Dendrobium - how to look after it - what to do with it?

[shadytrake]

I like to grow my Dens in semi-hydro and they love it too.

Below is a link to an old photo of some of my Dens (they are much bigger now). I would gently try to train them up with a wire cage or something.

They make a great show when they are upright and blooming like crazy. I will try to find one of mine blooming great.

14 Hours in the Greenhouse Yesterday / SPIKES!

Definitely need a winter rest to encourage the blooms for next season. You are at the right time to start it. If you do s/h, just a quick mist/squirt of water about every other week. For orchid bark probably once a month until the buds start to form again and new growth starts.

I'll take a pic of mine this weekend. It got confused and is budding out again so it is getting a little more water. After it is done, I will start the winter rest again.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Stop watering and fertilizing, and mist once a week.

The dormancy should last 3 to 4 months.

[Gin]

Good Info. Philip right to the point ..

[19ninety]

Excellent, I'll hold off until around the end of Feb/March before starting watering and feeding again? That'll be around 3/4 months, looking forward to seeing how this all goes

[gnathaniel]

If you haven't already, check out that link I put in my original response. The Yamamoto folks definitely know nobile hybrid cultivation.

The section on watering is succinct but gives you the details you need to know about moisture throughout the year. The Yamamoto site is pretty clear on temperature being the primary variable controlling flower production, with water and fertilizer being somewhat linked to the temps you maintain.

In any case, your plant looks really healthy and it's unlikely to die if you don't give it a proper winter rest. Most of the nobile hybrids I've grown are pretty easygoing about culture, short of drowning the roots or total dessication (some of the species can be a little finickier). Put it in a cool room or drafty window for a month or two and you'll probably see buds popping out all over, water restriction or no. Good luck with it, these are great plants!

--Nat