Den. Bellatulum Pseudobulbs are browning!?

[Gookis]

I would really appreciate some assistance. I recently purchased my first orchids. A Den. Bellatulum and a Sophronitis Cernua.

The bulbs on the Den. are more brown and burnt looking then when I received them two days ago. I have them at about 80F with high humidity.

Is the browning normal or am I scorching them? I've been unsuccessful in my searches thusfar. Please and thank you!!

Matt

[Orchidaholic]

Are they inside or outside? Do you have them in full/direct sunlight? Most orchids are grown in some sort of shade and then when smaller nurseries/vendors get them they get even less light so a slow acclimation back to bright light is necessary.

[Gookis]

My appologies. The orchids are in a small acrylic (20gal) tank. I have two 30 watt CF bulbs about 1 foot from them. Should I run one bulb for a week? Thanks for your response!

Matt

[Orchidaholic]

They should be fine under the artificial lights. Maybe it got a suntan on the ride home. Check the browning on them periodically to see if they start getting mushy(infection). These appear to be deciduous so it could just be where the leaf fell off an the remains on the cane are turning brown.

[Gookis]

Thank you very much! The brown "bulbs" seem pretty firm. There's new leaf growth going on below them so I hope a blossom is in my near future. Thanks for your response! This board has been an incredible find of information for a complete novice!

Matt

[Orchidaholic]

I couldn't find info online but I did find it in one of my book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids. I'll type what it has to say:
Dendrobium bellatulum Rolfe
A dwarf plant found in India, Burma, Thailand, China, Laos & Vietnam. Tufts of pseudobulbous stems up to ten centimeters long with between two and four leathery, greyish green leaves. The long-lived, fragrant flowers are bore in late winter to early spring at the top of the stem and are creamy white, the broad lip havinga yellow midlobe and scarlet throat. Slab culture suits it best in a humid atmosphere and a cool dry winter with a minimum of 10C

[good-old-times]

Dendrobium bellatulum -

Light: Bright (a bright light with light shading) if under sunlight - e.g., 30% - 50% Shade; 2500-3500 Footcandles (very bright indirect light) if under artificial light.

Temperature: Cool,Intermediate to Warm; 40F min. to 95F max. (tolerant of extremes, favoring cool)

Mount: Stick Mounted Plant

Watering: Dry/Moist; Lots of water from spring through early fall (it should not dry out completely) - 2 waterings per day(let almost dry between waterings); taper off water in winter - 2 waterings per week(let completely dry between waterings).

Air Circulation: Moist air circulation is important for the successful growing of this species. You should have a small fan in your orchidarium or tank.

[taipan]

Gopokis
Personally I would take the D.bellatulum out of the tank . This species belongs to the "Nigrohirsuite" section ie the stems ( P/bulbs) have black hairs. & hates still ,wet conditions as the psuedobulbs are inclined to rot unless there is a lot of air movement. If you dont want to put in on a mount try potting it in a small ( say 2" ) terracotta pot with some moisture retaining mix - but allows good drainage.

[Gookis]

Thanks for the post! It is mounted in a stick. The tank now gets misted every two hours for 10 or 15 seconds. The temp hovers around 80f and gets no lower than 60-65% humidity. I have a coralife fan running 24h\7days.(Great fan!) So plenty of air movment. I've had a tone of new leaf growth. I think it just needs to cool off now to blossom!?! Thanks again!

Matt

[good-old-times]

To make it bloom well,

• keep 15 to 20 degrees (Fahrenheit) of temperature difference between day and night in your tank: for instance, 80f (day) : 60f (night)

• keep the short suspension (about 15 days) of water in October or November