Coelogyne cristata roots and backbulbs
 

Hi everyone!

It's been a long time since I posted here for the last time.

I think it was four years ago when I bought a Coelogyne cristata with 5-7 bulbs if I'm not mistaken. The thing is that it has become quite big, the first year I only got 1 flower but it has thrived really quickly and has more than 50 bulbs right now. I repotted two years ago because bulbs were getting out of the pot and did not root if there was no soil under them. I repotted in June or so I think, well, just one week before most of the new bulbs were sending out roots. Repotting was not harmful for my plant, in fact, it bloomed from 10 spikes or so next spring.

Anyway, I have a couple of doubts concerning my plant.

The first concerns new bulbs rooting; some of next year bulbs will be hanging out of the pot and I don't feel like repotting it next year so I have thought about using a piece of cloth or something, tie it to the bulbs that are out of the pot and fill it with bark to see if this way the new bulb emmits some roots and I can get a small division of the plant. Do you think that would make a good solution?

The second involves backbulbs. My coelogyne has some leafless bulbs in the centre of it mostly and I am wondering whether cristata can develop new plants frmo backbulbs as Cymbidium do.

I'll upload a couple of photos afterwards so you can see the plant. :biggrin:

That's all, I hope you can help me and excuse me for the possible mistakes or if you can't understand something since English is not my mother tongue.

Regards!

Edit: here are the photos. They were taken last year, now it is quite bigger but since it has not yet bloomed I won't post any photos of it now.

http://i59.tinypic.com/2liynaw.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/6rhbb8.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/34zbxvd.jpg

http://i59.tinypic.com/ff64qo.jpg

Wow - sounds like a wonderful problem to have :)

Can you hang the pot and water daily like you would a mount? I started growing mine in an 8" net basket sitting in water. I didn't repot in time and had growths growing waaaaaay over the edge. I sat the net basket in a vanda basket and hung it. I water daily if the sun is out but every other day if it is cloudy.

Yes you can take old back bulbs and get new growths. I put them in sphag and would water enough to keep the bulbs moist but not wet until the new growth appeared. They are very easy to grow this way.

Congrats you have a gorgeous plant.

Brooke

Hahaha I know! It's not a real problem, you're right! :)

Hey, thank you very much for your answer!

Unfortunately, I guess I can't put it in a basket for the moment. I only water 3 times or so during winter and once a week more or less during spring and summer since the pot retains humidity for such period. Maybe next year I'll re"pot" it in a clothes peg basket haha, it sound a bit ridiculous but I think it may work fine for this orchid.

And about the backbulbs issue... I have seen that cristata may not have as many dormant shoots as Cymbidium for instance. That is why I wondered about this possibility of planting backbulbs, so you confirm me that they can thrive? And what about leaving them in the same pot? I have seen that with Cattleyas, which are cut on the rhizome so the old bulb is not disturbed (since it keeps its position and roots) and it may have more possibilities of giving out a new shoot. Would this work for cristata or do you recommend me to tear those bulbs apart and put them in a moist environment?

Again, thank you very much for your help!

I can't give you any advice regarding the cutting of the rhizome like a Cattleya. I have only taken bare back bulbs and planted the clump of them in another pot.

I can tell you the plant will hold their leaves for a few years before they go bald.

I don't know anything about Cymbidium back bulbs since I've only had one that was a small growing hybrid and gave it away before it needed to be divided.

Brooke