Den going downhill? - Orchid Board

JenHowlett · #1 03-09-2010, 08:40 PM

I'm wondering if perhaps one of my new nobile Dens is going downhill. Its a young plant (three pseudobulbs with three leaves) potted in coarse orchid bark in a 4" terra cotta clay orchid pot. It lives on a south/east windowsill(there's two windows in the corner). Its got two same-sized, though slightly different hybrid Den buddies (one of which is spiking- it'll have two flowers and its only 6in tall!) living under the same conditions in the same window. I water/fertilize weekly and mist daily.

Anyways, the pseudobulbs are slightly shriveled (just enough to show wrinkles, though still green and bulbous) and the leaves appear as if they may be in the early stages of turning yellow (the entire leaf, they seem to be a slightly lighter shade of green than the others). I'd post pictures, but the lighter green shade won't be distinguishable in photos. The roots are intact and while still developing, in good shape with no rot, etc.

I know they're deciduous, but the other two are quite happy, thus the concern.

Any thoughts? Oh, and overwatering is definitely NOT an issue- its coarse bark and even after soaking for half and hour the medium is almost entirely dry the following day (hence the frequent misting).

Zoi2 · #2 03-10-2010, 08:23 PM

A 4 inch pot sounds a bit large for 3 pbulbs. Are you sure the middle of your potting medium is dry before you rewater?
What are the names of your hybrids, they may require different culture.
Joann

JenHowlett · #3 03-11-2010, 02:23 PM

The hybrids are:

Den Love Memory 'Fit' (photo left)
Den Oriental Smile 'Fantasy' (photo center)
Den Red Emperor 'Prince' (photo right)

Red Emperor 'Prince' is the one with the yellowing leaves (which are just becoming visible in photos), while you'll notice that Love Memory 'Fit' has two developing flower spikes. I attached a photo of all three of the Dens together (with an apple for size perspective) and also a photo of the windows they all live in until the weather is sufficiently warm to be moved outside. The left window faces east while the one on the right faces south, so they get good sun throughout the day though it obviously varies a little depending on the time of day (thus the partial shading).

As you can see the pots are pretty small and in good proportion to the plant size. As far as watering concerns, you'll notice its a coarse bark and given the pot size it will certainly dry quickly. One day when I wanted to check on roots and bark dampness, I very carefully picked off chunks (without disturbing the roots) to about halfway to the bottom of the pot. The roots are in good shape and the bark was entirely dry despite having been soaked two days prior (that's when I instituted frequent misting).

orkie · #4 03-13-2010, 09:54 AM

I have 2 of these hybrids (the Love Memory and Red Emporer). Being hybrids, they don't always do things at the same time, like lose leaves or make flowers, so I wouldn't worry about losing leaves on one when the others are not. When it gets warm out, I'd put them outside once temps don't drop below 50 in the spring and leave them out until temps are getting to low 40 s in the fall. My Love Memory had 98 flowers this year after that treatement! It's one of my fave plants and smells like smarties.