Bulbophyllum dentiferum - root care?

[OrchidNewbieMichelle]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to orchids and recently purchased a Bulbophyllum dentiferum. I just received it July 17th.

I believe I have a good spot figured out in my house for light/humidity. But my question is about these roots growing everywhere! The nursery said that this one is near blooming size and they would expect with the right conditions that it should bloom for the first time within a year.

I understand they like the shallow pot and the roots like to grow on top of whatever they are on. But.... the roots are long enough that they are going underneath the pot and everywhere. What should I do to make sure they don't get damaged/are happy. Any advice is much appreciated. I just want to know I'm doing the right things! Here are some photos.

Also...am I supposed to do anything with the pseudobulbs other than leave them alone?

Sorry for the crappy photos but hopefully you can see what I mean. This particular orchid was last repotted March 2019.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Hi and welcome.

I do not have this Bulbo but i have many others. you are correct, shallow and moist is ideal.

you have a few options but i would like to know more about the growing area and your style of growing.

I have my bulbos in shallow baskets lines with coir and chopped sphag on top...i grow them outside in florida...pretty useless to you.


are you going to mount it, hang it or go with a pot?

if it is a pot, i would see if i can GENTLY coax it out of that pot and put it into a clay pot with a loose mix of sphag and perlite (big, like #3 or #4) since i am assuming you are growing inside you want it to hold moisture and yet not rot, it is a delicate balance so knowing your situation more will help us give better advice

[OrchidNewbieMichelle]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

Hi and welcome.

I do not have this Bulbo but i have many others. you are correct, shallow and moist is ideal.

you have a few options but i would like to know more about the growing area and your style of growing.

I have my bulbos in shallow baskets lines with coir and chopped sphag on top...i grow them outside in florida...pretty useless to you.


are you going to mount it, hang it or go with a pot?

if it is a pot, i would see if i can GENTLY coax it out of that pot and put it into a clay pot with a loose mix of sphag and perlite (big, like #3 or #4) since i am assuming you are growing inside you want it to hold moisture and yet not rot, it is a delicate balance so knowing your situation more will help us give better advice

Ideally I would like to hang it. However, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to try moving it to a basket right now. My plan was to leave it in it's pot for now, but if you think it is worth a shot to try to gently coax it out I might go with that. Are you thinking it should be moved because the roots are so long? I honestly just don't know enough to say if the roots are happy with what they are doing or if they are at the point where a change needs to happen.

We are in the midst of a really hot/humid summer and then there will be a cold winter with not a lot of daylight.
I will keep it indoors year round, it is in a room with a south facing window but I have it tucked away to the side so that it doesn't receive the direct hot light all day. My gardenias couldn't handle the direct light all day and I don't think this orchid would want to either. The humidity in the room right now is between 68-70%. I do expect to probably move it come winter time so it gets a bit more light.

[estación seca]

I wouldn't repot. Bulbos have very shallow roots, and they want to stay constantly wet. They don't penetrate far into the medium. Mounting seldom works unless people have a wet, humid outdoors, greenhouse or terrarium.

Set the whole pot as it is into your shallow basket, and fill around it with long-fiber sphagnum moss to the level of what is in the pot. The bulbo will grow out of the pot across the basket. If it's happy the rhizome will branch. They need to be repotted about every 2 years, when the moss breaks down from being constantly wet, and the plant is walking out of the basket.