Dendrobium speciosum spike watch...

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by smweaver

Your speciosum looks very happy in its net pot, Jeff. How do you keep something as top heavy as Dendrobium speciosum from tipping over when grown in a net pot? Do you place the net pot within something heavier (a large clay pot, for example)?

...Do you give the plant a dry and cool winter rest?

...Good luck with your plant. It looks great.

Steve

Thanks, Steve. And yes, as you suspect, I grow it in a net pot within a larger clay pot. It seems to keep the roots humid and aerated.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any large net pots (seems to have evaporated during the pandemic...) I decided to repot in the largest bulb pan I could find (10" diameter) with coarse bark. Perhaps I should have waited until I found a larger net pot - it did seem to thrive in it.

I grow it outdoors (winter is 40 - 70 oF here) in SoCal. We had a very wet winter last year (when it flowered well) and this year it has been quite dry. This particular Dendrobium speciosum seems to like quite alot of water throughout the year. Often times I grow it with a saucer filled with water.

[smweaver]

How big was the net pot that you had it in? Just curious, as it seems like such a great idea. I really like all of those roots poking through the netting.

[Keysguy]

Jeff- I heard back from my friend and he believes thay are keiki's.

He points to a Dr. Wilford Neptune way back when that was a member of the Mass. OS and a published and noted expert on Australian Dendrobiums and kingianum in particular. He claimed (I have not read what the basis may have been) that keiki growth was a by-product of the winter dry season being interrupted by water.

So now it will be interesting to see what others here think of that idea.

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by smweaver

How big was the net pot that you had it in? Just curious, as it seems like such a great idea. I really like all of those roots poking through the netting.

The net pot is about 8.5". I've been slowly transitioning most of my orchids to this net pot + clay pot setting and the roots have been in agreement, both indoors and outdoors.

Originally Posted by Keysguy

Jeff- I heard back from my friend and he believes thay are keiki's.

He points to a Dr. Wilford Neptune way back when that was a member of the Mass. OS and a published and noted expert on Australian Dendrobiums and kingianum in particular. He claimed (I have not read what the basis may have been) that keiki growth was a by-product of the winter dry season being interrupted by water.

So now it will be interesting to see what others here think of that idea.

Interesting - my experience is limited (anecdotal) and under inconsistent conditions... so many not be useful info:

Bought this plant in Spring 2019. I saw a pile of keikis at the greenhouse where I purchased mine. Keiki growth was frequent in GA over most of 2019 (didn't record when exactly). I grew mine outdoors and it rains there constantly.

Continued to grow it outdoors once I moved to SoCal in late 2019. The "keikis" always start a few weeks after new spike (Dec) or growth (Jan, June, Oct) initiation. I did not get any keiki's during the last growth cycle in Oct. I moved to a hotter and drier area in Aug.

Winter of 2019-2020 was a little unusual (among many things) in that we received 2x more rain than average Nov-Feb. Winter of 2020-2021 has been dry, receiving >50% of average rainfall since Oct 2020.

I still water/feed about once a week, regardless.

To me it seems like if water and nutrients are abundant after spike or new growth initiation, the plant decides to produce keikis.

[Keysguy]

My understanding is that the Aussies were pretty tolerant but that if you wanted to see flowers you should NOT feed them during the winter rest period.

Crazy how many different ideas are out there but again, I think that points to figuring out what you need to do for your specific microclimate.

[Roberta]

Mine get watered all winter. No special treatment. (I have also mostly given up on repotting... when the roots run out room to go down, they go up.) Buds all over the place. This is going to be a fantastic season for Den. speciosum, I think. Probably be a month or so so stay tuned.

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Mine get watered all winter. No special treatment. (I have also mostly given up on repotting... when the roots run out room to go down, they go up.) Buds all over the place. This is going to be a fantastic season for Den. speciosum, I think. Probably be a month or so so stay tuned.

It's been nearly doubling in size each year. I'm not sure what to repot it in next year... a wheelbarrow? haha...

I'm excited for your blooms!!

[Jeff214]

Does anyone want any keikis of this plant? It booms well and keikis well. Just stick a keiki in a pot and it will root fairly easily. The keiki I potted up is now making keikis of it own...

I just let it grow in full sun and water well during growth.

[Jeff214]

It's that time of year again....

It's the second time this thing has bloomed and it's fragrant now. Strong, floral, a bit spicy? It's distinct from the kingianum and speciosum hybrids.

It definitely did not like being potted in terra cotta. I'll likely move it back to a plastic pot/net pot after it finishes blooming...

[Roberta]

Looks good to me... Lovely almost-white.