Terminal leaf ID

[jrguevar]

Hello everybody!

I posted this thread in the dendro alliance but had very few answers, so I wanted to ask here looking for more guidance. Ive got only one year with two dendrobiums and I still cant get a full grasp of how to determine the rest period for them; Ive read that a terminal leaf must appear to pinpoint the time the plant stops growing andv should start its rest period, but I havent seen a clear pic of how this terminal leaf looks like. I would really appreciate if someone could give some feedback from the leafs I currently have in two diferrent plants. Also if someone could help with some tips on how to determine which group a drendro belongs to (when you dont have flowers) it will be greatly apreciated
Thanks in advance!

[bil]

OK, don't sweat it, it is very easy to determine. Once you see it it is un mistakeable.

On the four pics you posted, the close up is of a cane that is still growing. The latest leaf is still emerging, so it needs feeding. If another emerges from it then continue to feed. Always remember a very weak solution of fertiliser at every watering is best.

Eventually the cane will stop growing, and when it does, you will see that the cane will have a rounded end, and the terminal leaf will be slightly off to one side. I've posted two pics. Some cane tips are fatter and more rounded than others, but the growing cane is pretty easy to spot.

Remember, that while there are exceptions for some dendrobiums out there (It's a huge and varied group) for the common ones, winter rest really just means no fertiliser. So mine get RO water all winter, but I am careful to let them get a bit dry between waterings, just not bone dry for long periods. The mounted ones get a lot more waterings, obvs, and it doesn't do them any harm.
Then as soon as the first flower buds or shoots start to show, I go back to fertilising them every watering.

Basically, with orchids, do what they want. If they are still growing, don't worry about winter rests until they stop growing, and start feeding as soon as they start growing, and don't worry about what the calendar tells you.

[jrguevar]

Thanks a lot bil, you have no idea how grateful I am for your response, I've spent days trying to see something exactly like the two images you attached it makes it all better and gives me a lot more confidence on how to take care of the plant. The last image is a keiki of the same plant (which are side by side), by what you have explained me I think this one is already in its rest period, and that leaves me thinking, the roots on the keiki show active growth with pretty green tips, So that leaves me thinking; roots active growth does not necessarily match the plant´s active growth period and/or the rest period of the dendros?... each cane that you see is a keiki from an old cane that had been cut and have sprouted, meaning they are all connected by one cane, know how am I supposed to stimulate rest and growth period if all the plant is still connected and fertilizer moves throughout every part?!?... my apologies if Im writing nonsense here, I just really want to learn how to grow this new species for me. Thanks a lot in advance!

[bil]

Originally Posted by jrguevar

Thanks a lot bil, you have no idea how grateful I am for your response, I've spent days trying to see something exactly like the two images you attached it makes it all better and gives me a lot more confidence on how to take care of the plant. The last image is a keiki of the same plant (which are side by side), by what you have explained me I think this one is already in its rest period, and that leaves me thinking, the roots on the keiki show active growth with pretty green tips, So that leaves me thinking; roots active growth does not necessarily match the plant´s active growth period and/or the rest period of the dendros?... each cane that you see is a keiki from an old cane that had been cut and have sprouted, meaning they are all connected by one cane, know how am I supposed to stimulate rest and growth period if all the plant is still connected and fertilizer moves throughout every part?!?... my apologies if Im writing nonsense here, I just really want to learn how to grow this new species for me. Thanks a lot in advance!

The rule is, there is no such thing as a stupid question here.
It's actually a sensible one, and one that in all honesty I can't answer. Perhaps someone else could chime in?

Part of the reason that I haven't thought about it is that I grow my orchids slightly differently. Basically, if I don't want to propagate the plant, I now snip the keikis off as soon as I identify them. If I want to propagate, I remove the whole cane that the keiki is attached to, as soon as the keiki has enough roots. From experience, when I tried removing a cane when the roots weren't long enough, it sulked like crazy. I don't normally get keikis out of season.


That's a nice keiki with all the roots in the first pic. Personally I would cut the cane close to the medium, dust both cut ends with cinnamon powder and leave the keiki on one side to dry for a day or two. Then I would pot it in fine bark so the whole of the parent cane and the roots were all under the bark.

Alternately you could pop it on a mount. That's what I do with all my Dens. as I seem to get better results, especially fro some that seem very unhappy in a pot.

That keiki looks as tho it has stopped growing for the season, so I would water it with no fertiliser. On the main plant, in the full plant pic, if the cane with the growing tip is securely rooted, I would leave it there and water it with fertiliser, at every watering at a very low concentration.

It really doesn't matter if you get it wrong. The worst that will happen is that you get less flowers. There are some dens that really take offence, but the majority are pretty forgiving.