How to Take Care of Bulbophyllum Nymphopolitanum?

[KristofferNgo]

Hi,

As the title says, do you have any tips on how to take care of a Bulbophyllum Nymphopolitanum? My plant is in a basket type of container with sphagnum moss and coconut husk as medium. The top portion is covered with sphagnum moss. I purposely did this so I don't need to water the plant frequently. I read that the plant wants to be moist all of the time, so when the medium is nearly dry or has a bit of moisture left, I will water the plant. Also, do the leaves of Orchids move/adjust to where the light is facing? Cu'z I am purposely trying to make my plant face a certain direction. The plant has a growth showing, but it's taking forever to grow... how long does it take before it becomes a "teenager" to an "adult"? Kindly tell me also what is the condition of the plant -- whether it's dehydrated or not, or etc. Thank you.

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[SouthPark]

Yes ----- orchid leaves generally do have some mechanism that orientates the leaves - eventually - in some manner ------ according to direction(s) from where light is incoming.

As for Bulbophyllum ----- probably the same recommendations apply in general - as for most orchids ----- relating to temperature (range), humidity, light (intensity and duration), fertiliser schedule, handling and/or avoiding attacking pathogen/animal, and watering schedule/method.

Avoiding drowning/suffocation of roots is important. For orchids that haven't had their roots adapted to a generally moist to wet environment/media ----- the roots can suffocate (run out of oxygen) - leading to dehydration.

If possible - lightly moist media (not too wet or soggy etc) is recommended.

If your new or newest bulbs get very shriveled - or appear to be continuing to shrivel ------ then check the roots.

I'm currently growing in the tropics a Bulbophyllum treschii in scoria (volcanic rock). I've had it for a few months now - doing great. I water heavily with a pump-sprayer (with spray nozzle) around the outskirts of the scoria-filled pot, and lightly spray the surface roots - and it appears that is all it needs in my growing area (under a balcony in the tropics). This particular Bulbophyllum doesn't appear to have any issue with its roots drying out ----- well, at least for relatively short periods of time such as one day.

At the moment - just observing the appearance of the surface layer of moss in your photograph ----- it may well possibly be causing a suffocating condition for the roots down underneath. If the roots stop functioning ----- then the bulbs will definitely start to dry and shrivel -- if water can't get into the plant (through the roots).

More information can be seen at this link here : Link.

[estación seca]

This is sometimes considered a synonym of Bulbo levanae. They are warm to hot growers.

Bulbo pseudobulbs should be shiny and smooth. Your plant hasn't had enough water.

Bulbos need a very large amount of water. They have short roots, do a deep pot isn't necessary. An American Bulbo hybridizer, Bill Thoms, lives in Florida. The climate in summer is hot and humid. He writes in his book that he grows his plants in shallow baskets or trays of sphagnum moss, and he completely soaks all his plants at least once per day. He soaks them twice per day on warm days.

Since I began keeping my Bulbos very wet, they are growing very well. Most of them grow through the year for me.

I would suggest you water your plant heavily, once or twice per day.

[KristofferNgo]

Hmm.. thank you for the pieces of advice @Southpark and @estacion_seca. I think I would try out Southpark's advice first because my Bulbo is well watered. I always water when it's almost dry. I think the sphagnum moss is suffocating the roots. I will adjust the medium. Thank you very much.

[estación seca]

The point I was trying to make is that waiting to water them until they're almost dry is not enough water. These are wet-growing orchids. They need to stay wet. They are not like other orchids. Bill Thoms has taken numerous awards with his plants.

[SouthPark]

I bought this Bulbophyllum treschii a few months ago - and popped it into scoria upon arrival (through the post).

I grow it in the same way I do my mini Oncidium orchids ----- the roots appear to be similar relatively thin diameter for the Oncidium and this treschii.

They can definitely handle dry-outs of the root. But not sure for how long. I think I could use a small diameter scoria - which I do with my phrags. But definitely going ok with this course scoria throughout the whole pot.

This only gives an indication about tolerance - maybe. The tropical conditions here most likely helps a lot too. Humidity is generally ok ----- although we can get quite low humidity sometimes here too.

[SouthPark]

Forgot to add google drive link (higher res) :

Pic link

[KristofferNgo]

Ok, so I'll just have better aeration in the medium and try to stay them wet daily at the same time.

[KristofferNgo]

By the way, what happens to the bulbs of the bulbophyllums that don't have leaves anymore? I noticed that some of them are starting to turn black or yellow... Is it normal to let them be?

[estación seca]

Older growths eventually die. They should live at least 3-4 years.