Bulbo culture, or help save the last spike

15 years ago

I have 3 Bulbos, all purchased from different growers w/in the last few months. All 3 vendors said they need intermediate conditions. NOW I read that Jay says all 3 need hot conditions. Aaauugghh!

Bulbo ambrosia - supposed to smell like honey

Bulbo barbigerum - rumored to have been thought the missing link between plant and animal because of the action of the flowers http://www.orchidspecies.com/bulbophylumbarbigerum.htm

Bulbo (Hyalosema) grandiflorum - way cool flower http://www.orchidspecies.com/bulbograndiflorum.htm

The ambrosia's mounted on cork & a bit of sphag. Recently, it got 4 spikes and has blasted all but 1.

Conditions: Solid intermediate temps and light. The plant's been in a large, clear glass vase w/ a clear plastic top on it. Stones & water in the bottom. Sprayed enough so it keeps moist.

The vase is 1 row back from the big E/SE window and under T8s that are on for 14 hours/day. After the plant spiked, it started putting out 2 new pbs.

Jay's says it's hot- to cool-growing, but his icons indicate hot-growing, for sure. Also, his photo shows plant on cork (I think) w/ no sphag.

I'd hate to lose that last spike.

As for the barbigerum, it's in small bark in a plastic pot. Recently, I put plant and pot down in a larger, white plastic pot w/ stones & water in the bottom to keep it wetter longer.

The grandiflorum is a much larger plant in CHC and a plastic pot. It blasted its 1 spike awhile back and has put out 2 new pbs since. In my care, most of the leaf tips turned brown. Moi, the underwaterer, has been watering only when it was almost dry.

In the last couple of weeks, the plant and pot have also gone down in a big, clear white pot w/ stones & water, plus I covered the top.

Any way for these lovelies to be happy in my house? Winter night temps are low 60s; highs are low to mid-70s. The daytime highs could be in the mid-70s almost all the time, but that's about it.

Thanks for any info.

Waaaa Whitecat8

Here is a link that might be useful: Bulbo ambrosia, Jay's

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Comments (7)

Sheila
15 years ago
Oooooh, you need to send that ambrosia to SC Texas where it is HOT.....well, not now, but it will be later ;)

Could your problems be lack of air movement? I've still not been very successful with growing bulbos, but a gent in my OS said I needed to keep the plant media moist, have good air movement and use a fungicide on the plants on a monthly basis. Now that I'm doing this my one remaining plant is at least growing and hopefully will bloom later this year.

I'm sure more experience bulbo growers will give you more info so that you can bloom your babies. Good luck with them.

Sheila :)
highjack
15 years ago
WC you might have caused the bud blast by lack of moisture. MOST bulbos need constant moisture and even in the winter with very little sun, the mounted ones get water every other day. The ones I have planted in baskets with CHC mix and sphag might go 4-5 days before they get watered again.

Your temps are fine for bulbos. I have them spread all over the g/h according to their light requirements. The link you provided says that species grows in a wide range of elevations so should be able to grow in cool to warm conditions.

I don't have a clue as to the brown tips unless it is on the oldest pbulbs getting ready to leave this world. I haven't found them prone to fungus and don't provide any additional air movement to them.

I know you want a Hab. medusae but this medusae you can enjoy year round.

{{gwi:141630}}

Brooke
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whitecat8
Original Author
15 years ago
Sheila & Brooke - Thanks for the info. Sheila, Oak Hill's recent newsletter said that fans in the dry winter air are bad for orchids, so I turned them off - right or wrong. I hate it when experts have differing opinions and my poor 'chids suffer the consequences!

Brooke, the Bulbos are moist, for sure.

I'm purposely ignoring the fact that every 'chid w/ the word medusae in it is almost impossible for most hobbyists to grow, pretending the Hab medusae will be a snap.

Which medusae is in your picture?

Whitecat8
highjack
15 years ago
It is Bulb. (Cirr.) medusae. It is easier than the Hab and you can see it all year. No guessing/begging/hoping that pot of nothing will sprout in the spring.

I guess what I didn't convey very well in my above post is they want constant moisture, not being allowed to go almost dry. I will lose spikes when they dry out too much.

I would probably add more sphag to the ambrosia on the cork mount. When I mount a bulbo I use tree fern because it will hold moisture longer than cork.

I too use fewer fans in the winter than the summer. If I use fans in the summer to cool the plants, cooling them is the opposite of what I want in the winter.

Brooke
whitecat8
Original Author
15 years ago
Oak Hill folks say that the secret to their Bulbos' success is letting them dry out completely between waterings. Wouldn't you know. Maybe house conditions are different from greenhouses in this instance, except yours are in your greenhouse, right?

Up here, I run fans in the house for air circulation rather than cooling, so I'm a little nervous about not running them in winter.

Sometimes ambiguity isn't fun.

WC8
scott361
15 years ago
My fans run 24/7 and 365, so I wouldn't worry so much about it.
It's for the air movement and to prevent stagnant situations, plus many of them like having it.
It adds some interest to their, otherwise, boring lives!;~)

For my conditions, treefern does last longer than cork for moisture.
So that means that it's moist for 30 minutes as opposed to ten of them.
I can't grow anything other than cobwebs on cork and don't even try.
I struggle to keep my sphagnum damp and even the ones standing in water don't stay in it long.
It evaporates far too quickly and everything get crispy.
smwboxer
15 years ago
One other suggestion; I never buy bulbos. in spike because I've learned from experience that the buds always blast! I have a 100% blast rate with bulbos bought in spike. Now I just purchase them out of bloom and bring them to spike on my own.

Bulbo culture, or help save the last spike

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