Deciduous Dendrobium winter rest

[Jakob]

Hello!
As it is slowly time for these guys (in my case D. aphyllum) to go dormant;
(I'm not at home and i got a rather panicked message from my sister that the big orchid in the cherry tree is getting yellow leaves... i forgot to tell her it's going to do that )
; I wonder how much light do they need in dormancy?
I persume i can't put it in darkness for three months, but can it stay in a badly lit halway, or does it have to get more light?

[Dollythehun]

It's my understanding that this is now also known as D. pierardii, which I have. I have been told by numerous OB members that in it's native habitat, it gets more light in winter as the trees are bare. With hold fertilizer after Halloween (end of Oct). Water very sparingly but remember the roots get misted by dew and fog ( so it's ok to mist a little) during the dormant season. When leaves commence in the spring, water. It will take cool temps down to freezing but that's the extreme.

That said, mine was a baby and perhaps to small to bloom. I am certain someone more successful than I will give more comprehensive instructions.

[Jakob]

Thanks, that helps .
I was getting a little nervous, the temps back home are getting low at night, but not yet freezing (days are still warm for the most part though).
I know about the drought, but didnt know, that the roots should still be somewhat damp.
Mine is definitely blooming size - the longest cane is 70+ cm, plus two 50+ cm (not my credit, i got it in september), so if it doesnt bloom in the spring, it's my fault :P.
So to recreate natural conidtions i should put it somwhere bright - but since it doesnt have leaves does it really need lots of light, or is it gonna do just the same without it? what's the type of dormancy - does it go to "sleep" like plants in temperate regions in winter (and doesnt care about light) or does it turn itself into a drought resistant pseudo-cactus by dropping leaves and still performs photosynthesis in the canes and bids it's time (so still needs light)?

[estación seca]

Most things I've read say more light in winter causes more flowers. This advice is often given for orchids normally growing on, or under, deciduous trees.

Plants can see light, and photosynthesize, with their stems, not just with their leaves.

I put my deciduous Dendrobiums outside under trees for the winter. (Summer outside here is too hot for them.) I bring them in when frost threatens.

[Jakob]

Understood, so lights it gets .
I was asking out of curiosity, plants go dormant in many ways...

Sadly i cannot keep them outside here.. by the end of october first frost will come, and if we'll have a proper winter it's gonna be freezing at least at night from middle of november to the middle of march.

How hot is too hot?

[rbarata]

From OW

REST PERIOD: Winter days average 69-72F (20-22C), and nights average 45-49F (7-9C), with a diurnal range of 23-24F (13C). In the habitat, winter rainfall is low, but additional moisture is often available from heavy deposits of dew. For about a month in late winter or early spring, however, humidity is so low that even the moisture from dew is uncommon. Cultivated plants should be allowed to dry out between waterings in winter, but they should not remain completely dry for extended periods. Fertilizer should be eliminated until water is increased in spring. In the habitat, light is highest in winter. The cool, dry rest with increased light may be necessary to initiate blooming, and some growers recommend that plants be kept completely dry in winter.

[estación seca]

Phoenix daytime temperature is almost always above 40C from early May through late September. It is often 45C or higher. The record is 50C.

[Jakob]

Oh dear ... that's extreme
I take it they should endure my mere 35C?

What's OW?

[Dollythehun]

Bravo, rbarata.

[rbarata]

OrchidWiz Orchid Database Software