Large temp swings will surely do it Larissa, and if nothing else changed that would be my guess. But, sometimes orchids will drop buds and you never do figure out why. I am so sorry you lost this bud, I know how you were looking forward to it. Psychopsis is my favorite, and if someone said you can have only ONE orchid (I'd bonk them in the head with my sack of nickels ;0)- this one would be it. Hang in there!!
Good luck!!
Pat...

is it getting enough water?
I grow mine in sphagnum and water every day, grows like a weed
as for the bud dropping, it really sounds like your humidity is way low
should be about 40 - 60%

Thanks Pat,

I am so frustrated at once again needing to wait to finally get a bloom. But it does seem determined to bloom. After the initial break where a good 4 inches came off the tip of the spike it put out a branch on the spike and a new growth so hopefully I will see a new bud forming soon. Please tell me that once it does bloom that the flower lasts a while.

Larissa

They do last for a few weeks Larissa (mine last a little longer in cooler weather), and once your plant is old enough to put up more spikes it's almost always in bloom from one, two or more of the spikes. You should see a new bud on yours within the next one or two weeks!! I also grow mine in lava rock and a clay pot - It's watered daily this time of year and that has worked well for me.

This is so fascinating to me! Perhaps I am easily entertained....;>) Here's what you have to look forward to!! Worth the wait Larissa!!! Good luck!!
{{gwi:181733}}
and this just always BLOWS ME AWAY!!!!....lol........
{{gwi:181735}}
Good luck!! I've got my fingers crossed for you!!

Pat...

1-2 weeks to see a new bud? Thats better than I had hoped! Beautiful photos! Thanks for the encouragement.

Larissa
(Holding breathe and crossing fingers!)

Thanks Larissa!
More often than not on these plants, a new bud will be forming behind the flower long before it expires. You can see it peeking out at first, and it gets bigger and bigger as the present flower gets older. Now that your bud has dropped, I would expect a new bud to be along shortly. Sometimes a spike will "take a break" from flowering - but like you say, yours seems to be heart set on blooming for you.....;o)
Pat...

Hi, Larissa,

That's so frustrating. My first spike and then the side spike got bitten off, and it was forever before it bloomed. Worth waiting for.

My guess would be the temp change, too. Orchidguy, my Psychopsis thrives in humidity around 30%-40% much of the time - central heat and air, and has loads less light than yours, Larissa, but those temp changes can sure do it.

Oh, also, it's in large bark mix in a plastic pot inside a clay pot for stability. With all our conditions being so different, these puppies must be awfully tolerant.

Our AC went out a couple of weeks ago during our highest temps of the year, and right away, I closed all the blinds and shut off the supplemental lights but kept the fans running. The plants seemed to make it okay. The people were grumpy. :)

Pat, I looooove those little faces. Yours is different from Jane's - posted some time back, and somebody else's, and all 3 are different from mine.

Larissa, when yours blooms, post a shot of its cute critter face.

Whitecat8

Whitecat- LOL I love those litte faces too! I drooled over everyone elses photos and finally needed to buy one for myself. Given how much it seems to want to bloom I will certainly post a photo.

BTW I checked the spike again and there is a tiny new bud forming. :) Yippey! Hopefully I will have something to show in a few weeks. :)

Larissa

Larissa,

How nice to hear the faces did it for you. I got mine because the flowers were big and looked like butterflies. Much less subtle.

Mine has 3 spikes, and when they're in bloom at the same time, I haven't checked if the faces are the same. Over the edge?

Yes, post pix.

WC8

:)

I had never noticed the faces until close up pix were posted here. That was what REALLY got my attention.

Wow 3 spikes, Did it have that many when you got it or has it added on for you? I'm curious, can/will it put out a new spike on each new PB?

Larissa

Mine grow in fairly high light and almost no humidity in winter. Doesn't seem to faze them as they keep blooming. They go outside in May. This guy has 4 spikes and is still in the original pot for 2 years. Has one flower two weeks and another beginning to open. I need to repot but can't bare to lose the buds,
{{gwi:181737}}

For you Whitecat - A face only a mother could love:

{{gwi:181739}}

Sorry about the size of the last pic.

Jane

No 1-to-1 correspondence of pbs to spikes on this one. In April, 2005, it had that 1 spike that got bitten off twice that spring and summer.

{{gwi:181741}}

From April of this year. 9 leaves:

{{gwi:181743}}

The light's E/SE w/ no supplemental except from the T8s just out of the picture to the right - much less light than yours. They humor us, huh?

WC8

My psychopsis is also teasing me. It grows a bud, swells to full size, only to drop it at the last minute.
I decided to let it rest and regain some energy so I cut off the spike. It was getting way too long anyway (about 4 feet).

Shortly after cutting the spike, the remnant of the spike branched off into two new spikes. So now I am sure this plant will tease me twice as much now since there are two spikes coming soon :(

It grows new pseudobulbs with no problems, it just cant seem to support a maturing flower.
Right now it is in a clay pot with fir bark and perlite. I wonder if pure sphagnum moss would work for my situation.

I got mine in the spring of this year and it had 1 spike with a flower. after it dropped the flower i repotted it in small rockwool cubes and charcoal lumps in a clay pot. it has reflowered ( can't remember if it is once or twice) the flower has dropped and a new one is forming and i can see the beginnings of another one waiting (in the wings, so to speak). it is in a south window but because of the balcony upstairs, it is not getting any direct sun. and i am not using any supplementary lighting and no added humidity. the A/C comes on if the house temp. goes higher than 77F or if I have guests, then the temp is set at 71F: there is some fluctuation in temperature but it doesn't seem to worry it much. i water it every 5 to 7 days and feed it with seaweed at most waterings. I am so amazed that we all grow it so differently and for the most part it seems to adapt so well to our varied conditions. because it seems to like where i have put it i don't think i will put it outside. it has a new 'bulb and the new leaves are larger than the old ones. good luck - they seems to be adaptable and like to flower.
sue