How do I save my Dendrobium

[fairladyorchid]

So I have been following directions for more than a month and to no avail. They are growing worse. The canes are shriveling and it is creeping towards the tops. I water every other day by soaking for 10 min. I fertilize every fourth watering or so. They get good strong indirect light all morning. Can I still save them? They were such beautiful nobiles. I know the keikis should have at least 1 in of roots, which they don't but they are definitely healthier than the rest of the plant. Should I chance cutting them to save them? Should I put them all in one pot to keep them tight? There are four good top growths. Absolutely nothing at the base.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I cannot see the photos too clearly right now because I am looking at them on my cell phone and it is difficult to see lots of details, but your Dendrobium seems to have some keikis.

I can tell you that the mother plant itself was planted in far too large of a pot. The pot should only be as big as the living root system.

It was also not necessary to soak the plant for 10 minutes each time you water, that is too much water for it.

What you can do right now is to place the plant in an area with moderate to high humidity and wait for the keikis to grow longer roots and to wait until they are able to be peeled off the mother orchid without much effort.

Place it in an area with moderately bright to bright indirect light.

I hope you are able to recover some keikis on your attempt.

It is possible to put all of the keikis in 1 pot, but it does not mean you can put them in too large of a pot.

[fairladyorchid]

I can repot, that is not a problem. Will the Kiki's still grow if the canes below are continually dying? There is not much green cane from the mother plant left. They are getting bright indirect light. How long should I soak for? I love all the advice, but some of it is conflicting and I really want to save whatever part of this plant is possible.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

No soaking. That is not necessary.

You may try to peel the keikis off gently if you are able to. If not, then you may try to cut a piece of the cane it was growing on with a sterilized cutting tool.

---------- Post added at 02:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:51 PM ----------

If you end up having to cut a small piece of the cane that the keiki was growing on, you can place them on top of some moistened moss. Do not bury the roots.

Wait until the roots on the keikis grow long enough so that you may pot the keikis.

[fairladyorchid]

Forgive the continual questions, I want to make sure I understand. No soaking, ok, do I just run water over the bark? How often? I was told before they were dying from lack of moisture. I was originally letting them dry like with my happy Phals but that was not working.
Do I still water every other day? I would love more specifics when you are able. One of the keikis cannot keep a leaf because that cane of the mother is nearly all shriveled.

[fairladyorchid]

This is a picture of the struggling keiki off a mother cane. There is only about 2 in of green cane left.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

1. Remove all fully dead canes. Save the ones with living keikis on them.

2. Get a tray with drainage holes or a basket with drainage holes large enough to contain the canes you have left.

3. Fill that tray or basket with moistened moss.

4. Lay the canes with the keikis on top of the moss.

If it is a true Dendrobium nobile species, know that the natural orientation of the orchid is that it tends to grow pendulously (downwards) in the wild.

If what you have is a hybrid, then I don't really know what the natural orientation is unless you know its heritage.

5. Do not bury nor cover the roots on the keikis.

6. Place the basket or tray in a warm spot that gets no warmer than 90 F (32.2 C) and no cooler than 65 F (18.3 C).

7. Place them under moderately bright to bright indirect light. A bulb that produces anywhere on the order of 2,000 lumens to 2,500 lumens should be adequate. A Kelvin temperature of 5,200 K to 7,000 K is perfect, (natural sunlight is around 5,200 K, the higher the Kelvin temperature rating of the bulb, the more blue the light is). Adjust the height of the bulb accordingly.

8. Whenever you water, you will either spray the roots on the keikis with a spray bottle or you will go to the bathtub and water them with running water.

Do not soak at all.

9. Wait until the roots have grown to be about 1.5 - 2 inches (3.8 cm - 5 cm) long to pot the keikis up. You may pot the keikis together, but do not use too big of a pot. Only use a pot that is large enough to fit the root mass. If the pot is still too big after attempting to find a pot small enough to fit the root mass as closely as possible while still having enough room for the potting media in there, then fill part of the pot with styrofoam peanuts.

Use medium grade bark for the potting medium.

10. When the keikis are strong enough to be potted, water by drenching the pot and the potting media with water. Let the water run through, do not soak.

[fairladyorchid]

That is exactly what I needed, thank you!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Forgot to mention...

Allowing the moss to dry out will not be a problem. Do not let the moss stay too wet for extended periods of time. The whole point of the moss is to provide humidity.