Let's be honest here, I haven't had any of my Bulbophyllum bloom for me yet. I don't know if its because they are all too small, or I just haven't been giving them what they want. This summer I went into a very Phal focused mindset, and I kinda neglected everything else. Although nothing died, none of my Bulbophyllum or Cattleya could take full advantage of the summer weather. Slowly but surely I'm getting back around to better caring for everything else, as I realize its highly unlikely for me to sell any unless they are in bloom (if I want to sell them after I bloom them, that is). Just a few weeks ago I took off the slightly opaque plastic sheet I've had above my Bulbos, and I've noticed that their leaves have firmed up a lot. Also, I plan on repotting a bunch today after school, so I hope this also sets them faster along to bloom, as almost all are making new growths and roots.
You, get focused on your phals... no... NEVER! hehehehehe LOL, you've been constantly buying phals and telling us about them on OrchidGeeks, to be honest I'd forgotten you had more than just phals hehehe LOL
ReplyDeleteso what was the problem with your bulbos leaves?
LOL!!!! I think I actually received more that I didn't post on OrchidGeeks. I didn't really have a problem with their leaves. The thing was is that in my mind, all Bulbos were shade loving things, so I had a decently opaque plastic sheet hanging above them in the solitary stand, which blocked out some of the light making it shadier. However, I recently decided that I would remove it and give them all the light that the stand has to offer, which isn't that high anyways. In just a few short weeks I have noticed that new leaves are starting to firm up and brighten a tad, so I am hoping that this causes some new blooms for me!
ReplyDeleteWOW, you must have bought a HEAP of plants, i swear every week there was a post of more of the goodies you'd bought.
DeleteI have mine in the same light as I have my Oncs and Catts
I admire you indoor growers, it must take so long to water... if my plants come inside while in flower they don't get anywhere near the water they should, i just can't be bothered watering them one at a time in the bathroom sink.... I far prefer the garden hose :)
glad to hear they are getting better and you should be getting some freaky flowers soon enough :)
Yeah, I started to realize that they need higher light than what I was giving them. When my collection was much smaller, I managed every morning watering what was needed in the bathtub (the bathroom was right beside my bedroom), but eventually that became inefficient, so I now employ a large plastic tupperware bin. I have some chicken wire on the top, so I set plants on it and then water away. Whenever it gets full enough with water so that it isn't too impossible to carry, I take it and dump it in the toilet.
ReplyDeleteahhhh, very cool and ingenious, I like your method....... hose and a shade house is better though ;) hehehehe LOL
Deletewhen i have to bring my phals in for winter it just drives me nuts because i feel like i never stop watering them because what is a 30 second blast with the hose becomes a half hour to an hour job of watering them one by one in the sink. so now i've potted them in sphag and i'll see how they go
Lol!!! Well, when it get's down to an average of -35*C outside each winter, I think my methods are quite efficient :D. I actually have a large percentage of everything potted in straight sphag, and then the minority has some sphag added with bark or chc, etc. I actually set my alarm early on school days so I have time to water.
DeleteOOOOOH, I can see how it is efficient with temps of -35°C, OUCH! that must suck.
Deletebeing an indoor grower you would have to have everything in sphag or you would go mad. have you uploaded a photo of your collection lately? I remember what it looked like when you joined geeks, but i don't think i've seen any since then.
so when you say school, do you mean highschool or university? Oh how nice it is that there is a fellow student orchid grower out there
Haha, it gets brutally cold in the winter, but I'd much rather it be -35*C than +35*C!! I think I did a quick snapshot of everything and posted them about a week ago, so it would only be a few posts down. And school means highschool. I go to a private schools, so things are a bit different for me. We really don't have highschool and whatever the rest of that stuff is called, we just go by grades. Technically I am in Grade 12, but I am taking an extra year to do Grade 12 physics and additional math. I'll be turning 19 shortly after graduating.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the 35+ days do tend to fray the nerves a bit... but the humidity is the killer. And I can't believe I missed the photos of your collection, and it's a wonderful collection by the way.
DeleteCool, it's nice knowing a fellow teenage orchid grower. except I'm 16 but I'm going into grade 12 next year.
Lol, I start melting when it gets around 30*, and our humidity is not that high during the summer!
DeleteYeah, it's crazy to think that I've been growing for just over two years now! I couldn't imagine a life without orchids.
I also think its pretty neat to know of another orchid grower my age! It gives me hope for the future of this hobby as a whole.
My young padawan, Bill Thoms says to give Bulbos "more water longer" on all sides (when you fertilize, water first then weakly weekly), pot in sphagnum, grow them in bright shade (Catt levels of light), and have good air circulation. He also says to keep in them in shallow aluminum foil pans in 1/4" of water. Don't make me convert to metric. :)
ReplyDeleteRangi
Ahhhh, god bless Bill Thoms, his book is a pleasure to read and it is so full of brilliant information, if you haven't read it i highly suggest you do
ReplyDeleteWell Rangi, that is what I once did when I first got my Bulbophyllums, and that is now what they are back into. I'm definitely hoping for some blooms in the near future!!
ReplyDeleteMichael, unfortuneatly my orchid society doesn't have this book in their library, nor does any of the libraries in my city or province. . . it sucks, as I've heard many times that it is a fabulous book!