Culture of Dendrobium kingianum
By Dr. Wilford Neptune
Although I grow 155 genera, this is my favorite of all the orchids. It is a neat, compact, attractive plant, even when not in bloom, and it is easy to grow and rewards one with an array of beautiful, long lasting, fragrant flowers in shades of white, white with colored lip, yellow, and plain and splash petals in mauve, pink, and purple.
This plant will grow vegetatively at any temperature, any light, and any kind of watering and feeding- but if one wishes it to bloom to its fullest potential, then it MUST be grown cool (min nite temp in autumn and winter below 50F); maximum light; lots of water when growing; and lots of food, but never in a high N ratio.
Dendrobium kingianum grows normally down to 35F (will tolerate temps down to 29F), so I put mine outside in April (Boston area), in full east sun; and it comes back inside in Nov. After blooming, all keikis are removed, as well as old flower spikes, and the new developing keikis are left on as they will remain uniform in size and will increase the amount of flowers. All dendrobes will produce keikis, however kingianum varies from clone to clone, and within reason this has nothing to do with culture, in contrast to nobiles, which make excessive keikis with too much N, or not enough sunshine. Certain clones, as 'Ruth' AM/AOS, and 'Roy' AD/AOC/QOS-HCC/AOS, produce multiple keikis, and if these are not removed after blooming the keikis make keikis, and these make keikis and soon there is a veritable weed patch. 'Karl Marx' rarely makes keikis and when it does they are small, and on removing may behave like seedlings out of flask and take 3 to 5 years to bloom; whereas the usual keiki after removal can be planted and will make a new growth, perhaps a keiki, and all will usually bloom the following season. The pot is watered enough to keep it moist, and during hot weather this may be every day. It is fed 100ppm of N/gal/wk, in a low N ratio, as 9-30-25. All are potted in a bark mix, and in plastic, Azalea type pots.
The plant is brought inside in Nov, to a cool house (min nite temp of 46F) and water is withheld until buds start to develop (6-8 weeks). At this time I spray the leaves once or twice a week, and when the buds can be recognized I resume watering the pot, once a week, and after the flowers open I resume watering to keep the plant evenly moist. I do not fertilize until the flowers are open. I have learned by trial and error that some clones can be watered the entire year, and bloom well ('Ruth' and 'Roy'); others behave as the book advises and must be dried out if they are to bloom; and this varies in both natural and outcrosses.
At the present time I have many seedling outcrosses; and 36 specific clones of Den kingianum, including 'Ruth', for which Louis Jaskow, of NY, received an AM/AOS in 1974, and 'Betty' on which Bob Martin, of Tennessee, received a JC/AOS in 1997. A more recent award was an AM, in 2002, to Anna Chai, in CA, for a clone she named 'Ron Parsons'. The remaining flower awards are all mine, and include 'Roy' (known as 'Roy Gill' in Australia) HCC/AOS, 'Sue' AM/AOS, 'Trident's Pinky' AM/AOS, 'Inferno' AM/AOS, 'Jazzy' AM/AOS, 'Trident's Pride' AM/AOS, 'Tunstead's Pink' AM/AOS, 'Lansdown White' CHM/AOS, 'Trident's Dream' AM/AOS, 'Trident's Happy Day' AM/AOS (which is a sibling of 'Trident's Pinky', above), 'Corrigan's Red' JC/AOS, 'Linda' AM/AOS (which is a sibling of 'Sue'), and 'Trident's Baby' FCC/AOS. This last plant is from a cross I made using two of my awarded clones, 'Inferno' x 'Jazzy', mentioned above, and this was the first award for me from a cross I had made, and also my first FCC.. In addition, I have received a CCM/AOS on 'Ruth', one on 'Betty', and two on 'Roy' which also has an AD/AOC-QOS, in Australia, and this is the usual award given there, if any, and is for new trends in color breeding.
Many of the primary hybrids with kingianum are likewise attractive, and in my collection are Den xdelicatum 'Sarah' (a natural hybrid of kingianum x speciosum) on which I have received two CCMs/AOS, the last one being for 94pts; Den xdelicatum 'Trident's Stripes' CHM/AOS; Den xdelicatum 'Rod' HCC/AOS; and Den xdelicatum var. Ira Butler 'Trident's Snow Showers' AM/AOS. It is of interest that the only other xdelicatum listed with a flower quality award was a clone called 'Walter', awarded in 1979, and described as having a NS of 7.5Cm. This is more than twice the size of any other xdelicatum previously seen and at once raised the question of a mistake, somewhere. After searching out the picture, published with the award, it is obvious that the plant was actually Den phalaenopsis.
If the conditions can be met for the culture of this plant I believe it should be in every collection.
Below is Den kingianum 'Trident's Baby' FCC/AOS. I'm proud of this one as it is the first award I have obtained on a plant I made. I crossed 'Jazzy' and 'Inferno', on each of which I had obtained an AM, and it is on a species which is my favorite of all the orchids, and, as far as I know, the only FCC in any judging system for this species.
(Click photo to view larger)
Den kingianum 'Trident's Baby'
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