How to bring a dendrobium out of winter rest

[mkallen81]

Yes you are right, we are speaking of two different things. I never let the keikis establish; not even a single leaf. Once i see a root start to shoot out the side of a cane i take it off immediately. For me it is hard to see how this is threatening to a plant. My grandmother was an amazing grower of everything and sometimes this is how she saved weak plants, through pruning in order to force energy to the roots etc. Of course orchids are different. So who knows.

All i can say is that for the first time, i got buds from doing that and also keeping it outdoors in the winter here where it is more temperate and won't kill my plant. Hopefully next year it will make more than 3 buds!

Here's to next year! LOLs

Melannie

[Ray]

Originally Posted by mkallen81

Other growers I follow on youtube say they remove them if they feel a plant is weak or not doing what it needs to root wise in order to keep the plant from wasting resources and energy on a keiki. What are your thoughts on that?

Wasting resources? I don't think so.

Disregarding the genetic disposition to produce them, keiki growth on a plant is an attempt to carry on it's genetics under conditions that are less than ideal. Yes, it might be consuming resources, but under those conditions, it wasn't producing flowers anyway.

If left attached, a keiki shares photosynthesis products and stored water and nutrients with the rest of the plant colony, giving it more opportunity to "stock up" for the future, not less.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I cannot speak to that as I do not do it. Many people do so it is likely not a bad thing lol

I think it has a lot to do with genetics. I have a handful of nobiles and some make a LOT of keikis and others none. New century ‘happiness’ for examples makes at least one keiki for every new rhizome growth. Mellow mind ‘yellow mood’, has not made one in two years...

[Brian1212]

hey malanie,
hope you do do better by next year.

Like others I would not cut anything off a plant. If it hasn't flowered in 3 years it just wants to produce something and if you get a keiki you can produce a second plant and double your chances of flowers in future.

The main factor affecting whether a plant will produce keiki's the following year or flowers seems to be temperature during the rest period.
Just like crocodile eggs turn out either male or female depending on the temperature they are incubated at, once the sex has been determined you can't then go snipping bits off to try to get the plant to turn into flowers. Conserving energy is fine but encouraging growth and feeding more when it is growing is better.

Watering as has been said - don't let the canes or leaves shrivel too much. The reason for reduced watering is because the plant will drink less so the chances of soggy media is higher so just don't let media stay too wet and soggy in winter as it will take too long to dry.

Try to give the plant a cool rest period for 3 months in winter where the night temperature is between 5 degrees C and 15 degrees C.

It won't need much light as it should be resting but always provide light, then in spring increase the temp and light to encourage bud growth.

Good luck.

[mkallen81]

Well we shall see about the keiki thing. Having spent years learning from my grandmother who used pruning to really create nice plants, i am not sure i agree; especially given the exceptionally high number this plant wants to make. But then again, she did not do orchids and they are different. So i will see how it goes.

in other news the plant did not blast its buds despite the wind unpotting it. So we will see what happens. It is still very cold here so I don't expect it will bloom until the end of march.

i will keep you posted

melannie

[mkallen81]

Well we shall see about the keiki thing. Having spent years learning from my grandmother who used pruning to really create nice plants, i am not sure i agree; especially given the exceptionally high number this plant wants to make. But then again, she did not do orchids and they are different. So i will see how it goes.

in other news the plant did not blast its buds despite the wind unpotting it. So we will see what happens. It is still very cold here so I don't expect it will bloom until the end of march.

i will keep you posted

melannie

[mkallen81]

Well here is an update. Those buds I was talking about have developed into.... wait for it.... keikis!

I am so frustrated. guess i will try again next year!



Melannie

[mkallen81]

Originally Posted by Brian1212

hey malanie,
hope you do do better by next year.

Like others I would not cut anything off a plant. If it hasn't flowered in 3 years it just wants to produce something and if you get a keiki you can produce a second plant and double your chances of flowers in future.

The main factor affecting whether a plant will produce keiki's the following year or flowers seems to be temperature during the rest period.
Just like crocodile eggs turn out either male or female depending on the temperature they are incubated at, once the sex has been determined you can't then go snipping bits off to try to get the plant to turn into flowers. Conserving energy is fine but encouraging growth and feeding more when it is growing is better.

Watering as has been said - don't let the canes or leaves shrivel too much. The reason for reduced watering is because the plant will drink less so the chances of soggy media is higher so just don't let media stay too wet and soggy in winter as it will take too long to dry.

Try to give the plant a cool rest period for 3 months in winter where the night temperature is between 5 degrees C and 15 degrees C.

It won't need much light as it should be resting but always provide light, then in spring increase the temp and light to encourage bud growth.

Good luck.

Hi thanks so much for the advice! For the past 3 years the plant has been kept in a bathroom with a window open night and day in Normandie where it snows and gets VERY cold (for the winter rest). This year we live in the Mediterranean and it gets very cold here but not as cold. Down to 2 degrees some nights but mostly hovers around 7-10. So she has definitely had a good cold spell. She also gets lots of light, especially in the morning but by afternoon where the light could get really intense and burn she finds herself with no direct light. (we face south and have a roof on the terrace)

i fertilize regularly during the growing season (basically at every watering) but not during the rest period. flush out the pot to prevent crystals and use distilled water so it isn't too hard with some tap water once in a while to add minerals.

not sure what else to do. I have heard other grower's report that this particular dendrobium is so hybridized that they get overly zealous about keiki's to the detriment of flowers and roots. Not sure if that could be the issue here.