Bulbophyllum questions

[malteseproverb]

I need some feedback on my very first bulbo that I purchased a few weeks ago. I can't tell if my plant is dehydrated or is perfectly fine as I've never owned one before. I don't really know much about growing these other than "keep it moist", but it seems to dry out instantly even though my humidity has been around 60-80% since I bought it and I have a small misting humidifier pointed right at it. I spray it every morning and sometimes more often than that. As you can see the tag reads Cirrhopetalum (Bulbophyllum) longiflorum type (red ambon). Not that I know what this means. It's in an east-facing bay window right now. Temps have been nice and warm recently, from high 60s to high 70s in that room.

The other thing is I'm going on vacation very soon for two weeks and though I have a friend who will probably come by once a day or so to check on my plants, I'm still looking to see as little damage as possible to this plant. I'm wondering if I should tie some sphagnum to this mount, at least for the duration of my vacation, or is that a bad idea? It just seems like this bare mount is not going to work in my non-greenhouse conditions, but maybe there's something else I'm missing. Suggestions and advice are extremely welcome.

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Leafmite]

The Bulbo looks good to me but if the roots are drying out quickly, you will need to change your growing method. In the past, I have had trouble providing enough humidity for my Bulbos and even lost a few. As I needed to do something for my new Dracula this past autumn, I decided to change things for the Bulbos, too.

I brought up the two abandoned ten gallon tanks and I put a layer of red lava rock on the bottom. I poured in distilled water until just below the top of the rocks, then set the pots and mounts on top of the lava rocks. One tank has the Bulbos and the other the Draculas and Masdies. I covered the tanks with plastic wrap and set it between my shelves (with lights) where it gets bright shade. I add more water about ever three weeks and do nothing in between. Sometimes when I water, I add a bit of fertilizer to the water.

The result? All of these orchids have been putting out exponential growth. It is really an easy way to grow orchids that need high humidity and damp but not wet medium. I wish I could grow all my orchids in this manner as I like the ease in care.

Just a note: The orchids are either mounted, in small basket pots or in very shallow dishes with the medium being New Zealand sphagnum moss. This allows air to the roots.

I hope this gives you some ideas. Good luck! When it blooms one day, please post photos! I think I need to add this one to my collection! I really like it!

[estación seca]

Bill Thoms, who wrote a book on growing Bulbophyllums and has numerous AOS awards, grows his in baskets only. He waters them very heavily 1-2 times per day. He writes that he was unable to water them enough when they were on mounts. He says they do not grow nearly as well mounted as they do in heavily-watered baskets, and he shows photos in the book to prove it.

They tend to ramble, and have shallow roots. About a month ago I began trying a modified a semi-hydroponic technique (S/H) with them. I use shallow, rectangular plastic food containers of varying sizes, depending on how far the plants tend to wander between pseudobulbs. Some are square take-out food containers with recessed portions 8" / 20cm on a side. Both parts can be used for orchids: The black bottom piece, and the transparent cover.

I put small drain holes in one vertical side about an inch / 2.5cm from the bottom. I put LECA clay balls on the bottom, with the top of the LECA layer higher than the drain holes. I cover the LECA with a layer of long-fiber sphagnum moss that reaches into the LECA so it can wick up water. I nestle the bulbo roots into the moss. I keep a layer of water in the container at all times. The moss stays wet, but the layer is thin, so the roots also get air all the time. The bulbos love it so far.

The beauty of S/H is that you can water as often as you like and never overwater. Your friend could water every day and the Bulbos would do fine. If it takes a week for the water to evaporate, you don't have to water more often than that.

[malteseproverb]

Thanks for your ideas! Unfortunately I can't accomplish either of these solutions in the time before my vacation so I think I will go with the addition of sphagnum moss to the mount. I'm going to stick another one of my mounted orchids in a large clear vase I have for the duration of my trip, but I don't have one big enough for the bulbo. I don't see how I could feasibly pot this plant in a basket as it wraps around and around the mount in a crazy way. Anyway, I bought it precisely because of how it looks mounted. It may be that there is no way to raise this plant in my conditions, especially as I don't have an aquarium tank at the moment. I'm glad that for now it looks like it is supposed to so I've learned that.

[estación seca]

Maybe when you get back... look for old aquaria on Craigslist or neighborhood yard sales.