Dendrobium Kingianum conflicting care info

[Raqsharqi]

Thanks, Bud. I thought it may have been a keiki....but I've never seen either on this plant. I've only had it since late August.
Other than the humidity, our weather is pretty much what Queensland is enjoying. I have my King outside, where it has been since I got it (rainy season here.) We had a very cold couple of days with night temperatures of about 40. Maybe that's what forced the spike! (Yippee! I get to see a flower!)

[Bud]

Right, a month of cold nights will trigger flowers. Keiki will have tiny light roots even if it sprouted for just about a week.
Your plant is lab created and it will trigger flowers even if it didn't get a proper rest period.
Since it has now tasted your environment then this winter you must give it proper rest.
This need not be given drastic water dryness = if you water it every day in its growing months then when frost comes to Tucson water it only weekly....for after all, these plants gets morning dew in nature.
Just make sure 40F is the lowest you give it....otherwise these plants can freeze overnight and turn to mush when the sun shines.

[medge00]

In my experience, kingianum can take down to 32 degrees, but when that happens I cut watering significantly. If I've watered, and its going to be below 40, I might keep the plant indoors overnight. Mine bloomed better when I did not fertilize in the winter.

[WhiteRabbit]

Yeah, mine's been down to freezing, or slightly below, for short periods - sheltered. And like medge, I keep it drier if I know night temps will be quite low. If it has buds and there's a chance of freeze, I stick it in the (uninsulated) garage to be safe.

[Raqsharqi]

Okay, now I'm totally confused. I thought this was a spike, but today I see a little root on the bottom. So is it really a keiki and I don't get a flower? And now there is a reddish nub at the base. Is that a cane? Once I thought I had a spike, I started watering it a little. Maybe I ruined my chances for a flower.

[nutgirl]

After several years of dry winters for my Kingianum with absolutely nothing to show for it, I decided to go a completely different direction.

I reread several posts and decided to go with cool/cold temps and reduced water but not complete dryness.
I put it on the south facing front steps where it is getting bright sunlight (when it shines) and a lot of water (rain) and whatever the temps are short of freezing.

It is popping out with little buds, it's never done this before. At last count, 14. I'm so excited.
I hope this works.

Maureen

[Plodde]

Looks like a keiki to me

[campchi]

Looks like keiki to me. This kingianum needs some cold weather in order to initiate flower

[Raqsharqi]

Bud, originally when I posted the photo of the little whatever it is that is sprouting, you said it was a spike because there weren't any roots. Now I see a little root. But there is a tiny stem that keep growing from it that looks an awfully lot like a spike with the makings of buds on it. I have never seen one of these in bloom, so I am really clueless. Should the spike have some from the same spot the old ones were? If so, this can't be a spike. If they come from elsewhere, though....maybe? And that reddish nub of something coming out of the mix at the base of the plant....is that the makings of a new cane?
If you haven't seen or grown a type of orchid before, it's so hard to understand what's going on with them! And since this one required special handling (I let it dry out a bit, per the grower's suggestion) and let it get down to just under 50 degrees. Not enough cold? Too much water? Once I thought I had I spike, I let it get a little warmer at night and watered a bit more.

[gnathaniel]

One of my kingianums sometimes grows what others have termed 'speikis' or something like that, basically just a spike with roots on it. On my plant these bloom normally and then hang around like a keiki, eventually making new growths at the base. As a rule, spikes and keikis only come from nodes that haven't previously bloomed/grown, but nodes on some clones are packed densely enough that it will look like they're going again from the same one. And you're right that the little 'nubbin' at the base of your plant is a new growth.

Oh, and I wouldn't second-guess your culture too much, some of my kingianums keiki consistently no matter what I do, while others (usually the ones I really want to share) never grow keikis at all. There's definitely a strong genetic element, and I think a lot of the kingies in US cultivation are fairly keiki prone, probably because they're easier to propagate than by seed.