Two Coloured Bulbophyllum

NOTE: These orchids are supplied in 5cm pots and are of flowering size.

A beauty with out of this world flowers in groups of two or three. The petals are cream to beige with red striping and flashes of gold. The sepals are studded with red dots. Each bloom is around 2cm across and 4cm long. The leaves grow up to 12cm. They originated in the mountains of Hong Kong.

They get the name Bulbophyllum as the leaves are bulbous. The flowers are on narrow stems so they can bob and entice pollinators.

There is huge diversity in the Bulbophyllum family, with over 1 200 species and many more hybrids. Their amazing blooms and ease of growth has made them very popular the world over. They have creeping to pendent rhizomes and develop angular pseudobulbs with handsome foliage. While they are appear delicate, and hard to grow they actually make relatively easy house plants as they really aren’t too fussy and have similar needs to the common Phalaenopsis Orchids.

Bulbophyllum orchids are lithophytes. In cultivation they can be grown in a pot using an orchid mix, with some additional sphagnum moss to help moisture retention. Or mounted and tied onto bark with some sphagnum moss beneath. Water well, then allow the medium to almost dry out before watering again. This means almost daily in the warmer months and less often in winter – they humidity at around 80%. They intermediate orchids and in the wild they grow on the sides of limestone cliffs in the tropics where rainfall is relatively regular and light variable. Filtered to bright, indirect light is ideal, artificial light also works well.

Supplied as: Pots