Dendrobium Nobile and Rain

[aliceinwl]

I live on the central coast of California and I have a Dendrobium Nobile that I've been keeping outside. I've cut way back on watering to give it a winter rest period. Now that it's finally starting to rain, do I need to move it somewhere it won't get rained on?

[estación seca]

Edit June 15 2020:
Yamamoto Dendrobiums in Japan hybridizes and produces a great number of these plants. Their Web site formerly had excellent growing information for hobbyists. Unfortunately it is no longer there. You can still look at the varieties they grow, and maybe see one very similar to yours.

I saved the page, and summarized it in a post in this thread:
Uncertain if Dendrobium is still alive

Yamamoto now has a page showing how to force Dendrobium nobile for Christmas flowering in Japan's climate. There is a lot to learn from that page, but it is intended for growers who can artificially heat and cool their greenhouses during off seasons. Note they use coconut husk for growing medium, which many orchidists would say retains too much water for orchids. For many orchids that is correct, but this is a very thirsty orchid.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

I live on the central coast of California and I have a Dendrobium Nobile that I've been keeping outside. I've cut way back on watering to give it a winter rest period. Now that it's finally starting to rain, do I need to move it somewhere it won't get rained on?

It may not be all that necessary if you have already been giving it a rest, since we are approaching the time where it's going to start budding out and growing again (usually starts toward the end of January in southern California, might be a little later on the Central Coast).

I put mine under a little overhead protection (the eaves) in early December when the nights finally cooled down and we got a drop or two of rain, I'm not going to move them out until I see buds, but in your case, you really don't have to move them unless you have a convenient place to put them.

[aliceinwl]

I have read the Yamamoto caresheet, but I was really hoping for Roberta’s answer which makes my life simpler. I guess in future years, if we get normal precipitation patterns, I’ll have to look at putting it somewhere sheltered for a bit. But, I’ll give leaving it in place a go this year.

So far, I’ve been pretty impressed how well most of my orchids are doing outside. Some of the phals have started to look a bit unhappy so they’ve migrated back inside, but my Zygopetalum is reblooming for the second time, my Zygonisia is throwing up a spike, and so is one of my intergenerics. My success is making it difficult to restrain myself when I go to the grocery store!

[Roberta]

For winter shelter of Dens (and others) that need to be a little drier, I have an area of shelving with plastic over the top. It doesn't keep them totally dry if the rain is wind-driven, but keeps them from getting drenched when the rain goes for several days (which doesn't happen often). I figure it makes up for the times when they suffer through periods of dessicatingly-low humidity (when I give them a bit of extra water at any rate) I mostly move them to this protected area to get them out of the sprinklers that keep the rest of the orchids more damp. Depending on temperature and humidity, they get a bit of water every week or so even at their driest... learned the hard way that "no water" is baloney in a climate where there is low humidity and little dew most of the time.

[rbarata]

My success is making it difficult to restrain myself when I go to the grocery store!

Great success increases the probability to lose some orchids.

[aliceinwl]

Originally Posted by rbarata

Great success increases the probability to lose some orchids.

I realize I may lose some but I’ve been impressed with how resilient they are. With my first intergeneric, I assumed it wouldn’t need repotting until it out grew the pot it was in and that the peat mix it was growing in was suitable. I had it for a year and was careful with the water but it seemed to be in slow decline. I found out the peat wasn’t good and that it had no viable roots left. I repotted in a coarse bark mix in a clay pot. After a month or so the pseudobulbs continued to wither and all the new roots were growing straight up. I repotted it again into fine bark in a plastic pot. It rapidly sent roots into the bark, its pseudobulbs refilled, it sent up new leaves, and now it’s spiking. I think just about any other plant would have up and died during that first year!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

I realize I may lose some but I’ve been impressed with how resilient they are. With my first intergeneric, I assumed it wouldn’t need repotting until it out grew the pot it was in and that the peat mix it was growing in was suitable. I had it for a year and was careful with the water but it seemed to be in slow decline. I found out the peat wasn’t good and that it had no viable roots left. I repotted in a coarse bark mix in a clay pot. After a month or so the pseudobulbs continued to wither and all the new roots were growing straight up. I repotted it again into fine bark in a plastic pot. It rapidly sent roots into the bark, its pseudobulbs refilled, it sent up new leaves, and now it’s spiking. I think just about any other plant would have up and died during that first year!

Resistance is futile. You're addicted... a healthy addiction, of course.

[rbarata]

The ones that die (or almost died) are the most valuable lessons.

[aliceinwl]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Resistance is futile. You're addicted... a healthy addiction, of course.

My brother is bemoaning the state of our kitchen windowsill but so far my office mates have only complimented the menagerie in my office window and politely declined offers of plants for their windows.