My first Dendrobium

[en3rmax]

Hi there OB,

I was in tesco's tonight doing my shopping and saw a big stack of new plants so i went over for a closer look and they were dendrobiums and at five pounds i thought what a bargain and got one, It's the first time i've seen this tesco's sell dendrobiums.

This is my first dendrobium as i've always brought phals, I think this plant looks great, Gave it a water with dyna-gro orchid pro fertilizer in it. It has another spike starting out of a nother cane too.

I've always wanted a dendrobium since i sent my friend one for her birthday last feb she's living in Oz at the moment. that's who got me into orchids, She sent me a phal easter 09 and another phal for my birthday in april.

What type of dendrobium is this?

[Bud]

Very nice ! The colors and the size of the bloom is just beautiful. It didnt come with a tag? You can ask the store if they have the grower's email and ask its name. Dont throw away your receipt.

[Wjs2nd]

It's a very nice looking den. Unfortunately, it can be hard to ID a orchid that doesn't come with a tag. Hence, the term NoID meaning "no" ID for this orchid.

[WhiteRabbit]

It's lovely!
it's a Phalaenthe type Den (or Den-phal)

[RosieC]

You won't get an ID out of Tescos, but all you need to know is that it is a Phalaenthe type of dendrobium as WhiteRabbit has said.

I have a NoID one of these which is very similar (not exact but definately similar). I originally cared for it just like my phals, but they need more light really. I found that to get it to flower again it needs some direct sunlight over the spring early summer and autumn. Adjust it to brighter light slowly in the spring and keep an eye on the colour. It can stand to get quite a red tint on the cane, but if the leaves significantly go red then it is probably a bit strong.

I was trying to keep mine a little more moist than Phals but I rotted the roots (it's recovering). They do prefer a bit more moisture but can cope well with Phal levels of watering if you are more comfortable with that. I'm now growing mine in Lecca and I can keep them a bit more moist that way.

[Skirril]

I got one of these from my local tesco too (on my birthday, the 6th Sep, great present!) A couple of buds blasted, but it has 2 more spikes coming

So glad to see this post as I was going to look up care instructions for it soon!

[en3rmax]

Thanku very much for the info Rosie, I'll keep an eye on the roots as the are much finer than a phals, i'll try and let it dry out a bit more before watering in winter.

It says on the care sticker not to water it much in the winter, it also says (tip) once flowering has finished cut stem - i take it that's the spike, 10cm and keep it in the cool for 3 - 4 weeks for it to rebloom, they make it sound so simple :-) can a den grow a side spike from a node like a phal?

[RosieC]

For me I keep my house quite cool in the winter anyway and I've never made any effort to keep them cooler. Some of my other types of Dens go out in the cool greenhouse (5C over winter) but the Den Phals like this stay in the house.

I do water less in the winter simply because it dries slower in the winter, but I don't really keep it any dryer, just water when it dries as normal... which is a longer period than in the summer.

This type of den does not need a true winter rest like some types do and generally does not loose it's leaves like others. A slow down in watering and a slight drop in temps is all that's needed.