3 Questions about 4 Dendrobiums

[Kittyfrex]

Oh, i do have a cymbidium. Gonna overwinter outside for the first time (didn't know last year, put it in a shaded place in my greenhouse; only took it out around march). Roots have exploded since.
I think i got a sarcochilus together with my D. kinganium and lindleyi, but it started yellowing outside, so i took it inside to chill a bit until i discover a reson.

Edit: Just checked Laelia anceps online. -5? Really?

[Roberta]

Cyms really do want bright light to bloom. And (except for the hard-leaved tropical types) very durable, if acclimated, even -2 C won't bother them. Here are some notes from a southern California commercial grower, when there was an unusually cold episode. Ice Two weeks later, blooming Cyms (including that big orange one on the web page) were in a show! No damage at all.

That winter, I got several nights of frost, but only down to 0 or -1, not nearly as cold as what this grower experienced. (And I lost only 1 or 2 plants near the edge of the shade cloth)

[Kittyfrex]

Ice is not really a problem for me, as it would need to blow impossibly strong during rain for the droplets even reaching where the they are supposed to overwinter. A pretty damn big overhang protects them, as well as a wall to the north, but the winter sun angles to hit that same wall most of the day. I think they will do fine, considering we had a similar winter to what you just said. Should i leave them bone dry, or use some warmer days to moisten each? They are growing in sphagnum (bark ain't cutting it, dries to fast, and most mixes just rot my roots for a reson unknown to me).

[Roberta]

Cyms don't like to be dry ever. Winter wet is fine. I grow mine in small bark (which stays pretty wet). They even seem to tolerate the situation where the bark has broken down to "mud" if not for too many months. They really grow more like terrestrials than epiphytes. For most of them, winter is bloom time. Less fertilizer maybe. but definitely keep watering. Mine get watered at least twice a week, unless it is raining (which can be for several days in a row... WET( . They benefit from as much winter light as they can get. (My yard gets much less light in winter, they still bloom, but likely would do even better if it were brighter) Most of the hybrids need a cool-down in the fall to bloom. Ideal is warm days and chilly nights. (Where I live, that happens naturally so I don't have to do anything special, likely for you too). There are hybrids that are bred to be "warmth tolerant" which means "hot humid nights tolerant" - I have never met a Cymbidium, except maybe some high elevation Asian species, that isn't "warmth tolerant" - 40 deg C in summer is fine with a little shading. It is that fall cooling (12-15 deg C difference between day and night) that is difficult to achieve in most places for a month or more... where I live, it just happens.

[Kittyfrex]

Wait wait wait, i am ignoring everything else for a second; you keep it in rain? In those temps? We are still talking orchids, right?

My cymb is in an odd mixture of a lot of moss, pine needles, bark and twigs. I am not exactley sure where i found that recepie, but i can tell you that the roots like it. I just repotted it a few months ago, as it was too heavy and i missed the timing, so it just...fell out. No damage what so ever, roots popping everywhere, as if it was born in that new pot.

[Roberta]

Cymbidiums are some of the toughest orchids. I put them on the patio, keep them watered, and they bloom profusely. As long as they don't get hard frost (not a problem for either of us) they are happy with whatever Mother Nature throws at them. Summer heat, winter cold, rain... Where I live, I think they are easier to grow than roses... and are happy under pretty much the same conditions. In late winter/early spring they bloom when everything else is bare. When they are growing fast (spring/summer) they do appreciate some extra fertilizer (though don't insist on it). I put a bit of time-release fertilizer pellets on top of the medium in spring, then I don't even have to think about it... usually the stuff is good for about 6 months, so in the fall they're getting less fertilizer with no effort.

[Kittyfrex]

I have a feeling i will be getting some cymbidiums in near future.....

Just to be clear, dendrobs like it dryer come winter time?

[Roberta]

Except for the tropical Dens (which don't like cold at all) most like a reduction in water. If you have humidity and overnight dew, they don't need much water. (I don't, so I do still water though not as often).My Den kengianums and speciosums get rained on, still bloom fine. I am convinced that the chill is enough of a trigger for blooming. (For those who have to grow indoors and can't achieve the cold nights, drying may serve the same purpose). Some are more fussy than others. Den lindleyi seems to really need to be dry, others not so much. I take my cue from a large commercial species grower near me - similar climate... He organizes plants by temperature needs. So all the Dens are in with everything else needing the cool-intermediate temperatures. With some 750,000 plants, he can't move them around to "not water certain plants in winter" - the whole shadehouse gets the same treatment (and goes down to ambient temperatures at night) and they bloom anyway. Most, though, are mounted -so they dry quickly. Potted ones might be fussier. I don't have THAT many, but enough to not want to move things around... and most bloom for me too. So I do think it's the cold that does it.

[Kittyfrex]

By tropical dens, you mean something like sa-nook? I have one of those and it's not particulary happy with me

Dens should do just fine then, i suppose. Just leave 'em in the sun so they don't stay soggy.

I still think i'll be getting more of both with time; parhpas test out a zygo as well. Failed miserably indoors; similar problem to my odontoglossum.

[Roberta]

I'm not familiar with that particular Den. In general, those of the Den-phal type (Den. bigibbum a major parent), the "antelope" type, and the nigrohirsute types (black hairs on the canes) come from low elevations in the tropics, love heat but also a lot more light than Phalaenopsis. So they're hard to grow well in the house (not enough light) and outside is too cold most of the time. The ones that do best for me are the ones from the temperate areas of Australia (kingianum, speciosum, tetragonum as parents, there are lots of hybrids in this group) and also the ones from the higher elevations of the Himalaya foothills, northern India, mountains of southeast Asia, and southeast/south-central China. There are lots of interesting species in that group. Den nobile and its hybrids fall into the category, but there are lots more. (I'm a species nut...)