Bulbophyllum Doggy Doo x pteroglossum
Just over three and a half years ago, I made my first attempt at hybridising
Bulbophyllum. Remarkably, three of the four efforts were successful. The
capsules required only six months to mature, followed by a further eight
months in the laboratory, after which the flasks were delivered to us.
It would appear that an error occurred during transport, as fungi proliferated
within the flasks rather rapidly. Consequently, all were necessitated to be
opened prematurely, forgoing the intended one-month acclimatisation period.
The local climate is not particularly well-suited to Bulbophyllum, or perhaps our
cultivation techniques for this genus are simply inadequate. In any event, at
present – approximately two and a half years after deflasking – few juvenile
plants have survived.
The first hybrid is now flowering for the first time; the bloom meets expectations
and is of a reasonably good appearance.
