cherlon - Orchid Board

cherlon · #1 09-20-2006, 11:39 AM

Hi. I'm new to the Orchid world, and I need some help. I have a dendrobium that is quite rootbound,and the potting medium will not hold any water. The plant is still in flower and sending out new roots from the top of the pot. May I repot at this point, or should I wait. Also, should I water more frequently. Thanks for any help and advice.

cb977 · #2 09-20-2006, 05:03 PM

Hi Cherlon and welcome to OrchidBoard

I'm sure we'd all like to know a bit more about your plant and you, of course

What type of dendrobium is it? Is there a name tag on it? What is it potted in now?

The usual rule is to wait until it's finished blooming before repotting.

A bunch of us meet in the chat room each night around 8:00pm est. Feel free to stop in anytime...you'll have a nice time and hopefully, learn a little something about the care of your orchids

justatypn · #3 09-20-2006, 06:34 PM

Aboard Cherlon, glad you have joined the OB, a great place to hang out, ask away and answer as well. We are all here to learn and no question is foolish to ask. As for your dend if you repot it, wait until it has completed its blooming cycle. They should be potted in porous and free to drain media. They have water storage organs called pseudo bulbs or canes. If they are plump and not wrinkled the dend is definitely getting plenty of water. With orchids they do not like to be repotted for a couple years’ intervals. Suggestively, you will find many of the OB members use plastic clear pots and the chids like it as well...guess you could say the roots like to see what is going on on the other side of the pot

... I am sure other members will add to this posting, if you can take some pictures so we can enjoy the bloom as well. Take advantage of the gallery,

says it all...keep us posted.

ScottMcC · #4 09-20-2006, 07:29 PM

furthermore...orchids like to be potted quite tightly compared with other plants. underpotted is better than overpotted, and you definitely want the water to just pour right out when you water--it shouldn't retain much at all.

cherlon · #5 09-20-2006, 08:13 PM

Thanks everyone for the advice. One dend I have is "Jungle Monarch". The flowers are vanilla scented, and there are two flower stalks. This is the one that I needed advice on. The other dend I have is "Lim Chong Min". This one is getting new growth as well. I'm pretty excited about growing these beautiful plants. Do they require a rest period after flowering, and where do I cut off the spent flowers?

Sandra Billeter · #6 09-21-2006, 02:03 PM

Cherlon, many Dens like to be root bound and do better that way. Most of our Dens have put out lots of aerial roots and they are very healthy. We have even started using expanded clay balls as the only medium in many of them and are also using "mesh pots" for some of them. I've attached a pic of just such a case. The new growth on the left is about 8 inches high and the plant also has a spike with 9 blooms about to open. This will be the second round of blooms in the last 4 months.

We read a posting earlier in the year that said Dens seemed to do better if bloom booster fertilizer (low N) was used all the time. We have been doing that for about 6 months and we feel that our Dens are doing much better. We intend to continue doing that.

When the blooming has finished, cut the spike all the way back to the cane.

Hope this helps.

Sandra in South Carolina

justatypn · #7 09-21-2006, 05:15 PM

Sandra, what an awesome happy happy happy dend. By gosh I think you got it...great job