Dendrobium speciosum spike watch...

[smweaver]

Can you provide an updated picture of the blooms, please? Do you know the parents (or variety)?

[Jeff214]

Here's an update.

I got it from a greenhouse near Asheville, NC. Most of his plants were not labeled... so I do not know what variety it is. It's not as impressive as I hoped it would be...

Also... I just realized you were from Fishers! I lived there briefly near the 106 exit. small world.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Jeff214

Here's an update.

I got it from a greenhouse near Asheville, NC. Most of his plants were not labeled... so I do not know what variety it is. It's not as impressive as I hoped it would be...

It's just a baby... great things to come. (These things grow very slowly) Looking good!

[smweaver]

Jeff, it does have a lot of spikes, which is a good thing, as this species can be a little stingy when it comes to flowering. The small, star-shaped blooms, along with the long peduncle (the area of the spike between the base and where the first flower is produced) looks like it's possibly an inter-varietal of either (or both) pedunculatum or hillii. How do you like the fragrance?

If you're interested in learning more about Dendrobium speciosum and its numerous varieties, check out the website of Gerry Walsh: TheRockLilyMan – You've found the home page of Gerry Walsh

He's got a lot of useful and interesting information, including cultural info'. And the photos will make you realize just how lacking in this country we are for exceptional examples of this wonderful species.

Congratulations on your flowers. This isn't generally considered an easy species to bloom well, and you've done a good job with your plant. Perhaps the bloom shape and size will improve with age. But if they don't, it's still a plant well worth keeping, in my opinion.

And yes, a small world it is. Your orchids probably appreciate the climate of North Carolina far better than that of Indiana (I know I would).

Steve

[Roberta]

Looking again at the plant size, number of spikes and size and shape of flowers, I'm thinking that it could be Den. x delicatum (specio-kingianum) . Those can be flowering machines. Fragrance more like kingianum (sweet, floral) than speciosum (sort of like hay)

[Jeff214]

Based on the peduncle and flower shape, it does looks like a var. pedunculatum is in there somewhere... The p-bulbs are tapered with aerial roots... like hilli... perhaps.

In terms of scent, there's a faint sweet smell, perhaps like hey. It's nothing like Den Johnathan's Glory, which has an intense floral scent. I'm not familiar what a Den kingianum is like.

I enjoy growing things in general (while a flower is always welcome...). This one is rather compact and upright, so I'll probably keep it for a while longer. It does seem to be producing multiple keikis, if that's any indication of a variety...

[Roberta]

Santa Barbara and San Diego shows are coming up this month... I suspect that there will be lots of Den. speciosum (and Den. kingianum) fragrance to sample.

[neophyte]

I'm inclined to believe it's pure D. speciosum.

D. kingianum generally has broader lateral sepals (not present here) and the lateral sepals are more horizontally reflexed (they bend outwards, like the motion your arms make if you hold them first straight out in front of you and then move them outwards so you assume a "T" pose).

D. speciosum, by contrast, tends to have thinner, longer lateral sepals that stay on one plane and look sort of like a "U" or a lobster claw.

Dendrobium x delicatum actually kind of has a mixture of both where the lateral sepals are in a U-formation but they are definitely shorter, broader, and wider apart/slightly reflexed. I can't really see that here.

Also, another note... the lip of D. speciosum is more pointed/arrowhead-shaped (as seen in yours) while the lip of D. kingianum and D. x delicatum are much broader.

Wikipedia has a nice section on the different varieties of D. speciosum, by the way. They list an average range of flowers each type produces (but of course it's still highly variable, depending on factors like age, water level, etc.) I think it's worth checking out.

[Jeff214]

is it spiking again? or probably just some keikis this time of year? Waiting with bated breath...

[Roberta]

Those sure look like spikes. Which would be really surprising if it is pure Den speciosum. I have never had one bloom more than once, certainly never this late. You'll just have to wait and see...