Daniel Ryerson Expansible Orchid Folder 
LET'S TALK ABOUT BACK BULB PROPAGATION 
Back bulbs with no live roots of their own are of no benefit to the mature 
plants. Instead, they expect the front bulbs to manufacture food and pass it 
back to them. Unless "shocked" into doing so - by being cut away from the 
plant - they seldom bother to grow a new lead from a live “eye”. Why should 
they, while they have the front bulbs to support them? 
An "eye" is a small triangular protrusion at the base of a bulb. Live eyes are 
light green or pinkish green. Dead eyes are black or brown, and withered. 
It is advisable to remove an extra bulb, if necessary, in order to have a live 
eye. For if it is properly propagated, this back portion will grow into a 
blooming size plant within two years - an effective way of increasing your 
stock of plants. 
HOW TO START BACK BULBS. As a rule, back bulbs should not be potted until they 
show signs of new growth. They should be placed in a shaded = almost dark - 
place, where they can be kept moist. If you have many bulbs, line them up in 
trays of granite chips or spagnum moss. These can be placed under benches of 
plants that are not receiving the heaviest watering. If the bulbs are buried, 
or kept soaking wev, they will rot instead of starting new growth. Some growers 
prefer to string them, upside down, on a wire line above the bench of plants, 
spraying with water occasionally. 
If starting only a few back bulbs, prop them in a large pot with a little crock 
and loose osmunda in the bottom. Make no attempt to "plant" the bulbs in the 
osmunda; merely set them in it. Set the pot in shaded place and spray lightly 
now and then to keep osmunda moist. Believe it or not, before many weeks have 
passed, the live eyes will be jutting out into new leads. 
If - as in the case of sturdy species and primary hybrids - the back bulbs are 
nice and plump, two or more have leaves, and new eyes are just ready to break 
into leads, you don't need to set the cuttings aside to root. Go right ahead 
and pot them up, just as you would the division of a mature plant. 
The only difficulty you will encounter is that the lack of roots is apt to make 
the cutting wobbly and hard to anchor in the osmunda. Wobdbliness discourages new 
root growth. Use one or more "hairpins" of slender but strong staking wire. These 
bent wire "hairpins" should be about three inches long. Put the loop of the pin 
over the middle portion of the rhizome and drive the ends down into the osmunda 
so that the rhizome rests levelly on the surface of the osmunda but is not buried. 
In addition, to this "pinning", stake the bulbs with leaves to an upright length 
of wire, just as you would in the case of a mature plant. 
Also, be equally careful not to overwater. At first there are no roots down in 
the osmunda, so a light spraying of the leaves now and then will be sufficient. 
After you see signs of new root growth on the surface of the osmunda, gradually 
increase the watering. An occasional bloom may appear within a year or less from 
the time the cutting is potted. This first bloom is seldom representative of 
what the plant wiil do on its next lead, for it may be premature, lacking the 
size and texture produced by a larger, stronger plant. 
