Bulbophyllum Polliculosum
 

I ordered a Bulbophyllum Polliculosum from eBay from Thailand and received it yesterday in a good condition.

I don't know how to to care for this plant very well.

Research on internet told me that it needs dappled shade or partial shade which is about 1000 fc I assume?

Does anyone has experience with this plant?

It's growing on a slab of spagnum and life moss it seems to me.

I wish to know the best light condition, water need and temperature range.

I was thinking to mount the whole slab of moss on a piece of cork and hang it.

Looks like eggs in a nest. Adorable.

I don't grow bulbo, but I hope the bulbs are ok. The top one looks mushy. Fingers crossed!!!!

Yes indeed, one of them seems soft and rotten, I'll remove that one I think. The other two seems perfectly fine.

I see that they bloom with flowers that look like 2 little shoes, and seem to have no leaves. Do you see any new growth at the bottom? I would take off the moss. Having one rotten bulb means the plant should be inspected. It looks like they like to be mounted per the photos. That they are found Myanmar, Thailand And Vietnam would mean they need to be grown warm, and possibly kept misted. Most likely pure water like rain. They are epiphites, meaning quick drainage. I would get rid of the moss. I think that is what made the bulb rot. Most in-situ pictures show them on wood branches only. This is one that might enjoy a terrarium with a mister and a fan.

I checked it and I didn't see any new growth yet, I did see some healthy looking roots.
I am keeping it in a terrarium with a mister and some fans although my temp range might be a bit on the low side with (55-75F)
I hope it can bare the lower night temperature.
On the pics I found on internet it's mostly growing on wood branches indeed but also on those pics I do see some dead and/or half dead bulbs..That seems normal.
I am a bit scared to take away the moss because the roots seems pretty tight woven inside the moss.
Maybe I should try to not keeping it soaked all the time but just keeping it damped?

I previously knew nothing about this, but here is how I proceeded:

I looked for anything mentioning a locality, so I could find climate data and perhaps some idea of its ecological niche. I got lucky and found this:
http://ssbg.asu.ru/turcz/turcz306-48-89.pdf
which has extremely specific locality data along with a description of the niche. Unfortunately mapping software reveals the site has been cleared for agriculture, but satellite imaging shows it is very close to a river (now a reservoir) and patches of dense forest remain nearby.

Next I would go look up data on what the climate is like at that spot. But my first guess would be to not take away the moss. It probably grows warm, shady and humid all year. There may be dry seasons but there will always be high humidity and, probably, some dew at night.

On orchid species dot com, it is described as liking very shady (over half shade). It is also a Chirropetalum, which might help, and also "Found in Myanmar, Thailand And Vietnam as a mini-miniature sized epiphyte that blooms in the spring." Being an epiphite there is natural "dripping" and drying. If you have problems finding the exact plant, you might think of finding a plant that grows in the same habitat. This link is for bulbophylums of the area.

.:: Asiatic Green ::.:: Orchids :: Bulbophyllum

Thanks!

The high humidity and the shady place I can offer. My winter nights might be on the cool side for this plant(50-55F)

When it does something I'll give an update!

Today I removed the moss and mounted the plant with a tiny bit of spagnum.
I keep it at a low light level 600-700 fc , high humidity 85-95% and intermediate temperature wich is now 13-24C°. Soon when it's summer it will be warmer 17-25 C°

Let's hope he likes it!

[IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3776/3...0240e87a_k.jpgIMG_20170318_165142 by Jacob Reitsma, on Flickr[/IMG]

Having a cool air (ultrasonic) humidifier on it might be good. The problem with having a "blanket of moss" on something is not much air gets though. The roots, yes, the leaves, no. Many of these orchids are in mist all the time. Species orchids are much harder to take care of because they need you to copy their exact living conditions. This is a challenge if no one has written up care instructions, or if you cannot find them.

Thanks for the helpful reply! As a beginner for me everything is a tryout or experiment. Ofcourse I also try to read as many as possible. Because my setup is more or less fixed I am now in the fase were I try different species to see which ones do best in my setup condition.

I do have an ultrasonic humidifier connected to my growbox. The four installed fans are paired (2x2) and running on intervals. So a few times a day when all the fans are off, the whole down part of the box is getting filled with mist. That means all my low light plants including this one are covered in a dense mist a few times a day, approximately one hours in total a day.

For decorative purpose I did planted back a little of the life moss but in case it will overgrow and block the airflow I will remove it.

[IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3935/3...87f0553e_b.jpgOrchid growbox by Jacob Reitsma, on Flickr[/IMG]

A beautiful setup!

You will find, as you go on in orchid culture, that other than the most popular orchids, finding information on "the others" is like a detective story.

Polliculosum
 

Wow, I know this is an old post but when you said you were a beginner I was not expecting that grow room. That is beautiful. My shady, humid spot is a bunch of shade cloth stapled to the side of a shed :p

I agree with the previous post, especially if you culture endangered or rare species of any genus, knowing how to research care using genus, location, climate, altitude ect. is what separates the horticulturalist from the hobbyist that likes to garden.

*How I care for Polliculosum- Mine is mounted bare on a 3x3 piece of driftwood (except for a thin sheet of plastic web that holds just a tad of moisture) . I have it in a 100 gal terrarium and it hangs below center on the opposite side of the fogger. From my research I believe that the region it comes from has a strong monsoon climate, with intense sun, and hot temperatures. Because of this I never let the temps in the terrarium drop below 70f and prefer closer to 80. I assume that this species grows at least 2-3ft off the ground, so I imitate an environment that is hot and gets heavy rain 2-3 times a day. When watering I usually pull the bottom of the still hanging mount towards me so that the plant is on a shallow slope, and then use a small watering can to pour water over the top-ish end of the mount and allow it to run down the mount. (Someone will prob feel the urge to say something here about soaking the plant this way. Well I try not to wet the leaves. But aint nobody got time to water micro orchids like that) One of the keys is using good water. I use RO, distilled is fine. I do have this weird quirk that I wont get into about using distilled for very long periods of time, but don't worry about it. I like mounting these on driftwood because it is just porous enough to hold a good soaking, but will dry out after a few hours. When this plant is leafed out it would be tough to overwater when mounted this way. I soak the mount every day in the morning, I lay it face up in a saucer, not submerging the plants....is what you should do, I soak it when I start feeling guilty and there are reruns on tv. Lastly, lighting can be a little on the tricky side. It is definitely a shade plant, but remember the sun is very intense in it's environment. I believe this one is a good candidate for a little help from an LED grow light. I just use a 12w Tao Tronic bulb on a gooseneck fixture.

Most of this info is for when it is leafed out. If the plant seems to be going/is dormant, think of this as a sliding scale and do the least when there are no leaves. I hope this helps someone, there is still not a lot of culture information on this species. But just remember to listen to advice, but most importantly listen to what the plant is telling you.

Charles