Brassia

[rmoen]

The UPS man just stopped and delivered a box containing a gorgeous, yellow, Brassia, from a friend who who just visited Kauai, Hawaii. Upon unpacking (the plant looks great) and reading the "directions", I should place it in medium-high light, water 1-2 times per week, pot in medium sized bark, and fertilize with time-release stuff or twice per month with liquid. I live in west-central Wisconsin and can meet these requirements. My question is: Are these directions accurate? I've seen so many different "directions" for growing the plant, I'm a little gun-shy as to what to do. I haven't lost an orchid yet (hopefully never), but this one looks like it will take more care than my phals (3), oncids (3), and paphs (2).

While I'm at, my two paphs haven't re-bloomed since I've gotten them, about 1.5 to 2 years ago. They both look really healthy, so I'm not worried, but it would be nice to see those beautiful blooms. (Northeast window, 1 in bark, 1 in sphagnum moss, moderate watering (about 1/week).

Thanks in advance.

Rick

[kmarch]

The only part of the culture sheet tha came with your orchid that I would take issue wiht is the "water 1-2 times a week" bit. Frequency of watering depends heavily on the temperature, humidity, brightness and air circulation in your growing area. It also depends on the season as cold and wet usually are not a good combination for many of the commonly grown orchids we find in homes.

Everythign else sounds ok to me but I grow very few Oncidium Alliance plants. You can go to the AOS website and get a free culture sheet on Oncidiums (Brassia is in the Oncidium family) and compare notes.

Happy Growing!