Laelia speciosa buds

[Stone]

Why do the flower buds on my L. speciosa-- more often than not-- blast
every year when they are half developed?
Growing conditions: Outside all winter under cover min temp. 5 degrees c
Just enough water to stop bulbs from shrivelling
Plenty of H2o and feed during growth
Lots of light all year
Originally Mexican imports, and they grow like weeds.

 

[biothanasis]

I have killed everything in the cattleya alliance after some months of getting them. New growths stop at a certain point (little yet) and then rotting/browning starts...lol... So no flowers for me eighter. I obviously cannot help you, but good luck

 

[Shiva]

Maybe that's already too much. Your culture appears excellent but I would try letting the plant get dryer to see what happens.
I tried once to grow this plant but the seedling was small and didn't last long.

 

[cnycharles]

I was going to say "i'm jealous" when I saw the title, but have changed to "sorry to hear".... I had a nice plant years ago that would do the same thing, and was told that any water at the time the flower is coming up was a bad thing, and sunny/very bright the rest of the time (including flowering) was the right thing to do. reading a culture sheet shows that water should be with-held for weeks at a time, often slowing drastically starting right after pseudobulb maturity, and not really watering until flowers are established and open. you know how people say that 'you have to make dendrobium kingianum suffer' to get it to flower? I think speciosa is even more so, and the cool, dry rest and dry is very important

http://www.orchidculture.com/COD/sheetlist_65.html#Laelia

 

[Stone]

I was going to say "i'm jealous" when I saw the title, but have changed to "sorry to hear".... I had a nice plant years ago that would do the same thing, and was told that any water at the time the flower is coming up was a bad thing, and sunny/very bright the rest of the time (including flowering) was the right thing to do. reading a culture sheet shows that water should be with-held for weeks at a time, often slowing drastically starting right after pseudobulb maturity, and not really watering until flowers are established and open. you know how people say that 'you have to make dendrobium kingianum suffer' to get it to flower? I think speciosa is even more so, and the cool, dry rest and dry is very important

http://www.orchidculture.com/COD/sheetlist_65.html#Laelia

Nice pics cnycharles!:clap:
Yes I've read the Bakers' paper on L. speciosa and followed it to the letter
and I still am but every year it's the same. I might get 4 buds on a spike and
3 end up falling off!
BTW kingianums are really tough, we can grow them in the garden here and temps can get down 0 degrees c some nights but they always flower next spring.

 

[cnycharles]

one thing on the speciosa sheet pointed out that plants mounted or placed near the outlet of a wet-pad cooler really thrived. maybe even though dry your plants' humidity is too low? also maybe you need to make them shrivel. it really sounds like they get tortured in their home environment. looking at the sheet again I see that I don't have the very cool night drop for them that they require; I have one mounted to a stick that I got from Andy's Orchids a few years ago, and I have the problem of the new leaf turning black and dying back, and the root tips dry up

four flowers on a spike would be really cool if they would flower!

 

[Stone]

I have 3 plants, one large multi-lead on a slab of t/fern and 2 in clay pots.
One in a clay pot has 1 spike with 1 bud left, the other has 2 spikes with 3
buds left and the large one has one spike with no buds left.
Some plants very sensitive to temp fluctuations can drop their buds if temps
go up and down in the wrong sequence. I must say we've been getting some
cold humid days and some warm nights lately.

 

[cnycharles]

ah, now that you mention cold humid nights, I remember that one of the times the buds came off was when I had some plants out on the back open porch, and we had a chilly, very foggy night where there was condensation on everything outdoors, and the spike blacked off. I would say that the cold humidity did things in faster than a warm night might have, though odd swings may be the culprit

 

[John M]

Inadequate levels of Calcium and magnesium causes premature bud blast, early petal wilt and leaf tip dieback in many orchids. You might be wise to review Rick's thoughts on excess potassium in conjuction with low Calcium and Magnesium.

 

[cnycharles]

Did you have any luck since then with this species? I'm trying to find plants again, marni turkel may have flasks on future but no telling how many people in line before me

 

[Stone]

Did you have any luck since then with this species? I'm trying to find plants again, marni turkel may have flasks on future but no telling how many people in line before me

I have 3 flasks from my own outcross coming soon.

 

[cnycharles]

what do you think was the difference that time so that the buds didn't blast?

 

[Stone]

what do you think was the difference that time so that the buds didn't blast?

I was told it was warm temps that does it but I know someone just down the road who flowered his too perfection in the same conditions