damn dendrobiums

[Matt]

does anyone have any advice on why i can grow almost any plant except dendrobiums. all of mine start out looking nice and end up leafless sticks.. obviously im doing something wrong. anyone have any good advice to give me? leaves end up getting dark patches and drop. please help

[Matt]

ok also any help for vandas would be cool too.

[cb977]

Some Dens are supposed to end up as leafless sticks...which Dens have you tried? How did you grow them?

The key to vandas is this: WATER and lots of it!
When watering or spraying the roots, make sure they get wet enough so that the white outer layer becomes transparent and you can see green. It may take a few tries to get there. Spray really well for a few minutes, if it doesn't turn green then wait about 15 minutes and go back and do it again

Once you get to this point, you shouldn't have to do the repeat-the-process part of it anymore

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

As far as Dendrobiums are concerned I would agree with Susanne.

But for Vandas...here's the simplest way I can think of for growing them.

If you have a log or access to one that doesn't smell all chemically from when the tree was alive. Mount the Vandas onto them without moss and water every other day or every day depending on how hot and humid your conditions are.

To give you an idea, I grow my intermediate growing Vandas outdoors on trees here. My Vanda coerulea just starting pushing out new roots and is starting to cling to one of the main branches. So far the only problem I've had was with Vanda luzonica getting sunburn.

[cb977]

LOL...I automatically gave instructions for growing vandas here in Florida

Here, they need to be watered at least once a day, more in summer

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

As far as Dendrobiums are concerned I would agree with Susanne.

But for Vandas...here's the simplest way I can think of for growing them.

If you have a log or access to one that doesn't smell all chemically from when the tree was alive. Mount the Vandas onto them without moss and water every other day or every day depending on how hot and humid your conditions are.

To give you an idea, I grow my intermediate growing Vandas outdoors on trees here. My Vanda coerulea just starting pushing out new roots and is starting to cling to one of the main branches. So far the only problem I've had was with Vanda luzonica getting sunburn.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Oh, and Vandas like as much light as they possibly can get without getting sunburn. And they can take a lot of light. I would say full morning sun.

[Matt]

cool thanks for all the vanda help i think that bout covers it. back to dendrobiums, i am not sure what kind they are as they were all gifts. but ive tried in moss, bark, coconut husk and lava rock. what causes the leaves to turn colors and fall off? the latest one i have is in lava rock so im pretty sure its not too wet.

[Becky15349]

Many dends get dark spots on the leaves and eventually lose the leaves - this is normal, do not be concerned about it. It is a natural process that the plant goes through while it is gearing up to produce another cane. It does not need all the leaves on the previous cane, so it will get rid of some or all of them depending on your conditions. For other people, they do not lose any leaves - again, it just depends on how you grow them. Main idea here is don't worry about it!! Don't over water them - they have thin roots; best to keep all epiphytic orchids a little on the drier side. Dends need to be kept cold from roughly october-january in order to initiate spikes...cold meaning maybe down to 45F if you can do it. Again, don't worry about your leaves, this is nothing unusual for dends. Good luck! Dends are among the easiest of orchids to grow, requiring little care and thriving on neglect, so it sounds like you are doing everything right!!

[Matt]

well thanks, lets hope so.