Brassada and Miltoniopsis Pleated...anything to do?

[minibot]

Okay so one of the pBulbs on each of my plants has a horribly pleated section of new leaves. They are completely grown together, is there anything I can do (chop the pleats off and see what happens), or should I just leave them alone? I've already ripped off a bit of the tip of the Brassada trying to see if there's anything that was trying to grow up and out of it ;-). I'm really new with Milts and Brassadas and I'm not sure if I'm doing well with them or not at this point. I just want them to rebloom!

minibot

[LJA]

Hi minibot, that kind of pleating means you're not giving your plants nearly enough water. Once a pseudobulb has bloomed it won't bloom again, so those new growths, once they've matured and developed pseudobulbs of their own, are the only things that are going to give you more flower spikes!

Don't tear into them at this point. Just them be, and be sure you're giving the plants enough water and fertilizer so that their roots only dry to *bare dampness* before you water them again. To tell when that's the case, stick a Q-tip down into the pot a couple of inches. If the cotton comes up wet, wait a couple days. If / when it comes up just barely damp, rewater.

[minibot]

Yeah, I know the pBulbs are the responsible ones, that's why I was so gosh darned mad that they shrivelled (I think it was happening when I bought them). The one milt is showing new buds right now, I just hope they come to fruition! The milt's buds came outside of the pleating so they are okay. The Brassada seems like it's trapping whatever growth and holding on for dear life. I think I solved the Milt's problem, but the brassada is in S/H and I thought it would start straightening out after so many months with lengthening of the pleated leaves, but I guess not :-(. At least there're other pBulbs growing nicely on it and those will go forward and prosper. I guess I want to cut off the leaves that are pleated because they seem to be trapping new growth from the center. I think at this point I'll do the wait and see thing, hopefully my culture has solved the moisture problem they came with! Thanks for the response!

minibot

[uncasteeb]

I have pleated leaves on some of my Milts which are in s/h !
They flower/grow well enough ,just have to see if i can work out why some pleat & others don,t.

[Ladybug]

If growing in sh, you could try "lowering" the plant in the pellets some. It worked for a Miltassia of mine. I think these have a rougher time adjusting to the sh., at least for me. Good luck!

Maggie

[uncasteeb]

They grew really well & flower really well.Roots are actually in the res.The 1 plant that has the worst pleating has been in s/h for well over a year , has grown 4 new PB,s & has 2 big spikes with enormous flowers.
Still pleated leaves.I think there may be other cultral reasons for the pleating
but what

[LJA]

That's really weird. Steve, if you (or anyone) can find out what conditions besides not enough water cause pleating, definitely post back. We're talking about lateral pleating, like an accordion, right?

I'd also like to know the reason for longitudinal pleating. Have several plants here with that which grow and bloom fine--except for the pleating long-ways on a leaf or two. I have no idea what causes it.

[uncasteeb]

I,ll get a piccie the next time i,m around my Mum,s , she's looking after it while it flowers(the difficult bit she tells me ).
I,m thinking it may be temp related.