Bulbophyllum shweliense

As regulars will know we love miniature orchids and one we haven't featured is this delightful mini-miniature bulbophyllum. (The pot in the photo is 6cm diameter)

Bulbophyllum shweliense is native to South East Asia and Southern China and although not recorded in Laos is a species we probably found there in forests around Paksong (plants were not in flower so definitive identifation wasn't possible).

The species has a lovely habit of crawling around on its host branches with its little bulbs separated by a thin rhizome. The flowers come from the rhyzome and are only a few milimetres across but are really cute.

We grow the species mounted and in little pots and have recently split our stock plant so we will have plants available soon.

Bulbophyllum shweliense is reported from hot lowland forests right up to 2500m altitude and so should grow warm or cool. We grow our plants in our indoor growing cabinets (min 17C) where they flourish.