Bulbophyllum bare root in water?
 

Hello all! I am interested in getting a bulbophyllum blumei from Andy's orchids; however...it is a bare root plant. Can I just grow it over a jar with about a quarter of its roots in water? If not, do I just leave it on the windowsill and dunk its roots into water for 20 minutes a couple times a week, not unlike an air plant? Thanks in advance...I like the idea of a orchid that blooms several times of year that needs only modest lighting.

I bought this one bare-root from Andy's this past January. I put it in some NZ moss and a shallow dish. I keep the moss damp (not wet). The roots do not get very long so the dish works well. You can also use a basket pot as is shown on Andy's website.

I bought the moss from Amazon: Amazon.com: Sphagnum Moss 12 Liters New Zealand AAA Grade 150 Gram Bale

The dish is just a reptile dish like thisi:

Amazon.com: Fluker's Food / Water Reptile Corner Bowl, Small: Home & Kitchen

There are people growing orchids in water. This plant's roots are so small and short, I would think it would be difficult to keep the water level correct. If the plant goes dry for very long it will die.

Bulbophyllums do like lots of water.

I now have 4 bulbophyllums that have not died. I have gone through about 4 others and they did die. They mostly died because of lack of water. I now make sure to water the bulbos at least once a day, and I keep them in enclosed containers, (sometimes in a basket within a pot). Phrags and Bulbos should be in contact with water all the time. I also keep them in sphagnum moss. Always consistently damp or wet.

I have thought that I could mount them on a kind of indoor water-fountain with the circulation of water through filters and pumps like a fish tank. That would be about the only way I would "automatically" water them.

You can use the Search function in the top maroon menu to see previous threads on growing Bulbos. Bill Thoms is a Bulbo grower and hybridizer who has written a book on how he grows them. If you search on his name you will find these threads.

It is advisable to have a media mix for any orchid, if you observe these plants in situ, sometimes they are flooded and submerged in the rainy season and then there is a long drought, but then again the morning dew gives it moisture. And these kind of plants thrive in very humid conditions even if there are no rains. They either cling to trees or fall in the ground and thrive on dead leaves. Even if you soak it in water, you still need to feed it.

The moisture retention in bark (trees) and the ground, even the fissures in rocks (for lithophytes) is quite significant.