Bulbophyllum moniliforme care

[Bulbopedilum]

Hi all,
I've wanted the species Bulbophyllum moniliforme for a while now, and I saw it available from an online vendor a few days ago! So I just had to order it. It's due to arrive in a few days, but in the mean time I have some questions about it.

I've read that this species grows from 20 to 800 meters above sea level, so I'm pretty sure my temperatures are suitable.

1. Do I need to completely stop watering it when leaves fall off, or just lessen it a bit?
2. Since it comes from the northern hemisphere, the seasons will be flipped here. My biggest concern is the humidity cycle, as "dry" season here will be the "wet" season in the northern hemisphere. Humidity highs are 100% and lows are about 40%. The humidity is as usual higher at night. Is this OK for the plant?

[wisdomseeker]

Definitely a very unique (and true) miniature.

I've managed to keep a small mount of B. moniliforme going in one of my terrariums. Temperatures are fairly warm (usually in the low/mid 80F range most of the time occasionally dropping down to the mid/low 70F range during some winter nights) and humid (around 70-90% RH) year round. Grown under medium/bright artificial light. Mount stays damp, misted when needed, light fertilization every 2 weeks, good air circulation.

Leaves and flowers are really small. I don't notice any leaves unless I am up 'close & personal'. They seem to shed their leaves in the fall & winter. Mine usually flower in very early spring. I just let them go do their thing without any adjustments.

A lesson learned: I lost a large amount of this species due to moss overtaking the mount. Had some live sphagnum growing on a mount with a good sized portion of B. moniliforme... completely engulfed it. Made the mistake of not removing the moss from the mount when I had the chance, until it was too late ~ the damage was already done and I lost the entire mount.

Don't think you'll have a problem growing it in your conditions (although I've never grown it outdoors).

The little patch I've kept going (bottom left side)

[Bulbopedilum]

Alright, sounds good, although I won't fertilize. I don't plan on growing it with any live moss and the random moss that pops up over here is really small so I'm not worried.

It actually arrived yesterday but I forgot to post it. Really small, as advertised. (That's my pinky)


I'm currently just dabbing a few drops of water on it every day.

[Roberta]

Since it is mounted, I think don't worry too much if you water it a bit. It will dry quickly (even in your humidity) I have stopped worrying much about water that deciduous mounted orchids may get, after observing the greenhouses and shade houses at Andy's Orchids, a very large species grower with nursery near me. With something like 3/4 million plants, distributed in close to 8000 species, it's not practical to move plants out of areas where there is watering during the winter (plants are organized by temperature and light requirements). The deciduous plants get watered with everything else in the vicinity, but being mounted they dry very quickly, and they grow and bloom just fine. And this with a much larger seasonal variation of light and temperature than I think that you would experience in your tropical latitude.

[Bulbopedilum]

That's interesting to hear, very nice information. I've always assumed that in the dry season, deciduous plants lower their guard against fungus and bacteria because it is drier to save on energy. After all all these deciduous epiphytes are "mounted" in the wild, haha.

[Roberta]

Of course, your "dry season" is a lot wetter than mine. In the wild, plants still get heavy morning dew even if they don't get much rain. (I expect that they still get some on occasion)