Arthur Chadwick wrote : "brown sheaths are not necessarily a problem...
Cattleya, C. skinneri... routinely produces brown sheaths. Many close descendants of this bifoliate species also carry this harmless gene. In most other cases, however, the browning of bud sheaths is a gradual fungal infection caused by water accumulation at the base of the protective bud covering. High humidity coupled with a lack of air circulation or a late-day watering contributes to this problem. Surprisingly, the delicate buds inside may be unaffected by the decaying surroundings and mature into... blossoms. On the other hand, the buds may succumb to the fungi, turn brown, and die. ... approach to saving the buds is to slice open the top of the brown sheath and gently pull down the sheathing fibers about half way.... air movement will likely dry out the advancing fungi and allow the green buds to develop uninhibited." article URL : http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&%09s=1045855936376&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190878720&path=!flair!hg ********* Regards, VB < _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
