Mounting ideas for Bulbophyllum vaginatum

[greenhouseFrog]

I got a freebie in the form of this section of Bulb. vaginatum last night! After some due diligence, it seems that these little guys would prefer higher temperatures and plenty of water, which is right up my alley.

I don’t have the desire to containerize it, but I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with it—tie it to a tree bare root and water the heck out of it everyday? Or perhaps a hanging piece of would with a bunch of holes drilled into it for more surface area and places for water to infiltrate?

I’ve even thought about placing it on an old palm boot mass that’s been colonized by some moss and ferns…Seems like a moist hangout?

I’ve been stubborn as a donkey when it comes to using moss on mounts—the palm boot came to mind specifically because of my aversion to moss, but desire for a more moisture retaining substrate. I’m sure the moss would make the plant’s life easier and inevitably rot away anyways, but I have this obsession(probably at the plants’ expense)with bare root mounting that I haven’t gotten over.

Any ideas/thoughts/criticism are appreciated and I thank you in advance!

Some images…
IMG 1528 — Postimages
IMG 1426 — Postimages

[greenhouseFrog]

How about a Loofah-phyllum?

This loofah was in a drawer out on the porch for some reason—I sprayed it down and am soaking it in a Physan solution to clean it up a bit since it was kinda dusty.

Wouldn’t that look hilarious?

Blazing trails here…

[Waterdog111]

If that is the palm you referred to in the second pic, that would definently be my choise for kekeis. They will need all the help you can give.

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by Waterdog111

If that is the palm you referred to in the second pic, that would definently be my choise for kekeis. They will need all the help you can give.

Thanks for dropping by WD! Hope you’re out of harms way and enjoying a break from watering with all the moisture in the gulf!

I’m second guessing the boot now for a few reasons, the main reason being that it gets quite a bit of full sun during the year—I would’ve mounted it on the north side of the boot, but I think this plant is just going to scramble up and over towards the southern exposure and get fried in the sun. I’ve included a picture of the top of the boot that gets the sun; noticeably less fern & moss coverage, so I imagine that’s not going to be the most hospitable spot when it’s not overcast and raining.

Also, the boot isn’t the only thing those ferns and mosses have grown on…they’ve grown on me, too! Some people hate the look, but I love it when mosses and ferns colonize a palm—real primordial looking! I’m not entirely sure how they’d react when they’re getting sprayed regularly with a 25PPM nitrate solution…I know that the moss hates my tap water which is around 100PPM so I can imagine it just pickling @25PPM-N.

I really want to plant on this boot, but I’m going to hold off on that for now. I’m going to try to get this Bulbo to grow out and upon the next division, I’ll wire one into the boot, shoot it with distilled only, and let nature take care of the feeding.

I’m just going to tie it to the moist loofah and leave it in that container with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom so the loofah stays moist and the humidity stays high until I start noticing signs of new growth…Who knows, maybe that bucket will turn into a little bulbo-factory!

Stay tuned!

I’m going to try to embed this picture…



A clearer photo…
IMG 1533 — Postimages

[greenhouseFrog]

Loofah-phyllum! You saw it here first!

[Waterdog111]

Looks to be a great start,and a nice choise!
Good luck GHF

[greenhouseFrog]

It lives! New growth!

[estación seca]

Will be interesting to see how long the loofah lasts continually moist. Here outdoors they will last many years, dry.

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Will be interesting to see how long the loofah lasts continually moist. Here outdoors they will last many years, dry.

ES, I came to learn that you grow these when I was using the search function for “loofah”—you were the only person talking about it!

It certainly wicks moisture—I’m equally curious to see how long it will last…Maybe this could be a revolution in orchid media amendments? I’ll keep this thread going as long as the plant keeps growing!