Dendrobium Nobile Repotting

[BrandonMD]

My Dendrobium Nobile has gone crazy over the last few months. It's been growing rapidly, sent roots everywhere and has canes growing off of canes. It needs to be repotted but I don't know where to begin. Should I use the same pot? What should the media consist of? Do I cut off the cane below the roots and plant it in media? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Roberta]

Those new growths with the roots are keikis - they can be separated from the main plan by gently twisting, and be planted separately. You can get lots of small, weak plants that way, to share with friends. Or you can just leave them. They are quite capable of blooming left just as they are, so when the plant blooms you can have flowers on multiple canes making a beautiful display. If it were my plant, I'd rather have a large, strong plant than lots of small, weak ones. When you water, you can spray those aerial roots. It isn't crowded in the pot (Dendrobiums tend to have a fairly small footprint) so as long as the mix isn't broken down, I'd just enjoy it and let it be wild. But that's my personal preference. If the mix is old, you could just repot in fresh medium (and let the aerial roots stay aerial, if the root system is good).

[estación seca]

The bark still looks good. The pot is a lot larger than I would have used but the plant is clearly happy. I would not repot the parent plant until the bark is breaking down. In general it's better to repot this kind of Den. when new roots are just forming. Keikis as Roberta mentioned can be separated whenever their roots are long enough. I agree, the plant will give a better flower show if you don't divide it.

[BrandonMD]

Thank you Roberta and estación seca for the advice. I was convinced it needed to be repotted. I will leave it be and let it grow naturally. Thanks again! I really appreciate it.

[DirtyCoconuts]

how and where does it live? indoors, dry, humid, etc?

I have a mixed past with nobiles and i now succeed best by mounting them to the inner trunk of trees but i cannot keep one alive in my "care" at all

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

how and where does it live? indoors, dry, humid, etc?

I have a mixed past with nobiles and i now succeed best by mounting them to the inner trunk of trees but i cannot keep one alive in my "care" at all

They just can't dry out in active growth. One day might hurt. You really do need to look at them every day.

[BrandonMD]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

how and where does it live? indoors, dry, humid, etc?

I have a mixed past with nobiles and i now succeed best by mounting them to the inner trunk of trees but i cannot keep one alive in my "care" at all

I have an indoor orchid rack with humidity trays. When an orchid is in bloom I move it to the main living area for display.
Temperature: 70-75F
Humidity: 60-70%
Airflow: Low
Light: Barrina T8 (24w) Full Spectrum (48 watts total per shelf)
Light time: 8hrs per day
Water: Once a week, drain.
Potting Medium: Bark

[estación seca]

Your Den. nobile will grow there but is unlikely to flower. They need very cool winter nights to induce flowering. To read more use Advanced Search on the term Yamamato Dendrobiums and my partial username estaci .

[BrandonMD]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Your Den. nobile will grow there but is unlikely to flower. They need very cool winter nights to induce flowering. To read more use Advanced Search on the term Yamamato Dendrobiums and my partial username estaci .

Thanks for the tip. Up to this point my goal has been to keep it alive, lol. Thankfully it appears to be growing well. In the fall I plan on moving it to the growing rack in the basement where it's much cooler.

[rbarata]

They need very cool winter nights to induce flowering.

12ºC and really bright light (no direct sun).