Dendrobium Fell Out of The Pot! - Orchid Board

RandomGemini · #1 03-31-2014, 04:11 PM

So I picked up this great Dendrobium NOID (I think it's Dendrobium Pretty Doll) at Trader Joe's. I went to water it today and as I went to set it down, my hand slipped and I grabbed the plant, instead of the pot and the whole thing came out out of the pot, then almost all of the medium, which I thought might be garden soil, then later thought "No... they wouldn't plant an orchid in dirt so it must be peat moss." now appears to be garden soil, fell out onto the floor.

So... I've got no choice but to repot it and it's in bloom!

On the plus side, my dogs thought this was hilarious and kept trying to run in to steal the pieces of the broken pot.

I was thinking I would do a mix of bark like I do with my oncidiums, with some spaghnum moss on the top of the pot for a few days to help the bark keep in some moisture. Would that keep it moist enough? Or should I treat it like I would one of my paphs? I have them in 75% spagh 25% bark.

Also... am I going to lose the blooms? If so, I'd better take a bunch of pics now. Thank you so much!

WhiteRabbit · #2 03-31-2014, 08:10 PM

Yikes!

Is it a nobile type?

Optimist · #3 03-31-2014, 08:10 PM

I have always repotted with blooms on and have not lost any. It is when the buds are forming that you would not re pot. I don't know about other dends, but the culture changes for nobile. Spring and summer, lots of water and lower light, fall and winter, less water and bright light. Then there is that winter dormancy phase as well.

I would not use sphagam moss at all. I don't know. I just don't like it.

RandomGemini · #4 03-31-2014, 08:43 PM

No, it's not a nobile. This pic will be small, but it's this one:

I believe it's a den phal? Really new to these. My plan was to leave it alone for a while and see what it does. Wasn't planning to repot this for a while.

I can do it in bark only. I have been put a layer of spag on top after repotting my orchids to help the bark along with keeping moisture in until it opens up a bit more. It's really dry here right now.

judith_arquette · #5 03-31-2014, 08:57 PM

Gorgeous! Good luck <3

NYCorchidman · #6 04-01-2014, 01:09 AM

That is a pretty flower!

I love this type of dendrobium.

You can use any potting mix, but you just have to adjust the watering frequency.

This plant needs good watering while growing new cane, but they need to dry out quick, so excellent drainage is a must.

Straight bark is fine. Just remember to soak to bark before using or when you water the newly potted plant in bark, soak it for a few minutes to allow plants to drink up. As bark ages, soaking becomes rather unnecessary.

By the way, the potting mix you think is a garden soil is called promix. It is not regular garden soil.
It is basically peat mixed with chips of bark and some perlite and fertilizer already added in I believe.

It is a great mix in that it drains great but maintain moisture well. Overwatering can happen easily with this kind of mix, but otherwise, it makes a great mix.

I believe all the orchids at TJ other than phals (which comes mainly in sphag) come in Promix.

Optimist · #7 04-01-2014, 09:52 AM

Yes, I figured that if they actually used potting soil in their orchids, they would not have remained in business long, because all their stock would have died.

RandomGemini · #8 04-01-2014, 11:53 AM

Well that's a relief! I love going to TJ's to look at orchids every now and then. This mix was making me worry about buying from them. All of my previous orchids from TJs have come in spag.

I like this den a lot. I hope I have enough light for it. It has a very light floral scent.

I left it sitting in a cup overnight while the bark soaked, so I will get it repotted today. Thanks for your help!

awakedude985 · #9 04-01-2014, 11:31 PM

I also recently bought a dendrobium from TJ that was potted in promix. It had buds and few blooms when I repotted it into a bark mix (the same mix that I use for cattleyas -- fir bark, stalite, perlite and a small bit of coconut chips). I haven't lost a single bloom and none of the buds have blasted. The plant also had a little bit of mold growing on it (I gave a soak in Physan 20) and it literally fell apart into 3 pieces -- I assume it was actually multiple smaller plants potted together. It seems to be doing fine for me now and I still have them all potted together.

RandomGemini · #10 04-02-2014, 11:16 AM

Thanks for that post. I've repotted it in bark and I feel a lot better about it now that I know that the blooms are safe.

Mine was just the one plant, it does surprise me to hear that yours is three plants potted together! I bet they will look gorgeous when they've had some time to grow!