Dendrobium Thyrsiflorum

[Suresh Kalyanpur]

If some of you are familiar with the growing conditions of a Dendrobium Thyrsiflorum - light, temperature. watering, fertiliser dosage, humidity, rest period if any, etc. - would you please share it with me.

About six months ago along with about seven other varieties of dendrobiums I got this marture thyrsiflorum chid. I potted it in a plastic pot with slits/holes on the sides. The medium I used was charcoal, brick and tile pieces. The plant is watered every other day and given a weak weekly dose of fertiliser feed. It gets plenty of light and air circulation. Not much of direct sun - about an hour of the morning sun probably. All my other dendrobiums are showing new shoots and roots - some of them have also flowered. But this one has not; the leaves have slowly turned yellow and some have already fallen of. Twice small green shoots emerged from the midst of the medium but within a week the shoots turned yellow and perished.

So I decided to have a look at the roots. When I removed all the potting medium, except for a few roots which were white and healthy all the others were mushy and rotten. So I took the precaution of cutting all the rotten roots and am waiting to repot the plant once again.

Would love to have your valuable inputs. What am I doing wrong? Is this dendrobium species different from all my others?

thanks in advance.

[nutgirl]

Hi,

I don't have any personal experience with this species but did find a web site that has some information that may help to get you started. I'm sure others will start giving more of their experiences.

the site I found -http://www.species-specific.com/potm.html

Maureen

[Suresh Kalyanpur]

Thanks Maureen, it was of help.

Suresh

[rastafouni]

Hi Suresh,

I grow this specie and when I read how you grow it, it sounds almost the same than how I do. I can not find something wrong in what you have done and I think that we grow in a similar climate. Mine is grown is a wooden basket , with charcoal and receives fertilizer once a week and water every day. Grown outdoor with 50 % of direct sun light. But it is a fact that a few of the new shoots, sometimes, have leaves who turn yellow and died but most of them are pretty healthy. Maybe try to water every 2 days... but it is just an idea ....
I am far from a specialist but I think that your plant will be ok next season anyway. I can't tell you why but it happened to me with some plants and usually "new" , I mean plants that I just bought. Some Dendros that I have usually bought recentlly suddenly looked pretty died with absolutely no leaves during times when they should have plenty and , I really don't know why ,around spring new shoots arrived. And this time, the plants are going very well with hudge bloom.

[Suresh Kalyanpur]

Thanks Phillipe - that was encouraging to hear that I'm not doing anything wrong. What sort of fertiliser do you give the Den Thyrsiflorum? Do you give it a rest at any time of the year - watering and or fertiliser? Yes since our climates are the same it should match. How long have you had your plant and has it flowered?

[rastafouni]

Hi again Suresh,

as I wrote before, I'm not an expert but I had very strange experiences wtih Dendros. Sometimes they are looking like they're dead when they should be totally green. And suddenly, they strart again.... Just to tell you to don't give up, even if the plant is looking very bad. The first pict is a Dendro that everybody tought I was crazy to keep. For 7 months, it has absolutely no leaves and has no form of life. And , in March, a wonderful new shoot appears. Just to say again that even that all the shoots of year are in very bad condition, keep your plant !
I give mine 3 times a month a fertilizer NPK 20-20-20 and one time a month 10-52-17.
I bought mine in october last year and it bloomed in early february.
From December to April (at least) there is absolutely no rain in Thailand and this specie manages it in the wild.
For myself, I stopped giving fertilizer from December until new roots appear in spring. Anyway, you can water your Dendro everyday and give fertilizer or hormones every week, during this period they won't grow ( At least in Thailand for sure). I give all my Dendros a slight "rest" period but not too strong as the temperatures are quite high in Bangkok nearly all year round. But I know growers who give strict rest for 3 or 4 months. In Thailand D. thyrsiflorum blooms from February to April.
The second pict is a shoot of D. Thyrsiflorum of this year.

[Suresh Kalyanpur]

Thanks Philippe. I have not had any problems with my other dendrobiums - only this Thyrsiflorum and I am not giving up on it. I will send you some pictures in the next couple of days of my flowering dens. They all look very happy.
Suresh.