Trouble with Bollea

[Narnia]

Hello,
Maybe this doesn't go here, but I read Bolleas are in the Maxillaria family. I have a Bollea ecuadorana which I don't think is very happy with me at the moment. I"ve had it about 6 months and although it has lots of new roots growing, half of them seem to rot away. Even though half of them rot, the others appear to be plenty enough to sustain the plant, however, its new leaves are all coming out severely wrinkled as if it's not getting enough water. You would think I'm not watering it enough, but it's in moss that I let dry out and then soak every week or so, so I have no idea. Any tips? I sooooo want to see this baby BLOOM!

[Ray]

What's your temperature like?

I grow them warm, in sphagnum, with constant moisture.

I'm not sure of their water quality demands, but don't see that as a major issue.

[Narnia]

Growing in a shaded window in my apartment, so temps range from 60 - 80 as far as I can tell. Maybe gets a little colder at night. I have it next to a couple of masdevallias which appear to be very happy.

[Angurek]

Not to worry, Narnia. This thread is in the right place. Bolleas are members of the zygopetalum alliance, which is included in the Maxillaria group.

I grow Bolleas myself (four of them). I think I might know your problem. My B. violacea was doing the same thing a while back, but it has since recovered.

You seem to be doing well with its water demands and temperature requirements. I think the problem is that the mix might be deteriorated to the point where the roots don't like it. Pescoroid orchids hate stagnant medium, and will slow down their leaf and root growth when exposed to such conditions. Try putting it in fresh moss. From my experience, Bolleas don't seem to mind root disturbance too much, so if yours is in active growth, now would be a great time to repot. They grow better when there is fresh stuff for them to curl their roots around. Cut away the dying roots and keep the new ones.

I grow mine in a variety of mixes. I have one in flat-out sphag, but I also have two in a mix of bark and sphag, and one in bark and lava rock. In general, though, the drier the mix is, the more often you'll have to water. The one growing in the lava rock mix (my B. coelestis) gets watered every day because the mix dries out quickly.

The key to growing Bolleas is to avoid letting their medium get too dry, and to keep them out of light. They'll die a slow death if these demands are not met. Otherwise, they're pretty easy to grow, though they take a very long time to mature their fans.

I'm not sure what the blooming season is for ecuadorana, but you should see some buds in the lower leaf axils when the new growth matures. If your plant is wishy-washy like some of mine are, some of the buds at the lowest axils may turn into new leads.

[Narnia]

Thank you!

I am going to repot it tomorrow in some fresh sphag and I think I'll move it a little further away from the window as it does have a burnt leaf. I really hope that'll solve the problem.

How often should I be changing the medium? More than once a year?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Narnia

Thank you!

I am going to repot it tomorrow in some fresh sphag and I think I'll move it a little further away from the window as it does have a burnt leaf. I really hope that'll solve the problem.

How often should I be changing the medium? More than once a year?

Probably closer to roughly every six months or sooner. Don't pack the moss in too tightly.

[Duane McDowell]

I'd second all of what's been said, and I'd emphasize what Carl said about never letting the medium get too dry once you repot. In a past life I grew Bolleas commercially - we used a peat moss/perlite mix very effectively. They love constant moisture and relatively tight pots.

[Neverend]

Reviving this thread to address a potential problem I might face, I got a flask of Bollea ecuadorana seedlings from Ecuagenera.

I've read conflicting culture information (it's apparently warm-cool and cool-intermediate), and I'm worried because I live in a fully tropical country (75-90 degrees Fahrenheit), any tips for me to keep them alive after breaking the glass?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Neverend

Reviving this thread to address a potential problem I might face, I got a flask of Bollea ecuadorana seedlings from Ecuagenera.

I've read conflicting culture information (it's apparently warm-cool and cool-intermediate), and I'm worried because I live in a fully tropical country (75-90 degrees Fahrenheit), any tips for me to keep them alive after breaking the glass?

Tip #1: Always expect a flask from Ecuagenera to be contaminated to some degree or another, regardless of whether you think it will happen or not, in order to avoid and prevent major losses. Which means you must always discipline yourself to disinfect anything that comes from them, even if they are in flask. They are a good and fairly reputable company and they appear to try their best, but unfortunately stuff happens in a long transit and inspection through customs.

Tip #2: You may place the seedlings in lightly packed moss, SuperSphag w/ perlite, seedling grade wood chips, coconut fiber, or CHC; it's up to you.

Tip #3: They are more likely than not intermediate growers.

Tip #4: They grow in bright shade.

Tip #5: They have a slightly different need in watering regimen between growing season (spring - summer) and light dormancy (fall - winter). Obviously during the light dormancy, you water a little less frequently.

Tip #6: Even if you've disinfected your seedlings, still expect heavy losses. A 100% loss in seedlings is highly probable, especially when they're only providing roughly 15 seedlings per flask. This is just the nature of growing seedlings from flask.

Tip #7: Promptly remove any dead or dying seedlings that have no chance of survival to prevent and avoid the spread of disease.

Tip #8: Place in a fairly humid environment. 60% - 80% is perfectly adequate.

Tip #9: Some gentle air circulation is appreciated by your plants.

Tip #10: Attempt to arrange for immediate deflasking of the seedlings upon receipt, even if you have a busy life or schedule. Should the seedlings damp off in flask or somehow get contaminated in flask because you decided to put deflasking them off, there's not much you can do once you deflask them.

Tip #11: This is at the moment an anecdotal observational type piece of advice - but they may get a slightly stronger advantage in growth and establishing themselves if the roots receive some light versus if the roots didn't receive any light at all. You'll know if the amount of light is adequate just by the roots being green, "pure and simple".

Tip #12: Although it is recommended to use RO/DI, distilled water, or rainwater when watering any species of Zygopetalinae, I've been so busy lately that I've used tap water laden with calcium carbonate and other dissolved minerals without problems - yet...

The reason for tip #12 is to prevent the possible onset of root tip or leaf tip burn from excessive dissolved mineral buildup over an extended period of time.

These tips are not listed in any specific order or progression, fyi.

Happy growing.

[Neverend]

Thanks a lot for your tips!