First winter with Dendrobiums

[Ross]

I've learned that if you keep giving it (anosmum) water/fertilizer, it will try to grow. But two things were working against that - room temps have dropped drastically (highs are nudging 68 degrees F during day and lows drop to approx 60 degrees F night) and day length changed drastically. I also cut back my artificial, supplemental light to 12 hours. I think if you start a dormancy cycle, it will respond and don't be alarmed if all the leaves turn yellow and fall off. That is good (at least for anosmum). I'm not real sure how to answer your question. I think you as gardener need to initiate the dormancy period. Once long ago, my supplier told me, start withholding water last day of October and start watering again when plant says it's ready. Believe me (I seem to say that a lot, don't I ) you will know when you plants are ready - they should start budding out new growths at base of old canes and should also (this is what it's all about) start out with new buds on the bare canes from newest growths at the leaf junctions. You'll see them. I choose to let them get pretty far along just to be sure they don't blast on me. I had two seasons of great cane growth and no flowers till I developed this regimen. If you are successful it should look like where the beautiful flowers appear on old, dead-looking canes.

All of the above is for full dormancy, drop-the-leaves, bare canes Dendrobiums. Not sure on the others.

[shakkai]

Ross, aren't you the one who was saying you couldn't grow Dens??? Or am I losing my mind (don't answer that!!)... Looks like you're doing fine to me!

So, you don't water at all from the end of October 'til the flowers are forming? I don't think any of mine are the full dormancy types. Even senile says it is only semi-deciduous. So, for brymerianum, jacobsonii,
senile, tetragonum, unicum, and venustum I reduce watering but not withhold it completely. For unicum, I reduce it again in January & February until I see new growths appear. By March and April here the days are really lengthening and the spring bulbs are blooming, so I don't think I should leave it any later.

Tetragonum, as you saw in the other thread, is in the process of forming flower buds, its also just starting a new cane... I don't know when I'm going to reduce the water on that one, but presumably it won't be while it is flowering... Although I did mount it shortly after it arrived, so its possible that it has been drier than it was in the pot, so maybe it thinks its already gone through a dry period?

The others I know are evergreen with no rest at all: agathodaemonis, cuthbertsonii, cyanocentrum, linguiforme, spectabile, toressae, and vexillarius. I just continue to look after them as I have been doing. These seem simple in comparison!

I think its going to take me a full season to get a feel for what's normal and what's not.