Bollopetalum Midnight Blue "Cardinal's Roost"
maybe 5 or 6 years ago i bought a nice little zygo hybrid orchid, Bollopetalum Midnight Blue "Cardinal's Roost" that was in bloom, and had the look of a zygo, but much smaller, in a little 3" pot with leads and 2 spikes, nice light scent, it was stunning and bushy... it was growing in moss. so i immediately re-potted into a bark mix. the poor thing slowly went downhill, the next few years i tried everything, more fertilizer, more water, letting it dry more, more light, more shade, some sun, no luck. one lead even died out, leaving just one other growing smaller growths each time. finally i all but gave up and shoved it out on the balcony. about 2 years ago. then i potted it back in some sphagnum moss after having some luck with phals and oncidiums. it grew bigger for the first time since i had it. the next 2 growths grew larger than the original blooming growths put together. but no flowers. last fall i sadly decided that if it did not bloom this winter, i was gonna give it away or toss it. then as spring neared, i figured if it sprouted a new growth, it was a goner, as i wasn't going to wait another year. meanwhile it got pushed to the back of the shelf... and when i spotted the new growth coming out, already about 3 inches tall, i decided to junk it. not sure what distracted me, but i sat it back on another shelf and forgot to toss it. a week later, i went to water the plants and realized it was still there, and when i picked it up to carry it to the trash, i noticed a stem coming out of the new growth. with buds. a week later, it had a second stem. with buds. now a month later, it's blooming out. 4 buds each stem, the scent hasn't really kicked in much yet, as the flowers have only been open a couple days. i don't know much about bollea, but the zygo parent likes cool/cymbidium culture. this definitely can handle some winter cold. and wants really bright light. does really well in sphagnum moss too, likes it wetter than most other orchids i think. even in the cold. i didn't let it dry out much this winter. i was surprised by how small the new growth was when it sprouted the flower stems. the bulb was not even distinguishable. the leaves were still tightly packed together. now that i've found it's sweet spot, i am NEVER going to move it again!
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