buds, all of which proceeded to blast,
and I thought this was just due to shipping and environment change. But
then
in February it put forth a new bud, which seemed healthy at first and then
blasted. I thought maybe I had gotten water onto the bud while watering or
maybe the humidity was not enough. Then in March another bud started. I
was
extra careful with this one, and it succeeded in growing longer than the
previous one, but now again it is in the process of blasting. Grrr!!!

Here is what is happening in more detail: when the bud starts growing it
is
nice and white, but then little black dots start forming on the bud and
peduncle (I read somewhere that a cochleanthes spike is called a
peduncle),
then the bud turns brown and soft, and when I removed the last one it was
merely a brown shell with little substance. Any idea what could be
happening?

The environment this plant is in:
-- low light situation in northern windowsill supplemented by a plant
light,
very close to where my Phals are thriving (although of all my orchids this
one is probably getting the least light. Could that be the cause? In Phals
I
know that too little light would cause the plant to just not spike/bud at
all. If the cochleanthes has enough light to spike and initiate bud, could
it not have enough to finish the process?
-- humidity may be a problem (I'm trying to keep the humidifier running,
but
it is not on all the time)
-- I am watering the cochleanthes every 3 days now, used to water it 3
times
a week, but was afraid that I might be overwating it. I am now very
careful
not to get any water onto the bud or peduncle.
-- this plant is in a see-through transparent plastic pot filled with fine
bark, and as far as I can tell there may be algae or moss growing inside
the
pot, it looks pretty green in there especially on the side of the pot
facing
the window
-- the plant just started growing new roots, and two of them are growing
up
outside of the medium, but I can see at least some new roots inside the
pot
-- anything else I should consider?
-- is there any point in repotting? As I said I got this plant in
November,
and the bark is definitely still fresh enough, not decomposed. But there
are
all those algae or moss inside. Could they be part of this problem?

What would you suggest that I try to do to keep this cochleanthes from bud
blasting again?

Thank you for any suggestions,
Joanna

Here we go again - I'm getting answers but not the original post. S**T!

Diana

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
.. .
Joanna: The possible causes of bud blast are myriad:

Too hot -- too cold -- too much diurnal shift [a problem for us in the
swing
seasons -- nothing seems to enjoy a 30+ degree temp change within 12 hours
:( ]
Too wet -- too dry -- humidity too low
Thrips, aphids, possibly other insects
Severe botrytis fungus
Plant attempting, and failing, at "swan song," or aborting the bud in an
effort to survive

From your description, I would most suspect either humidity or insects,
although the black spots do also sound kind of like the botrytis ... all
just long-distance guesses. I do not think the moss/algae in the pot is
the
culprit, we see plenty of that around here with no ill effects.

Good luck, Kenni
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
I am seeking possible causes of and solutions to the bud blast habit of
my
cochleanthes amazonica.

When I got it in November it had 5 buds, all of which proceeded to
blast,
and I thought this was just due to shipping and environment change. But
then
in February it put forth a new bud, which seemed healthy at first and
then
blasted. I thought maybe I had gotten water onto the bud while watering
or
maybe the humidity was not enough. Then in March another bud started. I
was
extra careful with this one, and it succeeded in growing longer than the
previous one, but now again it is in the process of blasting. Grrr!!!

Here is what is happening in more detail: when the bud starts growing it
is
nice and white, but then little black dots start forming on the bud and
peduncle (I read somewhere that a cochleanthes spike is called a
peduncle),
then the bud turns brown and soft, and when I removed the last one it
was
merely a brown shell with little substance. Any idea what could be
happening?

The environment this plant is in:
-- low light situation in northern windowsill supplemented by a plant
light,
very close to where my Phals are thriving (although of all my orchids
this
one is probably getting the least light. Could that be the cause? In
Phals
I
know that too little light would cause the plant to just not spike/bud
at
all. If the cochleanthes has enough light to spike and initiate bud,
could
it not have enough to finish the process?
-- humidity may be a problem (I'm trying to keep the humidifier running,
but
it is not on all the time)
-- I am watering the cochleanthes every 3 days now, used to water it 3
times
a week, but was afraid that I might be overwating it. I am now very
careful
not to get any water onto the bud or peduncle.
-- this plant is in a see-through transparent plastic pot filled with
fine
bark, and as far as I can tell there may be algae or moss growing inside
the
pot, it looks pretty green in there especially on the side of the pot
facing
the window
-- the plant just started growing new roots, and two of them are growing
up
outside of the medium, but I can see at least some new roots inside the
pot
-- anything else I should consider?
-- is there any point in repotting? As I said I got this plant in
November,
and the bark is definitely still fresh enough, not decomposed. But there
are
all those algae or moss inside. Could they be part of this problem?

What would you suggest that I try to do to keep this cochleanthes from
bud
blasting again?

Thank you for any suggestions,
Joanna

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger -- I can never see my own original posts,
unless someone replies to them ...


--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com
"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
ink.net...
Here we go again - I'm getting answers but not the original post. S**T!

Diana

Kenni,
Thank you very much for your reply.

I will try to keep the humidifier running as much as possible, but there are
limits as to how much I can increase the humidity here and how consistent I
can be about this.

I don't think insects are likely, since this is an apartment and insects
seldom come in, and I have not seen any near there, and there are several
very healthy Phals very close to this plant. So unless these are hard to see
insects that somehow got in and that do not like Phals but love
cochleanthes, I don't think it is insects. At least I hope not.

If it is"kind of like the botrytis", what should I do? I looked up botrytis
on the Web and found out that it is some kind of mold/fungus. Should I try
Physan? I do not have any right now, since I have never needed it before, so
I would have to buy it if you or others think that it is likely to help if
it is botrytis.

All together I must admit that I find the cochleanthes to be much more high
maintenance than the Phals, and I still need to decide whether it is worth
it or not. I don't know yet whether I will be able to provide it the kind of
environment that it needs to flower. I will have to wait and see and ponder
and try to improve its conditions as much as I can, I guess.

Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
.. .
From your description, I would most suspect either humidity or insects,
although the black spots do also sound kind of like the botrytis ... all
just long-distance guesses. I do not think the moss/algae in the pot is
the
culprit, we see plenty of that around here with no ill effects.

Good luck, Kenni
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
I am seeking possible causes of and solutions to the bud blast habit of
my
cochleanthes amazonica.

When I got it in November it had 5 buds, all of which proceeded to
blast,
and I thought this was just due to shipping and environment change. But
then
in February it put forth a new bud, which seemed healthy at first and
then
blasted. I thought maybe I had gotten water onto the bud while watering
or
maybe the humidity was not enough. Then in March another bud started. I
was
extra careful with this one, and it succeeded in growing longer than the
previous one, but now again it is in the process of blasting. Grrr!!!

Here is what is happening in more detail: when the bud starts growing it
is
nice and white, but then little black dots start forming on the bud and
peduncle (I read somewhere that a cochleanthes spike is called a
peduncle),
then the bud turns brown and soft, and when I removed the last one it
was
merely a brown shell with little substance. Any idea what could be
happening?

The environment this plant is in:
-- low light situation in northern windowsill supplemented by a plant
light,
very close to where my Phals are thriving (although of all my orchids
this
one is probably getting the least light. Could that be the cause? In
Phals
I
know that too little light would cause the plant to just not spike/bud
at
all. If the cochleanthes has enough light to spike and initiate bud,
could
it not have enough to finish the process?
-- humidity may be a problem (I'm trying to keep the humidifier running,
but
it is not on all the time)
-- I am watering the cochleanthes every 3 days now, used to water it 3
times
a week, but was afraid that I might be overwating it. I am now very
careful
not to get any water onto the bud or peduncle.
-- this plant is in a see-through transparent plastic pot filled with
fine
bark, and as far as I can tell there may be algae or moss growing inside
the
pot, it looks pretty green in there especially on the side of the pot
facing
the window
-- the plant just started growing new roots, and two of them are growing
up
outside of the medium, but I can see at least some new roots inside the
pot
-- anything else I should consider?
-- is there any point in repotting? As I said I got this plant in
November,
and the bark is definitely still fresh enough, not decomposed. But there
are
all those algae or moss inside. Could they be part of this problem?

What would you suggest that I try to do to keep this cochleanthes from
bud
blasting again?

Thank you for any suggestions,
Joanna

Physan would be a good thing to have on hand, anyway, and worth a try on the
Cochleanthes. However, if you don't want to buy it, you may be able to
solve the problem with hydrogen peroxide [the 3% kind you get in a drug
store]. The widely-seen recommended rate is 4 oz/gallon of water for
"general hygiene." I have not used it stronger than that, but am told that
many use it straight to combat known fungus infections such as phal crown
rot.

Whichever you use, spray the whole plant [including undersides of leaves,
top of potting mix, lip and exterior of pot] just to the point of run-off,
and also spray whatever it is sitting on. If it were me, I'd also spray the
"neighbors." Good growing, Kenni


"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...

If it is"kind of like the botrytis", what should I do? I looked up
botrytis
on the Web and found out that it is some kind of mold/fungus. Should I try
Physan? I do not have any right now, since I have never needed it before,
so
I would have to buy it if you or others think that it is likely to help if
it is botrytis.

Physan would be a good thing to have on hand, anyway, and worth a try on the
Cochleanthes. However, if you don't want to buy it, you may be able to
solve the problem with hydrogen peroxide [the 3% kind you get in a drug
store]. The widely-seen recommended rate is 4 oz/gallon of water for
"general hygiene." I have not used it stronger than that, but am told that
many use it straight to combat known fungus infections such as phal crown
rot.

Whichever you use, spray the whole plant [including undersides of leaves,
top of potting mix, lip and exterior of pot] just to the point of run-off,
and also spray whatever it is sitting on. If it were me, I'd also spray the
"neighbors." Good growing, Kenni


"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...

If it is"kind of like the botrytis", what should I do? I looked up
botrytis
on the Web and found out that it is some kind of mold/fungus. Should I try
Physan? I do not have any right now, since I have never needed it before,
so
I would have to buy it if you or others think that it is likely to help if
it is botrytis.