Bulbophyllum sumatranum Garay, Hamer & Siegrist 1996, now larger than ever

This orchid has totally overflowed the wire basket in which it is growing.  Now many growths are growing on the sides of the baskets or between or over, older growths.  An attempt to start pieces growing in a basket with coconuts chunks was a complete disaster, the plant never bloomed and one really, really wet season, it completely rotted away.  Yes, as unbelievable as it sound it did rot, something that is almost unheard in my collection in which all my Bulbophyllum seem to  tolerate without complaint even the wettest of weathers,  I plant to start transplanting pieces of this orchid to a log of teak wood to see how it will fare growing on this type of mount.  Hopefully it will be more floriferous there.  This clone is prone to bloom unpredictably and erratically, generally between March and May.

Bulbophyllum (lobbii x dearei)

Some Bulbophyllum that have bloomed in late Autumn and early Winter in 2014-2015

Bulbophyllum sumatranum

Bulbophyllum blumei

Bulbophyllum lobbii var. Malacca

Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann

Bulbophyllum Lovely Elizabeth

Bulbophyllum lepidum

Bulbophyllum longissimum

Bulbophyllum lasiochilum - dark form

Bulbophyllum Melting Point

Bulbophyllum lobbii var, Malacca, blooming with multiple flowers for the second time in 2014

In the past I had tried to grow this orchid without sucess.  In January of 2013, I received this plant and the nominate variety.  Both were treated identically, potted in the same media and in the same type of basket, they were growing side by side.  The nominate type died a low and messy death, the var. Malacca has thrived and blooms very well.  I wonder what is the difference that caused the different outcomes in the cultivation of plants that are essentially identical in their needs.

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

Bulbophyllum lobbi, Malacca form, Very different from the Bulb. lobbii that I had seen locally.

In January I received a two pseudobulb piece of this orchid.  Needless to say I gave this orchid the best care possible.  Given that it arrived at the start of the local dry season I had to drench it daily for months to ensure that it would not suffer from the low humidity.  The reason for all that zeal at watering was that the plant was sent bare root and lacked a good root system to use the moisture.   Once the rainy season arrived, with its high humidity, the plant thrived.    The reward for all the effort caring for this plant was this stunning flower that opened today.

As you can imagine I am extremely happy with this orchid whose flower is strikingly different from the most common Bulbophyllum lobbii forms.   I am mystified by the fact that my other Bulbophyllum lobbii plant has been growing slowly and weakly in comparison with this one.    My plan is to grow this plant into an specimen.

Bulbophyllum lobbii is a member of the Sestochilos section of the genus Bulbophyllum.   This species is widespread in Asia, from northern India to the Phillippines¹.   Malacca is the third smallest Malaysian state after Perlis and Penang.

¹La Croix, I. F.  2008. The new encyclopedia of orchids: 1500 species in cultivation