dendrobium spent leaf stalks - Orchid Board

JessicaR · #1 06-25-2011, 06:06 PM

O.K. here's my problem. I have a dendrobium in a 4 inch
clay pot. There are two 12 inch leaf stalks. One stalk had a spike that was cut off at the top of the leaf stalk before I got it. The second stalk had a spike with unopened flowers. The flowers bloomed and I enjoyed them till they fell off 2 months late. Then I cut the spike at the bottom like the other one and put candle wax on the cut. Now I noticed that there are two new leaf stalks growing from the bottom of the two 12" leaf stalks. Will new spikes come out of the older leaf stalks or do I cut them down to the bottom and just allow the two new baby leaves to grow up and give off a new spike of flowers.? Also..the roots are skinniny thin white strings. They are not plump or green like my phals. Is this O.K.? Or is there something wrong with the roots. I wait till the orchid is dry before watering as the instructions said. Thanks for answering my 2 questions. Jessica from Florida

fishmommy · #2 06-25-2011, 07:37 PM

new spikes will not come out of the spent stalks but it is best for the health of the plant to leave at least 3 of them on the plant and not cut them off.

Den roots do look different from phal roots - white strings sounds about right

RosieC · #3 06-26-2011, 04:51 AM

The older stalks (we call them canes) on Dendrobiums hold energy reserves for the plant to use as it grows. Cutting them off could make the plant very weak. Also the more you have, the more new canes are likely to grow from their base.

Some Dendrobiums can actually flower from the old canes. I have the sort which most people think don't do that (known as a Den Phal hybrid), but mine have done several times.

As fishmommy said the roots on Dendrobiums don't look like Phal roots. They are much much thinner and are white not green. It sounds like yours are fine.

If you are able to post a picture of your dendrobium then we should be able to help you with what type of dendrobium it is. The dendrobium genus is one of the biggest and there are lots of different sub types in it which need very different care to each other. Some need a winter rest and some don't.

See the link in my signature if you need help posting pictures. If you need any further help just send me a message using the PM link also in my signature.

dounoharm · #4 06-26-2011, 08:13 AM

i dont cut the old canes on my phal type dendrobiumbs, sometimes they actually spike with flowers....i wait till they turn yellow and are obviously dead to cut them, then cut them at the bottom of the plant....gl

pedidiva · #5 06-26-2011, 03:16 PM

Dendrobium Care

pedidiva · #6 06-26-2011, 03:18 PM

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...endrobium.html

JessicaR · #7 06-27-2011, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishmommy

new spikes will not come out of the spent stalks but it is best for the health of the plant to leave at least 3 of them on the plant and not cut them off.

Den roots do look different from phal roots - white strings sounds about right

Dear fishmommy: Thanks so much for your advise. It was very helpful to me as I am a first time orchid buyer and know nothing. I will do as you say. And thanks for telling me that my white thin stings are O.K. roots/ JessicaR

Gage · #8 06-28-2011, 12:08 AM

I have a NOID Den that blooms on average 2-3 times per cane. Now that it has about 8 canes it is blooming almost constantly. By the time 2 canes are finishing blooming, another one puts out a spike! I don't touch the old canes ever. This is why: I had a den I thought I had killed and was dead, with no leaves for months, then it put out 3 keikis!

JessicaR · #9 07-01-2011, 04:56 PM

Dear Gsge: Thanks for answering my question. I now know not to use the word stalk but I don't know what a
keikis is, Explain please. Thanks. Jessica R

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #10 07-01-2011, 05:11 PM

"Keiki" is a Hawaiian word for "baby".

It is a shoot that grows along the nodes (little bumps that are on each section of a cane) up the length of the cane.

If a keiki is able to grow and survive, it will eventually become a new plant which you can eventually separate from the mother plant.

A keiki are not the growths that emerge from the bottom-most part of the cane, closest to where the roots are. Those are new lead growths.

Lead growths will not become a separate plant like the keikis eventually do.

In Dendrobiums, keikis are usually (not always) a result of improper culture that doesn't outright kill the plant. It just means they're in a stressful situation that they can cope with, but would rather prefer to be in a different situation.

One perfect example in my opinion is the species Dendrobium kingianum. Den. kingianum is a species that originates from the cooler parts of Australia, and very often grows in large stands on rocks. When this particular species is grown as an epiphyte and/or grown in warmer temperatures throughout the year, they tend to keiki like crazy. When they are grown in cooler conditions and given a drier, substantially cooler winter period and grown as a lithophyte (a plant that grows on rocks or between rock crevices), Den. kingianum will either stop producing keikis altogether or drastically reduce keiki production making it a far rarer occurrence than it is reputed to be in cultivation.