Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Smelly Painted Fingernail....What's up with that?!, 1 by KiMFDiM

KiMFDiM wrote:
Before my brother in Tampa passed way before his years several months ago, he gave me one of his gorgeous painted fingernail broms...this was one of his favorite ones. I do have several other broms here in NY that I have been growing very successfully over the years....broms are a love that we both shared when he was alive.

Anyway, he gave me the brom in August (it flowered earlier this year). He had it planted in the ground at his house...I dug the plant up in Tampa, put it in one of his large terra cotta pots (with the sandy soil) and brought it up north. In September, I repotted the brom in the same pot, but in 3 parts peat moss, 2 parts potting bark and 1 part pearlite. I kept it under my pool deck in the shade and brought it indoors mid-Sept where it lives on a pebble tray.

The problem is that I have been noticing the thing inside the mother central cup that the flowers grow on is smelling like decay...rotting something or other. The little things that stick up have an odd appearance, also, could this be what is rotting?

How do I stop this, or is this normal (?). I do keep the cups full of water at all times. I don't want to lose this plant as this was the only one my brother gave me before he passed. It does have (or at least had) two pups...one is still on the mother plant and one I took off to repot for my mother to remember him by. So, if I do lose the motherplant, I still have on pup left, but I would love to selvage the whole thing!

Thanx in advance....Lisa