Dendrophylax lindenii new root

[gravotrope]

Rapeseed cakes really work, I have noticed a large improvement in their vigor once I started wiring them to the mounts in January. And so does letting the plant dry out during the day as long as it still has very humid nights +75%. I've come up with this method as it is a good way to discourage rot. It looks like you have three on there, and that one on the top looks like the stem has died but I hope not.

[GardenTheater]

Originally Posted by ovanoshio

Rapeseed cakes really work, I have noticed a large improvement in their vigor once I started wiring them to the mounts in January. And so does letting the plant dry out during the day as long as it still has very humid nights +75%. I've come up with this method as it is a good way to discourage rot. It looks like you have three on there, and that one on the top looks like the stem has died but I hope not.

Ovanshio, thanks for looking. I think there's three on there also. Yes, the center of the one on top looks rotted where it should be sending out new roots. Is that what you mean by a dead stem? I've got to do a better job of making sure plants are dry by night by watering them earlier in the morning.

What fert were you using before the rapeseed cakes? I read about two successful growers using whatever fert they used on their other orchids and the one from Chicago who used the rapeseed cakes. He did have an amazing batch of roots and blooms. I'm using a fert that has a full complement of micronutrients in addition to NPK. It's the same stuff I use on the Angracoids and other orchids. I wish I could do a test and control group on the fert. I've taken courses in experimental design and statistics so the lack of data is killing me. I even have Maruta rapeseed cakes in my Amazon shopping cart. If you think they'll make a difference, I'll hit the buy key.

---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------

Ok, I saw you used the words "really work" so I bought them. .

[gravotrope]

Yes before January I only had experience growing D. funalis and used Better Gro orchid plus 20-14-13 (once or twice a month at half strength) with micronutrients on all of my plants. After January 1 when my sallei and lindenii arrived I decided to change it up with the seed cakes but only wired them to half of my plants (meaning 1 sallei mount and 1 lindenii mount.) (My funalis got ignored once I realized that it was sending out a spike that became a keiki instead of a bloom, and once it is big enough to twist off the mother I will be giving them both cakes.) They all grew but the ones with the cakes had more growth and new roots appearing than the others. They were basically supposed to have a more dormant period so I was surprised when the ones with cakes put out new roots. Although with constant nutrients and the daily watering it makes sense. The ones that had the same regimen as my other plants...the Orchid plus with monthly liquid seaweed did not grow at the same rate.

As long as you have healthy root tips your plant is happy and you can experiment a little more with letting it dry out...remember in their natural habitat it doesn't rain every day it just gets that humidity burst at dusk and dawn and manages to survive just fine on that. I've also sprayed a mixture of water + 3% hydrogen peroxide on them to keep the seed cakes fresh. (I did that when one started to smell like cheese after some fruit flies found it, but apart from that everything's fine and it didn't hurt the plants at all.)

Our orchid society has someone coming to discuss leafless orchids in September. I wish it wasn't so far away...but I will be taking notes!

[Calvin Lenhart]

Orchidweb.com sells a slab mounted Dendrophylax lindenii if you want to start with something bigger.

---------- Post added at 04:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 PM ----------

Orchidweb.com sell Dendrophylax lindenii on slabs if you want to start with something bigger.

[GardenTheater]

Originally Posted by Calvin Lenhart

Orchidweb.com sells a slab mounted Dendrophylax lindenii if you want to start with something bigger.

---------- Post added at 04:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 PM ----------

Orchidweb.com sell Dendrophylax lindenii on slabs if you want to start with something bigger.

Thanks for letting me know. The one I have, that is actually growing, is adding another root, but is also losing a root. A bigger one would be nice. In a moment of insanity, I got another leafless one called microcoelia. It's has a lot more root mass and the roots span about 5 inches. Think I'll get more growth from that one as my conditions are more suitable for it. However, I do like the lindenii bloom better than all the other leafless ones even funalis and microcoelia.

[Calvin Lenhart]

Someone needs to cross Oecoclades maculata with Dendrophylax lindenii. Then we could have a hardy fast growing terrestrial invasive orchid with a rare bloom.

[disalover]

Wish that they were available in south africa

[GardenTheater]

Originally Posted by disalover

Wish that they were available in south africa

OrchidWeb has Cites approval to ship them internationally. The catch is that the minimum order needs to be US$2500. Sometimes people do group ordering to meet a minimum. They can be different orchids so it's possible. Here are links to the orchid and terms. Just tempting you so you'll be ready to order when the snow melts in Minnesota and they can ship in March.


https://www.orchidweb.com/products/d...chid~1151.html

https://www.orchidweb.com/termsandco...de%20the%20U.S.

[Calvin Lenhart]

I was keeping my dendrophylax lindenii outside since I live in its native area. Something ate off the tips of all four roots. Probably either a bird or squirrel. It was also pulled off of its slab. If it survives this I would be surprised.

[GardenTheater]

Originally Posted by Calvin Lenhart

I was keeping my dendrophylax lindenii outside since I live in its native area. Something ate off the tips of all four roots. Probably either a bird or squirrel. It was also pulled off of its slab. If it survives this I would be surprised.

So sorry to hear that. Hope pulls through.