Can this Dendrobium be saved

[CarolynYoung]

I got a Dendrobium as a gift at Christmas but the leaves and flowers fell off and one stem withered so much it bent over, the other stayed upright so I moved it to a better place (south facing bathroom window) to see what would happen. Now there is new growths along the upright stem with what look like mini roots and one at the very tip of the bent over stem. I have no idea what to do with it at all.

Sorry pics on their side no idea how to edit.

[aliceinwl]

You have a nobile type Dendrobium and it can be saved. It would probably be a good idea to repot it. The ones I’ve purchased have mostly come in a peat type media that invariably results in root death for me. I move mine into a small grade orchiata bark, perlite, charcoal mix.

The floppy cane may have rotted at the base, if this is the case it would be best to remove it when you repot. Assuming the firm cane is healthy, it should eventually send up new growths and roots.

The little growths on the stems are keikis: baby plants. Even if the firm cane doesn’t make it, these will. If the mother cane is healthy you can either leave them be or remove them and pot them up. If removing them, wait until the roots get at least 2.5-5cm in length and then twist them off. After they’re separated, let them sit for a day to allow the wound to heal and then pot them up.

If the mother cane is also dying (but it looks okay to me, leaf drop is normal on older canes) there should still be enough reserves the keikis can draw from to grow and form 2.5+cm roots. Once the roots are developed, they can be removed. I’ve had high mortality in keikis removed with small roots but almost no mortality in those with well developed roots.

Good luck!

[CarolynYoung]

Thank you, will try that. Problem with re potting just now is with Covid lockdown it’s difficult to get compost as garden centres are closed and as a key worker working extra shifts etc getting for any shopping is difficult, hopefully it will survive until this is all over and then I can get on with rescuing this plant. It was a gift from someone in my care so I really want it to survive.

[alecia11]

I agree with aliceinwl. I had a Dendrobium nobile that I thought was surely going to die, but it's still kicking a year later.

The problem I had, was that all of the roots died and I didn't pay enough attention to notice. Eventually all but 1 cane died, and the one that was left didn't have any leaves,. was shriveled up, and it didn't even have a keiki. I re-potted it as I noticed that the medium it was currently in was a little too old for my liking. So I cut off all of the dead roots, and since it didn't have roots left, I had to support it with one of those orchid spikes. For watering, I mainly just lightly watered it every few days since the water wasn't really needed down into the media.

About a week later tiny little roots started growing. Now I have a new growth that is currently 2 inches long, but the strange thing is, is that the roots are still little babies. I would have figured it would grow new roots before a new cane. Also, the old cane that was all shriveled up, never flowered, but now it has a tiny bud starting to grow out of the top node.

The moral of the story, if my orchid lived with no roots and a single shriveled cane, I think yours will be okay too. It just will take extra loving.

[DirtyCoconuts]

that orchid has a lot left...it just needs a bit of care.

take it out of that pot...even if you have to gather some rocks from outside and boil them, that is most likely not letting any air in and creating the problems..

is the bent area yellow? is if soft and mushy?

if so, id cut off, very gently dust cinnamon in the wound and if there is any viable stem above it, cut it there too and stick that next to the main stem.

i have a bunch of these and they get floppy when they are done blooming sometimes but that looks more severe than floppy.

I'd agree with leaving those keikis on as they are adding to the reserves of the mother too

[aliceinwl]

As a stop gap measure, if petstores are still open you can try getting the fir bark sold as substrate for reptiles. It tends to be a bit dusty so may need a rinse but should tide you over.

[ghuylar]

Everyone has given very good advice--but a word on repotting, you will not want to use compost or dirt. Most types of orchids are epiphytes which means they grow in the air on rocks and trees. Orchids should usually be potted in bark. You should be able to find a decent sized bag of orchid bark at your local Hardware store if they also have a garden section

[CarolynYoung]

Thank you everyone for all advice. I have a day off tomorrow so will try and source some bark and get the poor thing sorted. If the worst comes to the worst I have another orchid in proper orchid compost so I could probably put them together for the time being.

[CarolynYoung]

Kekis still growing and plant repotted, the roots were nice and white and looked ok but I’m not so sure about the bit at the base of the mother stem. Any thoughts. Sorry photos are sideways and I can’t find out how to rotate.

[SouthPark]

CY ----- does that pot have any drainage holes? If not, then it's often beneficial to use free draining pots when using bark media.