Bulbophyllum Cochinchinense 'Rainbow' in Bloom!

[AndreaK]

Bulbophyllum Cochinchinense 'Rainbow'
(synonym: Bulbo. Macranthum)

I purchased this Bulbo. as a bare root in Jan., 2015. I was so disappointed when both leading new growths succumbed to frost damage sustained during the trip home. As it continued to do absolutely nothing all the way into July, I thought the plant was going to eventually die. I read about care tips, had done everything I could think of to do, and still nothing. Not wanting to give up on it completely, I kept on caring for it. Then our air conditioner went out. My Bulbo. decided this was a good thing and proceeded to send out two new growths. It was then placed outside in the shade of my banana trees in the warm heat of August and it proceeded to flower.
Moral of the story: Never give up, you will often be rewarded for your efforts!

[Luizacft]

Good for you! Congratz! I hope I have such good surprise with my sick orchids.


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[JDT]

The first thing I do before buying any Bulbophyllum is check the temperature ranges for my environment, as I live in South Florida that needs to be hot and humid as all of orchids are outside 24/7. Think before you buy and you will end up not killing orchids, I found out the hard way. Orchids have a way of surprising you sometimes.

Nicely done on this one, I love any and all Bulbophyllum's.

[AndreaK]

Thank you, Luizacft. I hope you have good luck with your orchids as well!

[DeaC]

Glad you included the synonym! Great flower!

[Fernando]

Thanks for sharing, great photographs!

[AndreaK]

Originally Posted by JDT

The first thing I do before buying any Bulbophyllum is check the temperature ranges for my environment, as I live in South Florida that needs to be hot and humid as all of orchids are outside 24/7. Think before you buy and you will end up not killing orchids, I found out the hard way. Orchids have a way of surprising you sometimes.

Nicely done on this one, I love any and all Bulbophyllum's.

Thank you. I did research on the plant, albeit after the purchase (only $6 - I figured why not). After careful review of culture tips I found on several forums, I made adjustments to watering and temperature ranges (helped out by air conditioner failing with this one) and finally must have hit upon its particular niche. The plant seems to have a wide range of habitats as noted below in information I found at: Bulbophyllum macranthum

This species is an epiphytic orchid, which grows in a very wide range of habitats, over a large altitudinal range (50 to 1,900 m asl), and a minimum of 14 different ecoregions. The taxon has been collected both in primary and secondary, evergreen semi-deciduous and deciduous, broadleaf and coniferous, lowland to montane forests.

---------- Post added at 02:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Fernando

Thanks for sharing, great photographs!

Thank you! My camera is getting pretty old. I would love to upgrade, as picture quality has improved tremendously over the past 10 years, but that would mean buying fewer orchids. We have to keep our priorities straight!

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by AndreaK

It was then placed outside in the shade of my banana trees in the warm heat of August and it proceeded to flower.

There's a banana cult in the St Louis metro area. When I lived there a friend grew a clump in the front lawn during summer. In the fall he would have a work party; people came over, undermined the banana clump, moved a huge tarp under it, and dragged the clump into his basement for the winter. In the spring another work party reversed this activity. There was also a lot of beer involved.

[AndreaK]

Originally Posted by estación seca

There's a banana cult in the St Louis metro area. When I lived there a friend grew a clump in the front lawn during summer. In the fall he would have a work party; people came over, undermined the banana clump, moved a huge tarp under it, and dragged the clump into his basement for the winter. In the spring another work party reversed this activity. There was also a lot of beer involved.

Mine are planted in pots, my sister has them planted around a small koi pond. She digs them, whereas I just drag, push, pull my pots until I get them maneuvered into the house (some sort of alcohol may be beneficial here lol). We actually had bananas grow one year. Last year I tried to dig a few and they all died. At least I had potted 2 babies and those are what I have now.

[ThePinkCucumber]

Gorgeous blooms!