Maxillaria tenuifolia - growth habit.

[wetfeet101b]

Hello Everyone,

I purchased a Maxillaria tenuifolia from the recent International Orchid Fair in Santa Barbara and wanted to know more about the plant's overall growth habit.

From what I can observe,
1. There are rhizomes that project upward from the central root ball of the plant.
2. Pseudobulbs emerge at every section of the rhizome.
3. Leaves grow from the top of the pseudobulb, as well as from its base.
4. Flower buds emerge from the base of each pseudobulb.
5. New rhizomes also emerge from the central root ball.


Now for my questions
1. Do the pseudobulbs only bloom one time each?
2. If I want to take a division of this plant, do I need to extract a full rhizome only from the base of the plant? or can I cut away a section of the mature rhizome that contains several pseudobulbs?
3. With the fast growth rate and multiple sections that have the ability to sprout off a new rhizome, this plant has the potential to be an unkempt mess if not maintained properly. Does anyone have any tips on how to train this plant if I am to keep it undivided and allowed to grow as a large specimen?

Thanks,
John

[clintdawley]

1. Yes. From what I can tell.
2. I would cut away a section of the mature rhizmome that contains 3-5 p-bulbs to divide.
3. These plants grow into balls and are "unkept messes". Cin has a huge specimen plant and I'll repost her picture below. I like the "ball" presentation.

[wetfeet101b]

Thanks Clint.
That one in the picture looks nice. I would not mind my plant growing into that shape
I have seen some large ones that look like several slinky toys tangled together and about to fall over.

[Ron-NY]

Thanks Clint.
That one in the picture looks nice. I would not mind my plant growing into that shape
I have seen some large ones that look like several slinky toys tangled together and about to fall over.

if it looked like that then it wasn't getting enough light. It is a climber though.

[wetfeet101b]

3. Leaves grow from the top of the pseudobulb, as well as from its base.
John

Ok, scratch the leaves from the base part. Upon closer inspection it looks like all the leaves are only coming from the top of the pseudobulbs.
The leaves that I originally thought were coming from the base were actually leaves from the lower pseudobulbs.

[Ron-NY]

that's normal...didn't even note your statement.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I just got one of these in May and it is already growing up and out of the pot. I wonder, does it need to be wrapped (coached) around itself to keep it from going out of the pot? Mine appears to be growing on one side of the pot more than the other.

Cheers,
BD

[Molly Taco]

Mine is in a basket hanging sideways. It has been in the same basket for 4 years. The blooms are always close to the interior.
Cin

[hera]

I have one and the advice I got was to set it deeper into the pot to keep the plant growing into a specimine size. In other words, don't remove any pseudobulbs, just set it into a deeper pot. Also don't pot up less than three pseudobulbs if you are going to split it. Mine was growing longer and longer and I split it into smaller growths and I set it back considerably for bloom time. It has been struggling ever since. It needs the older growths to support the new growths. One other thing. The new roots are concealed under the strawlike wrapping under the pseudobulbs. With the right amount of moisture they will begin to grow.