Bulbophyllum longissimum help?

[audax]

Hello everyone,

I just joined this forum. A few days ago, I got a mounted Bulbo longissimum from an orchid farm. I've never had a mounted orchid before and am relatively new to Bulbos. It has roots splaying outside of the mount on every side. Two questions:

Would a longissimum do better in a pot?

Do I need to re-do the mount so that the roots are sticking in?

Thank you!

[cbuchman]

According to OrchidWiz, this one is typically mounted. In general Bulbos like lots of water and good root aeration with really good drainage. They don't like their roots to be disturbed so re-potting isn't done often. I suggest you keep it as it is and watch it carefully to ensure it is getting enough water. In hot weather you may need to water it multiple times a day to provide sufficient moisture.

That said. I'm only just starting with Bulbos myself. So I am no expert! Mine is potted in a net basket in very fast draining mixture. I am checking for sufficient moisture all the time.

[Brooke]

Here is my longissimum - it grows in a 10 inch net pot, sits in a saucer of water and grows in Catt light. This is a very demanding orchid regarding its water requirements but if kept moist enough, it is very easy to grow.

I line the basket with sphag, use p'nuts in the bottom half of the basket and the top part is a moisture holding mix. If you look closely you can see the roots winding through the net pot. It wants moisture and air at the root zone. In my g/h I would not be able to keep the roots as wet enough mounted.

If your net pot doesn't have the big holes this one has, you won't need to line it with sphag to hold the media.


Bulb longissimum LUR_5417 by kentucky4, on Flickr

Brooke

[audax]

Thanks Carrie and Brooke!

I am now quite nervous about re-potting my plant! I'm sorry if this is a really dumb question but do you mean shipping peanuts or the edible peanuts? If it's the shipping peanuts, is there a good substitute? Could I use chunky coconut shell instead? Sphag is accessible though.

Moisture holding mix, can that be sphag and small-sized pine bark?

(In my picture above), it looks like there's a little bit of infection on that front leaf, should I spray it with fungicide?

Thanks!

[Brooke]

I mean the shipping p'nuts. Big chunky coconut shell would work or a broken clay pot. I use the tall-ish net pots and am too cheap to fill the entire container with media. The p'nuts hold moisture and roots grow into and through them so it works well for me.

Some sphag mixed in with seedling bark would be an excellent mix. I always add threads of sphag along the rhizome and around the roots of the pbulbs. I also pin the rhizome to the media until the roots grab hold of the mix. When I say pin, I mean it is shaped like an old fashion lady's hair pin but make it several inches long.

Good luck - Brooke

[audax]

Wow, thanks Brooke!

When time allows, I'll fix it up and post a pic.

Thanks again!

[audax]

So here is the longissimum repotted. I just noticed that some of my new pine bark gets moldy if I keep it moist all the time so I just used coconut shell throughout the center and mixed it with sphagnum towards the top.

Thanks everyone!

[Queenslander]

Looks good to me. Best of luck.

[kindrag23]

Nicely done!!