"The Rock Lily Man"
The Rock Lily Man says that he never throws out a bulb, just keeps potting them on... so I asked more about this... and the reply I received is well worth sharing....
"Leafless bulbs are easy to bring to life so long as they are not rotten and have a sound eye at the base of the old bulb. Just put it in a fine grade bark mix. Keep the eye at bark level or under if you have to get it sound into the pot, but not above bark level. It could take a year or it may be instant, but you will normally start a new plant off with a half size bulb from the old one. Break your mates plant up into bits of 3 or 4 bulbs and discard the old soft growths, trim off most of the old roots as they are now useless anyway. New growths mean new roots with soft green root tips. Don't damage them! The root tip is the only bit that will take up moisture, and so nutrients, the older white roots just store it, not absorb it up." GW
Over the past several months I've tried the bag and sphag method just like you might do with cymbidiums... plus dipping the bulbs in a bit of Plant Starter (a proprietary blend of indole acetic acid + naphthalene acetic acid) But the "sound eye at the base of the old bulb" pre-determinate had me curious. I haven't noticed any eyes!
I opened up one of my bags and voila .... new growth from the base of my bulbs! I've tried to photograph what I think is this "eye".
Cheers
Gaz
Dendrobium Speciosum backbulbs
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