Stressed Dendrobrium

[Anne McGee]

My Den. Johanis 'Nigresens"xDen. Choc. Cherries has beautiful blossoms but no leaves. it is an antelope type, aka section spatulata. Someone who responded to a picture of my plant suggested I start a new thread on stressed dens to get some help. A

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Please post pics.

Some general info on Antelope Dens:

They grow in intermediate to warm temperatures (55 F - 90 F).

Lighting should be bright indirect as per Cattleyas.

Moderate to high humidity (50% - 90%).

Moderate to good air movement.

Grow in as small a pot as possible for the roots. Do not give the roots too much space.

Use medium grade pieces of bark. Do not use small grade. They like lots of air to their roots.

Water 3 - 4 times a week. If temperatures get too warm for their liking water more often.

They are "evergreen" Dens and many of the canes should not go deciduous.

Antelope Dens don't have obvious dormancy periods. They just slow down growth during the winters, but they often continue to grow. The most dramatic amount of growth occurs during the spring/summer/early fall months.

With a pic, I can be more specific about your problem.

---------- Post added at 08:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:28 AM ----------

I should mention, when you have a plant with a problem, post a pic of the entire plant, not just the flowers.

A pic of the flowers just shows me how pretty the flowers are, not what might be the problem with your plant.

[RosieC]

Just a note, as I said on your other post about this. While I agree with Philip about the light, I've found my recovering one has done better while recovering if kept in Phal type light. It was happy in brighter when healthy but seems to be doing better in Phal light for the last year as it recovers from being leafless.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I have one that's pretty ruined and making a slow recovery, and this one is growing in Onc type light. But then again, when it was in relative good health, it was growing in lower lighting than what some of the other larger Antelope Dens were growing in.

Try growing yours in about Onc type light.

Your Dendrobium can still recover.

It also can still photosynthesize. The canes can provide a limited amount of photosynthesis, and so can the roots. This is often the reason why I advise using clear plastic pots - so the roots can provide a boost with the photosynthesis should there be any problems with the leaves.

Orchids are naturally designed to be somewhat weedy in behavior, (probably because their ancient ancestors were most likely weedy).

[RosieC]

Thinking about it, I wonder if mine was drying too fast in the higher light, and I'm keeping up with watering better in the lower light

[Anne McGee]

King of Orchids...Here is a pic of my poor, beautiful Den

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Thinking about it, I wonder if mine was drying too fast in the higher light, and I'm keeping up with watering better in the lower light

I don't know. Maybe, it's possible.

Some Antelope Dens burn under too bright a light. That's why I mentioned to Anne that they were general requirements, not specific ones. They are specific to Antelope Dens, but not specific to each species or hybrid.

Dendrobium stratiotes, (which was the one I messed up with), grows in Onc to Cattleya type light very well. It did terribly under Vanda type light.

Most Antelopes I've grown cannot be grown as bright as a Vanda, but many can take Cattleya type light quite well.

---------- Post added at 09:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:57 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Anne McGee

King of Orchids...Here is a pic of my poor, beautiful Den

Pot's too big, and it's grown in moss.

Reduce pot size drastically. Use a clear plastic pot, (either homemade or store bought). Use medium grade bark.

Do not use moss with these kinds of Dendrobiums. They like a lot of air around the roots.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Pot's too big, and it's grown in moss.

Reduce pot size drastically. Use a clear plastic pot, (either homemade or store bought). Use medium grade bark.

Do not use moss with these kinds of Dendrobiums. They like a lot of air around the roots.

Agreed.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Reasons not to use moss with Antelope Dens:

1. Antelope Dens like a lot of air to the roots.

2. Moss compacts too easily over time, thus reducing the amount of available air that gets to the roots.

3. Moss retains too much water for far too long. Too much water makes cells burst and can suffocate the roots.


The potting media needs to drain, and drain fast.

---------- Post added at 09:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 AM ----------

Btw, just so that it's out there...

I experimented a little bit with the heat and cold tolerances of Antelope Dendrobiums, that's why they were damaged, not because I couldn't grow them right.

I wanted to see if they were able to be grown outdoors here all year round, because I was quite frankly very surprised by how cool they were able to handle it, (down to as low as 50 F for some species - not all). They couldn't. They were not able to tolerate our cold winter nights that got down to 36 F - 45 F.

Excessive neglect when it got too warm is not an option either. They are not hot growers. Anything above 90 F is cause for due diligence.

[Anne McGee]

Thanks! Actually, the pot in the picture is only to show off the plant. The moss is also decorative. The plant is in a small pot and planted in lava rock. Something else happened to this Den before I got it. Anne