Bulbophyllum sumatranum Garay, Hamer & Siegrist 1996, culture notes, it has become a mass of growths that both delight and infuriates

In 2012 it bloomed from leafless pseudobulbs

In 2014 you can see two flowers trapped among the roots and stems

The plant in 2014, an unruly pile of pseudobulbs, roots and stems  There are three flower buds in the photo.  An aborted flower bud, red colored, is also visible

After three years in my collection, Bulbophyllum sumatranum has become a relatively large plant witn many growths.  It has bloomed in the past but not as often as I would like.  Today I discovered that it has been producing inflorescences but that some of they have been produced by stems that are under a tangle of roots and pseudobulbs.  I also found four other inflorescences that are right in the middle of a mess of leaves and pseudobulbs which means they might not have room to expand to their full size.  I was delighted by the vigorous growth of this plant and its beautiful flowers, but its tendency to form a tangled mass of growths can be frustrating.  I plant to take a piece and attach it to a fern pole to see if grown this way it is easier to tame and it will display its flowers better.

Here are some notes on its culture on my garden

Potting: In a eight inch wire basket.

Media: A layer of medium bark about one inch deep.

Fertilizing: A high nitrogen fertilizer is used when the plant is growing. None is given outside the growing season.

Light: Full morning sun from 8:00 am to 11:00 am light shade the rest of the day.

Watering: The local rain is enough to cover this plant needs outside the rainy season.  In the rainy season it rains every day for the whole summer so the plant is constantly wet for months.  In the dry season, a whole month can pass with no measurable rain, during this time the plant is thoroughly drenched once a week.  If the plant is producing flowers it might get watered every day.

                         J       F      M       A       M       J       J       A       S      O      N      D

Rainfall (mm)   99    76     84     165    283    155   141   216    237  233  176   135

(inches)            3.9   3.0    3.3    6.5     11.1    6.1   5.5    8.5     9.3   9.1   6.9     5.3

Temperature

                J     F    M    A     M    J     J   A     S     O    N    D

High        28   29   30   30   31   32   32  32    32   31   30   29

Low          19   20   20   21   21   22   24  23    22   21   20   19