Brassia angusta occurs in Venezuela, Brazil and Ecuador, where it grows epiphytic on trees in wet montane forests at a height of 200 to 1200 meters above sea level (most often at an altitude of 600 meters)...
Brassia angusta also called as The Slim Brassia, Brassia lawrenceana var angusta, Oncidium lawrenceanum var angustum, is a species of the genus Brassia. This species was described by John Lindley in 1844.
IDENTIFY BRASSIA ANGUSTA ORCHID PLANT
Brassia angusta occurs in Venezuela, Brazil and Ecuador, where it grows epiphytic on trees in wet montane forests at a height of 200 to 1200 meters above sea level (most often at an altitude of 600 meters).
It is a small to medium sized, warm growing epiphyte with oblong, tapered, compressed, sulcate with age, 12 cm in length and 3 cm in width pseudobulbs subtended by 6 to 8, distichous, imbricating sheaths concealing the basal half, the upper sheaths have foliage and there are 2 apical, narrowly oblanceolate, up to 30 cm long and about 5 cm wide leaves with a conduplicate base.
The Slim Brassia blooms in the fall and spring in northern cultivation on a arching, axillary, racemose, 11 to 13 flowered inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb and having minute floral bracts. The flowers are fragrant, yellow-green with a small proportion of brown spots at the base, about 9 cm in diameter. Upper sepals straight, as if slightly crumpled, with a pointed tip, measuring 5 cm in length and 0.4 cm in width, the lateral are similar to it in shape, but slightly arched back. Petals are bent forward, pointed at the tips, measuring 2.5 cm in length and 0.3 cm in width. The lip is pale yellow with a small portion of brown spots at the base and white-yellow fluffy growths, 4 cm in length and 0.8-1 cm in width. The column is straight, about 0.5 cm long.
BRASSIA ANGUSTA ORCHID PLANT CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Brassia angusta can be grow in bright scattered light. The ideal location is considered to be the east and south-east orientation windows, however, if there are none in the apartment, you can use western or very bright northern windows. If the western or southern windows were chosen for the location of the plant, then during the period from May to early September, the orchid should be protected from the influence of too bright day and evening sun - put behind a curtain (for example, on a table near a window) or into the shade of other plants.
Temperature:
This type of orchid refers to a warm temperature regime, and within a year the plants are recommended to contain under the following conditions: Day temperature is up to 28 ° C; Night temperature is not below 16 ° C. For the successful cultivation at home, it is necessary that the night temperature of the content is always 3-4 ° C lower than the daytime temperature.
Humidity:
In the natural habitats, the relative humidity of the air seldom falls below 70%. In conditions of high humidity, it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room where the plants are kept, since wet, stale air is an ideal medium for the mass reproduction of various fungal and bacterial diseases.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Brassia angusta can grow in pots and hanging lattice baskets and placed on blocks. The substrate must be very well breathable, therefore the mixture of the bark of coniferous trees with charcoal and sphagnum moss (20-25%) is best in its quality. When growing orchids on blocks to prevent rapid drying of the root system of the plant, it is recommended to make a small interlayer of moss between it and the block. Above the roots, you can also put live or dry sphagnum.
Repotting is desirable only when it is really necessary, for example, in cases of severe salinization or compaction of the substrate, at its critically high or low pH (the norm of 5.5 to 6.5) or , when the plant will grow very much and the pot will become too small for it (pseudobulbs will begin to hang from the edges of the pot). The best time for transplant is the time when new orchid sprouts reach a size of 5 cm and begin to build their own roots.
Watering:
Watering this kind of orchids directly depends on the overall temperature of the content, the higher it is, the more often and abundant it is necessary to water. Plants growing on blocks, it is desirable to water daily in the morning, so that by evening their roots could dry out relatively well. When watering orchids in pots, it is necessary to remember that excess water during watering should flow freely out of the pot, as the stagnation of water both inside the pot and in its pallet can very quickly lead to rotting of the roots and the lower part of the plant. The substrate between waterings should dry relatively well, but not completely dry, i.e. is always in a slightly moistened, but not wet state.
Fertilizer:
During the new growth period, this type of orchid is fertilized every 2 weeks in 1/2 or 1/4 of the fertilizer concentration indicated on the package. In addition to the usual root top dressing, it is also recommended to produce a foliar dressing, when a very much diluted fertilizer is sprayed on the outer part of the plant. It is best to feed the orchid, alternating both these methods. At the beginning of the growing season (the appearance of new shoots) it is recommended to use a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content, and by the time when new shoots reach 1/2 of their normal size - a fertilizer with a high content of phosphorus. It is also possible to use fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal parts, for example, NPK = 3-3-3 or 8-8-8, etc.
Rest period:
In winter (immediately after flowering), Brassia angusta undergoes a relatively small dry period of rest, during which orchids are not fertilized, very little watered and kept in relative coolness. The total temperature of the contents during the day can vary from 18 to 20 ° C, and at night should not fall below 16 ° C. Watering the orchids should be arranged in such a way that the substrate between watering not only dried well, but it was completely dry for about 3-4 days. When growing plants with a bare root system on the blocks, water them once a week, lightly spraying the roots of the spray. With the advent of new shoots (in mid-March), the rest period ends: the total temperature of the content increases, the watering resumes to normal level.
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