Brachys are not difficult, only different, and one of the clues is their appearance: check out a happy brachy and you will find a plant with somewhat 'succulant' leaves and fat roots, both being indicators that these plants, in their natural habitat, very likely experience periods of time where rainfall is significantly diminished and the plant must rely on its own reserves. . This is not to say that they should experience these same conditions in one's growing area, but that they are not naturally inclined to grow well in continually wet conditions. We have found that our brachys can easily be considered permanent guests if we observe some simple guidelines These guidelines, btw, can be observed whether one grows under lights or in the greenhouse (we do both).

We water with highly purified water (reverse osmosis), and fertilize every irrigation. We feed at a rate of approximately 600 microsiemens, and supplement with calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate regularly.

In potting a brachy, it is helpful to pot the plant slightly higher in the pot than one would normally do, so that the roots emanating from the plant have to stretch just a bit to reach the potting medium, but I am suggesting this distance be measured in mm not inches! Also, the standard potting mix (seedling bark, chopped NZ moss, large perlite) that we use is altered by the addition of extra perlite (we use the large perlite (sponge rock)) to give the roots a bit more 'air' after watering. Additionally, we underpot, and occasionally make larger the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot, or use pots that already have more holes, REB plastics, FL. comes to mind.

Good airflow is important as one doesn't want water all over the leaves for days on end so that bacteria and fungi can invade! A fan or fans in ones growing area can make tremendous improvement in the health of the brachys. We like to see flower stems moving slightly as an indicator of good air movement. All this may mean that when watering one will increase the duration of the flow as the potting mix will likely be somewhat slow in 'wetting', which is as it should be. When we water, the entire plants gets a shower, leaves and all, and this is not a problem because the plant has a healthy root system to begin with. Often those plants that are found to have problems with bacteria and fungus are those plants which have a poor or nonexistent root system (frequently due to over watering). Re: water, good water, ie that which is not high in dissolved salts or with an imbalance of nutrient, is a tremendous help with brachys.

Light is also extremely significant in the health of ones brachys: under fluorescent lights, our plants are placed about 3 inches below the two tube fixtures. This means that the plants dry out in about 3-4 days, under our conditions. We use Ultralume 5000K bulbs from Phillips, as they put out about 40% more lumens than a standard bulb. However, these bulbs are slightly more expensive, and the plants can be grown well under standard bulbs if the bulbs are changed after 9-12 months as output decreases dramatically after that. In the greenhouse, we grow them with 70% shade but use high intensity lights on cloudy days.