Deciduous bulbo culture?
 

I got a hold of Bulbophyllum triste a few weeks ago and it arrived "dormant?" and I'm not sure what care to give it while it is leafless??? :scratchhead: It is currently being kept on the drier side compared to the other bulbo's and getting bright light. In active growth it is said that is requires typical bulbo care......

Are you growing it mounted and how much light are you able to give it right now?

I have been growing one for years and I find it to be really easy to grow and bloom. I will give you info on what I do/how I grow it ...adjust to fit your growing conditions.

Mine is mounted on tree fern w/a little sphag and when it's actively growing I water it every day...sometimes twice a day. And when I say water...I mean I really soak it down well. Bright light...I grow it next to my cattleyas and I find the more light it gets (not full sun though) the better it grows and blooms. Temps...in my space it's basically intermediate temps.

Right now mine is still in leaf but the leaves are starting to "turn". Meaning, the tips are starting to dry up and turn brown. And when they start to go...they do it relatively slowly so it's kind of ugly for awhile.

As the growths mature (timing usually coincides perfectly w/my plants coming back inside under lights) I begin to reduce my watering. Well, I don't water every day AND the lights are drying so the end result (whether a plant likes it or not) is more drying for all my plants. I don't believe there is any perfect approach to the drier conditions...just know that you want to begin to reduce your watering. No fert once the leaves begin to turn.

For me...by the time all the leaves have dropped I'm down to only doing a light watering it a couple of times a week. More than a misting...enough to moisten well but the plant isn't drippy wet. I hope that makes sense.

Once the leaves have dropped I will spritz it down once or twice a week...it's a light spraying...just enough to moisten it.

The pbulbs will shrivel a bit...that's to be expected...but you don't want them to shrivel too much or it might not have enough energy to produce the next round of growths. When it's making it's new growths...it sucks the energy from those older growths so you want to keep them as healthy and strong as possible.

It's an easy grower and a reliable bloomer once it's big enough (even though it's a smaller grower) it'll start to produce at least 2 spikes per growth. Also, it'll start to make multiple growths for each old one...I have 8 or 9 new growths this year. I don't even remember how many spikes I had the last bloom cycle.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info! Yes it is currently mounted and it was getting enough light for the pbulbs to take on a reddish hue, I moved it to a lower light tank that has higher humidity while it is dormant. It get's a good misting every 2 or 3 days. :)

When do they normally send out new growth?

The exact timing seems to vary just a bit each year (as does the blooming time) but it'll usually start making new growths in late winter/early spring sometime.

It'll bloom late fall/early winter...after the leaves have dropped...then it'll rest for a short period before it starts to make new growths.

Most years the growths are well on their way by late May but this past summer...w/the 8 or 9 new growths...some of those didn't start until after the plants were outside in late May. I chalked it up to the fact that it made more new growths this year. ??

Katrina and NG, which species of bulbs are you two growing? I got one or two this summer (B. sukhakulii and B. wallichii, which I think drops leaves), so I'm curious.

I have a wallichii, too. It's actively growing right now, so I'm continuing its feeding.

B triste...I've never tried the 2 you're growing.