Help! Something very strange is happening to my buds!

[orchidaddict789]

This strange thing happened twice to the new spike of my new Onc. SB, and I am .

A few days ago, it happened the first time. I discovered in the morning that the stem of one of the larger buds is broken, with only a piece of "skin" attaching the two pieces together (pic #1). The cut was near the base. I thought I broke it on accident, so I made sure the plant was not touched. I handled it very carefully all the time and I doubt anyone hurt it! This morning, I found the exact same thing has happened to another fat bud. This is getting frustrating! That bud was broken exactly like the previous one. The cut was near the base of the stem too. Pic 2 shows that bud after I removed it (the stem broke, obviously).

I checked the other smaller buds closely, and received a shock. Some of them have creases on the stem, and some of the larger buds have slits (see pic 3). My guess is, from the observations, that the slits will get bigger as the buds age...and then the stems break.

What is this strange thing? It's definitely not bud blast, because the buds are nice and plump. Just that the stems are breaking. I've never had this happen before. I don't want to lose all my buds! Any ideas?

[Piper]

Hi Lily,

I'm digging around in the dark here, out of horror and sympathy for your angst. With the break occuring on top on horizonital stems, I've got to wonder if it's a stem weight thing, where the stem is understrengthed or too brittle to support the weight of the bud.

Don't really know, and will wait to hear the pros chime in.

If you want to try a stop gap on the remaining buds until you know more, set a stake right at the bud's neck and secure the stem there. That will take the weight and the strain off the stem before it breaks all the way through.

Best of luck!
Julie

[LJA]

Lily, it looks like the stem on the bud is dying, then the bud is breaking off due to its weight.

Have you moved the plant from the location it was in when the buds formed--specifically, from one temperature to a different one? How about your watering and fertilizer--did you keep your watering regimen steady, or did you change it when you noticed the buds were coming on?

[orchidaddict789]

Lily, it looks like the stem on the bud is dying, then the bud is breaking off due to its weight.

Have you moved the plant from the location it was in when the buds formed--specifically, from one temperature to a different one? How about your watering and fertilizer--did you keep your watering regimen steady, or did you change it when you noticed the buds were coming on?

Hi
Yes, I definitely moved it. I bought the plant when the buds on the spike were very, very tiny (hardly visible). It must have gone through some temperature/humidity changes, obviously. I expected a few buds to blast, and I was glad none did. But now comes this stem problem. I've been watering and fertilizing on schedule (about once per week), so that's been steady.

Maybe this is something similar to bud blast and is caused by the temperature change?

[LJA]

Lily, I think it's either a temperature issue or the plant's not getting enough water to keep supporting bud development. If you're only watering once a week I doubt it's root rot, so you might need to step your watering up a little bit.

BTW, nice graphic!