Dendrobium loddigesii

[junglequeen]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Woah...is that giant tree trunk next to the fence the Norfolk Island Pine you refer to? That must be a gorgeous tree, do you have any pictures of it from afar?

--Nat

Still having probs with the weather today, but here's a photo I took awhile back of a Norfolk Island Pine planted alongside the road on the coast just north of here that shows the shape of them even better. This is how they should look - but has been a bit trimmed lower right because of the road.

I don't want to post off-topic pics, so if you go to my Epidendrums Album at Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! you'll see it.

[junglequeen]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Thanks! I like Norfolk Pines a lot, but I've never seen a big one in person.

Those treefern stumps look like they'll work great. They've got other plants growing on them so they're probably not toxic to oher epiphytes. That's cool that those grow in the woods near your home!

--Nat

Well I sure hope after this I can make a success of growing this plant -I am beginning to see Dendrobiums are not easy!! I have put up for you 2 photos in my Epidendrums album - one is of the treeferns growing on my place (20 + feet high, this lot), and the other is where I live, showing the forest above my house, where I gathered the stumps. Thought you might be interested.
Patricia

[junglequeen]

Originally Posted by cneos

I'm missing something ... I can't see the flower in your photo.

My loddigesii has thin, wiry canes that stay close to the cork mount that it's on. Cane on your plant looks more robust.

Can you post photo of flower from your plant?

I'm sorry - this is a young plant I just bought, and though it had a couple of flowers on it when it arrived by mail, they dropped off fairly quickly. They were close in color and shape to this pic for Dendrobium loddigesii on Google Images: http://tinyurl.com/33nu2wm

[RosieC]

To be honest I'm not sure what I would do with a tree fern stump. I would try and cut a flat-ish piece arround the right size for the plant (a bit bigger to allow growth). I've seen it sold as plaques which can then be mounted on, I wonder if a slice accross it would work.

[junglequeen]

Originally Posted by RosieC

To be honest I'm not sure what I would do with a tree fern stump. I would try and cut a flat-ish piece arround the right size for the plant (a bit bigger to allow growth). I've seen it sold as plaques which can then be mounted on, I wonder if a slice accross it would work.

Rosie, am I able to officially join this Dendrobium loddigesii experimental group, or am I too late??
Patricia

[RosieC]

Most of the activity on this project is probably over (it was never as active as some of the projects anyway). Generally the idea is that everyone starts together. It's not up to me as I was not running the project, however I would personally have no objections to you posting on the thread (here).

Look out for our next project, which is likely to be in the spring. Details and sign up sheets with be posted in this area, and you can also see previous project threads there as well.

[gnathaniel]

Thanks for the pictures, Patricia! Your land looks beautiful, do you ever hike up to that hill above your house? Really liking the Norfolk Island Pine, too, I wish we had warm enough winters for them where I live...

Depending on the size of those stumps, you should be able to mount your plant directly on one with no further modification. Den. loddigesii is a vigorous grower with a scrambling/vining habit so a big mount is not a bad idea. One of the nicest ones I've seen was totally covering an 18" x 30" treefern plaque and had a few hundred blooms (it smelled great!).

When I mount plants on treefern I usually put a small pad of sphagnum underneath the plant and then tie everything on with fishing line (coated wire, sturdy twine, and old pantyhose also work well). You can also tie the sphagnum on first and then the plant over top to simplify. If you water a lot or your humidity is really high you may not need the sphagnum, and once the plant has its roots into the treefern it probably won't need the sphag anymore.

This species is overall pretty forgiving to grow, though maybe a little trickier to bloom well. If your outdoor temps don't go much below 35-40 F/2-5 C you should be able to keep it outside year-round, which will help it flower better.

Generally you should water and fertilize fairly heavily during the warm months, then reduce water and eliminate fertilizer when it's cooler. Or just water and fertilize when the plant is in active growth and switch to winter care when the canes mature and leaves begin to drop. If you plan to grow this one indoors try to give it a month or two of night temps below 55 F/13 C to stimulate bud production.

Bright light a bit shy of full sun is beneficial at all times, though when it's very warm make sure air movement and moisture are high so the plant doesn't overheat. Hope it grows well for you, this is one of my favorite species!

--Nat