a bulbo echinolabium stinky Q

[philoserenus]

i have a feeling i might end up killing myself for this one if i can get it to bloom... being offered a bulbophyllum echinolabium. i know this is a stinker, but my Q is--will it be a close proximity stinker or is it a reek havoc and stink up every inch of a huge room kind of stinker?

 

[Rick]

2 foot max in a hot humid GH. Kind of disappointing for such a big flower. However, I've never had more than 3 flowers open on a plant at once. These guys can get huge, and you might get some good stink if you got it up to a bushel basket with a half dozen or more spikes going at once.:evil:

 

[philoserenus]

haha thanks rick. do these guys really have to have it very humid to be bloomable? i know all bulbos need humidity, but what would i need at a least? i dun have a greenhouse or a terrarium.

 

[Rick]

Probably in excess of 60%, the warmer, breezier, and more humid the better.

These plants have the potential to get huge, and definitely not a terrarium plant. The individual leaves can be 18" long.

One of my 2 echinolabium came from a friend who grows vandas (very well). He had it for about 3 years, and it never bloomed, and the largest leaf was only 10" or so. He grew it outdoors in the summer, and brought it indoors in the winter. Summers in TN can be pretty hot/muggy with 70+% humidity, but indoor winter conditions are fairly dry without controls, and probably averaged around 40% for him.

In my GH with >70% humidity year round the plant took off and started producing 16"+ leaves, and flowered within the year.

So while they can take drier conditions, you will get faster/better results in more humid conditions.

 

[SlipperFan]

Mine got 5 spikes in a 12" bulb pan. I grew it intermediate in my sunroom which doesn't have high humidity. It was growing in small PrimeAgra pebbles which I watered twice a week. It got too big for my space, so I divided it, sold off the divisions except for one, which is now growing in the same way. It was stinky up close, but you had to be fairly close, even with 5 flowers. Putting it in a car to take it to a show -- well, that's a different story...

 

[philoserenus]

Rick and Dot--thank you two for posting what you did. this is a very interesting view since u both seem to grow it in very different conditions.

whilst bulbos like humidity, how does anyone grow these at home? well, more like a Q directed at Dot. just the grow them wetter?

 

[paphioboy]

Another question from me.. How long does echinolabium take to bloom from a plant with 3-inch leaves..? Mine was bought at that size and over the past year, it doesn't seem to bulk up much.. TIA..

 

[Rick]

Another question from me.. How long does echinolabium take to bloom from a plant with 3-inch leaves..? Mine was bought at that size and over the past year, it doesn't seem to bulk up much.. TIA..

I have a second plant that I got as an "established seedling" from Troy Meyers that was about the same size as you describe for yours. It bloomed about a year and a half after I got it. The leaves jumped up to 12" + pretty fast for me.

 

[Rick]

Rick and Dot--thank you two for posting what you did. this is a very interesting view since u both seem to grow it in very different conditions.

whilst bulbos like humidity, how does anyone grow these at home? well, more like a Q directed at Dot. just the grow them wetter?

Tom Nassir gave a talk on Bulbos to our society, and compared what he does to other notorious Bulbo growers like Bob Fallon and Jo Levey (all GH growers). Lots of water was universal, but light levels and temps will vary for species. There was a wide range of strategies, from baskets of moss to clay pots of bark. In general you can really push bulbos pretty hard with xtra light, fertilizer, and water, and they seem to respond more than paphs in this regard.

Another thing that many Bulbo growers talk about is plants that grow and divide like crazy, but hold back on blooming. Sometimes they appear to need a critical pot mass before blooming, and when they start, they go crazy for a season or two, and then take a couple years off.

 

[philoserenus]

well thatz good to know that bulbos can be pushed by the extra light, water, and fertilizers, since i am aware the paphs are not that responsive when it comes to those factors (guess they have their own schedule, haha) critical pot mass. i guess dividing should be held back if they are not blooming yet--good think to know.

well that good, gives me some confidence in growing my green thumb and some knowledge

 

[Scooby5757]

I felt mine grows pretty fast and easily too, but mine is a stinker. Last year I forgot it was just about to open and went down to the plants to check on them the next morning or so and it STUNK! like fish docks. So I went upstairs and gave my father the riot act for fertilizing with fish meal solution....he denied it. The one flower on mine made the 12 x 9 area stink pretty bad.

 

[SlipperFan]

Rick and Dot--thank you two for posting what you did. this is a very interesting view since u both seem to grow it in very different conditions.

whilst bulbos like humidity, how does anyone grow these at home? well, more like a Q directed at Dot. just the grow them wetter?

Well, I do put mine outside in the Summer, and it is usually quite humid in Michigan's Summers. But it's inside for most of the year, and my sunroom is probably around 40 - 50% humidity. I do have a humidifier in there, and all the plants must help with humidity as well.

I also don't think, since it's potted in clay pellets, that I grow it wetter than others, watering it 2X a week. I guess you just have to try to watch it in your conditions, and let the plant tell you whether it likes them or not.

 

[Ron-NY]

Mine is pretty stinky...I always end up checking the bottom of my shoe to see what I stepped in when this is in bloom