Growth Pattern of Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann Buckleberry

[Carrot Nose]

Hi guys,

I have a Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann Buckleberry from an orchid show 3 months ago. As far as I can tell it is doing well; there's about 5 or so bulbs and the leaves are green and sturdy. It's in a basket with sphagnum moss.

Can anyone tell me what is the growth pattern of this plant, as I have seen virtually no change from when I got it? Despite it being healthy (as far as I can tell). I hesitate to disturb it to see what's lying in the media.

Like, where do the bulbs grow from, what is the growth rate, where do flower spikes grow from, is there a dormancy period? etc.

I am growing it indoors over a humidity tray, being sure to keep the moss moist at all times. It's on a south facing window shelf. Sometimes subjecting it to a humidifier mist. It looks fine but also isn't showing any obvious new growth so I'm just wondering.

Thanks.

[silken]

I have one and I don't pay a lot of attention to its growth pattern. But mine seems to be on hold at the moment too. It had new growths that are mostly mature a few months back. Mine tends to bloom in winter around Christmas from those new growths that matured. The blooms come from the side of each bulb. They are a shallow rooted plant and if it looks fine and moss is in good shape, I would just leave it. Mine get medium light and like to be always moist. I grow it in a basket with moss also. It grows a rhizome from the base of latest bulb and produces a new one

[estación seca]

My bulbos (that survived) just sat there until I got this book:

Bulbophyllum book – Bulbophyllums.com

They like to be sopping wet for several hours per day, then plain wet for the rest of the day. They also like a lot of fertilizer on a regular basis. The author says he can't give enough water to bulbos on mounts, so he switched to baskets years ago.

Windowsill humidity trays aren't. They have no effect on the ambient humidity. Your humidifier machine can make a big difference.

[Carrot Nose]

Thanks to you both.

I use baskets now because I had a Bulbo that was mounted that didn't make it. There was no way I could keep it wet on a mount. My home humidity is 25% on a good day in the winter. Winter being half the year.

I find I get some slight benefit from the humidity tray. It's very slight, that's true, but anything helps as I am away most of the day.

You might be right about the high levels of moisture required to see active growth. I just got back from a 4-5 day trip and found the 3 tiny roots my Bulbophyllum medusae had been working on for the last 3 months (got from same show as the Buckleberry) had withered away... will have to move that one to a basket too.

But I have hopes it will eventually be happy enough to bloom. silken has one and they're also in Canada, one province over so our climates are similar.

I will increase the watering and fertilizing (currently I'm fertilizing about monthly).

[silken]

Originally Posted by Carrot Nose

Thanks to you both.

I use baskets now because I had a Bulbo that was mounted that didn't make it. There was no way I could keep it wet on a mount. My home humidity is 25% on a good day in the winter. Winter being half the year.

I find I get some slight benefit from the humidity tray. It's very slight, that's true, but anything helps as I am away most of the day.

You might be right about the high levels of moisture required to see active growth. I just got back from a 4-5 day trip and found the 3 tiny roots my Bulbophyllum medusae had been working on for the last 3 months (got from same show as the Buckleberry) had withered away... will have to move that one to a basket too.

But I have hopes it will eventually be happy enough to bloom. silken has one and they're also in Canada, one province over so our climates are similar.

I will increase the watering and fertilizing (currently I'm fertilizing about monthly).

Most orchids like small amounts of fertilizer on a regular basis. You might want to try using 1/4 to 1/2 the recommended amount on the package and fertilizing weekly. Once a month flush the pot with clear water. I do this for most of my orchids.

[My Green Pets]

you need heat, water, and light to get this plant growing.

temperatures should push 30°C during the day or more with a ten-degree drop at night, ideally.

humidity of 50% could be tolerable, more is better. keep the medium moist but indoors i would not suggest dripping wet.

Bright light (mine are in 50% shade half the day, 85% after 13:00h or so) will help it charge its batteries to prepare for new growth. greenish leaves with a golden hue indicates upper light limits.

these put out new growth in spring/summer, spike and bloom in autumn/ winter.

add pics and report back in one month.

[kimg]

How long do the blooms last on Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann 'Buckleberry'? In general I mean

[Dusty Ol' Man]

This plant might be a good candidate for semi-hydro. It would provide the needed moisture consistently.

[WaterWitchin]

This is a really old post. Having said that, I have no idea of the answer to KimG's question. But Dusty, I don't think SH is a good choice. When ES says wet, he's talking WET. Like soggy sphag wet. And the roots are really short... like grow in a plant pot saucer short.

[Roberta]

In general, Bulbo flowers are pretty short-lived. Like week to 10 days. So enjoy them (and get your photos) when they appear. Wet, wet, wet. Agreed, sphag not semi-hydro.

kimg, it's better to start a new thread, rather than tacking onto an ancient one.