Named by Louis - Marie Aubert Du Petit - Thouars in 1822, and belonging to the tribe Dendrobieae, the genus Bulbophyllum derives its name from the ancient Greek, from the words bulbos, meaning bulb, and phyllon, meaning leaf. The species of the genus Bulbophyllum are closely related to those of the genus Cirrhopetalum, and together they are considered the orchid genera with the most species. Taxonomically, at least 25 related genera are known, the most common being Cirrhopetalum, Ione, Mastigion, Megaclinium, Rhytionanthos and Trias.

With plants of generally reduced to medium height, although some species can easily exceed a length of over one meter, the species of the Bulbophyllum genus show a sudden habit, with sympodial growth, pseudobulbs remarkable in size compared to the size of the flowers and leaves , which have a fleshy, waxy, leathery texture, generally bearing one, and less frequently two leaves inserted apically.

The complete offer of Bulbophyllum is available here (link).

The shape of the flowers is extremely variable, with sizes ranging from 2 mm to 400 mm. A common characteristic is the presence of an articulated labellum, with a role in pollination, where practically the labellum is used as a lever, catapulting the pollinators, small fly objects in the direction of the pollinia and the stigma surface. The flowers generally have a short life span of 5-7 days, but they compensate for this aspect with repeated blooms. Some species and some hybrids have fragrant flowers, although their scent is not always pleasant, sometimes reminiscent of the smell of old cheese.

Currently, it is considered that the genus Bulbophyllum includes over 2000 predominantly tropical and subtropical species, with some species also present in temperate climates. More than 25 species are present in South and Central America, up to the Caribbean area, and most of them are found in equatorial Africa, Madagascar, Asia, from the foothills of the Himalayas to Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. New Guinea is considered the center of origin of the species, on this island more than 600 species have been found.

Most species of the Bulbophyllum genus prefer warm climates, with winter temperatures that do not fall below 15 ℃, and daytime temperatures in the warm season will be in the range of 23-27 ℃. Good ventilation is essential and necessary for the successful cultivation of Bulbophyllum species.

Bulbophyllum and Cirrhopetalum orchids love light, not necessarily intense, it being necessary to lightly shade the plants and protect them from the direct rays of the sun in the summer season. In general, the light radiation values ​​will be in the range of 20,000 - 35,000 lux, these values ​​categorically favoring abundant flowering.

The atmospheric humidity required for cultivation is average, with values ​​around 60%, the common characteristic of cultivation in apartment conditions. Irrigation will be frequent, as both the plants mounted on plates and those planted in pots prefer abundant water, to a higher extent than most other types of orchids. If as a rule it is recommended not to irrigate, in case there are doubts, the species of the genus Bulbophyllum are the exception to this rule in growing orchids.

Fertilization will be carried out regularly, with each irrigation, weekly, but will be stopped for a month, during the cold period.

Bulbophyllum species prefer minimal mounts, either on cork or bark plates, or in pots, with small to medium-sized bark, sphagnum moss, perlite, charcoal, pieces of coconut fiber or compost. They can be divided and transplanted preferably when the exaggerated growth of the plants outside the pots is noticed.

The complete offer of Bulbophyllum is available here (link).

Do you want to see more articles and accumulate more knowledge? This article is offered for free, but you can support secretgarden.ro with a review here:

Google: Review on Google

Facebook: Facebook review