What and why is it growing on my Nobile Type Dendrobium

[Sandra75]

Originally Posted by rbarata

Is it the only cane?

Its this one on photo

[Roberta]

It looks pretty normal to me. Eventually old canes do die - but don't cut until they are brown and shriveled, or mushy. They can drop leaves, look quite bad, and still bloom. In general, I don't dump dead-looking Dendrobiums until they have stayed really dead for a full year. I have been surprised by life(and especially flowers) emerging in the spring from things that looked like sticks.

[Sandra75]

Originally Posted by Roberta

It looks pretty normal to me. Eventually old canes do die - but don't cut until they are brown and shriveled, or mushy. They can drop leaves, look quite bad, and still bloom. In general, I don't dump dead-looking Dendrobiums until they have stayed really dead for a full year. I have been surprised by life(and especially flowers) emerging in the spring from things that looked like sticks.

Ahhh, thank you! I also have this Dend Usitea .. is it same principal? This one is about to flower on dead looking canes. Its a new acquisition from Yesterday. Outdoors summer. Cool dry winter by window?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Sandra75

Ahhh, thank you! I also have this Dend Usitea .. is it same principal? This one is about to flower on dead looking canes. Its a new acquisition from Yesterday. Outdoors summer. Cool dry winter by window?

Yes. There are quite a few Dens that flower on old canes that can look very dead. Also, while it's conventional wisdom that deciduous Dens must be dried out in winter, not really so much. In their natural habitat, even when they don't get rain, they get dew. I also learned the hard way to not be too aggressive in drying the Den. nobile-types. Reduced water yes (like maybe once a week or every two) but not bone dry, especially with low humidity. (In their habitat they don't get 5% humidity, and I occasionally do)

Especially when mounted or are in open baskets, if they get watered, they dry out so fast that it doesn't matter. (Andy Phillips, of Andy's Orchids, certainly doesn't separate the deciduous Dens from everything else in winter - but they're essentially all mounted... they get watered with the rest of the greenhouse or shade house, but they dry out fast. They DO get chilled at night, and they probably need that more than the dryness)

Another completely unrelated genus that is in the same category only more so, is Barkeria. It can look like dead sticks most of the year, then puts out growth and blooms. I have learned the hard way to not cut the old spike - it is alive except at the tip, and helps sustain the plant, even when it just looks like a stick. (Barkerias also hate pots - I just use an empty basket as a means for hanging the plant but no medium at all)

[OrchidBro]

The updated photo, where the cane doesn't look so yellow, looks perfectly fine. Personally, I leave the keikis on the old canes no matter how crazy and wacky it starts to look. After winter, when blooming season comes around, I believe you will be rewarded with a better show, even if it doesn't look neat and tidy. Attached is an old photo of my nobile from earlier this year when it first started blooming (sorry, can't seem to find one from when it was in full bloom). As you can see, it is also a keiki factory, but that is just normal for my nobile at least, even with the dry winter rest period.

[rbarata]

The updated photo, where the cane doesn't look so yellow, looks perfectly fine.

Yes, I agree. It doesn't look bad as in the first photo.
In fact it looks normal.

[rbarata]

The updated photo, where the cane doesn't look so yellow, looks perfectly fine.

Yes, I agree. It doesn't look bad as in the first photo.
In fact it looks normal.

[Fairorchids]

First photo (& follow-up photo of same plant) appears to show a Den. nobile (or nobile type hybrid). These plants:
Need a good deal of water & regular fertilizer during spring & summer.
ZERO fertilizer after September 15th.
Reduce watering 90% after October 15th; combined with brighter light and reduced tempererature (if possible).

If you fertilize after Sept 15th, you get keikis instead of buds.

They bloom primarily on new canes, but some hybrids can bloom the year after on 2nd year canes.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

Reduce watering 90% after October 15th; combined with brighter light and reduced tempererature (if possible).

If the OP has a chilly room or windowsill for the winter, I'd say reduce watering more than 90%. Mine gets no more than mere sips once or twice a month in the winter -- just enough to keep the canes from shriveling. But my windowsill gets downright cold in the winter.