Is this Dendrobium x delicatum (or a hybrid with ?)

[catwalker808]

Blueszz.
If you want to remove much of the old potting media & some of the inner core of old roots, I suggest this approach.

First wet the pot & roots to loosen their hold. Then break the clay pot with a hammer & peel away the broken shards. Now comes the fun part. Look at how the roots are growing from the bases of the canes. Because the plant has been in a pot, you will notice that the newest roots are going forward, or to the left or to the right from the newest cane. That's because, as a new cane forms, it produces new roots. Old canes do not produce new roots.

Being in a pot, the new roots are forced to curl either to the left or to the right, then around the back of the plant. If the plant is overgrowing the pot, of course the roots will go forward & out of the pot.

The point of all this is to observe where the new roots originate & how they are wrapped around the old root ball. You may even have an old dead cane or two at the back of the plant. If you look at the bottom of the root ball, there is often a hollow area, since new roots went left & right, leaving a circular hole on the bottom.

Now, to loosen & remove old media & old roots. You have identified the points of least resistance & potential for least damage ... the hollow spot on the bottom of the root ball & the old back part of the root ball. Lay down a few sheets of newspaper on a firm surface (floor or table). Put an old board under the newspaper. Get a strong clean knife with a pointed serrated blade.

Grasping the canes firmly, hold the plant upright on the newspaper, with the old canes facing you. Now insert the point of the knife almost vertically between you and the old canes & cut downward, then out toward you. This should sever the point where the old roots overlap in the rear of the plant. If there are any old canes, sever them from the plant & yank them off. This will further loosen the tight rootball.

You now have an opening at the bottom & back of the rootball, where you can remove old media, old roots, with the least amount of damage to the newer growing parts of the plant. Treat your roots & pot up your plant.

This also works with a lot of different orchids that have become pot bound.

[Blueszz]

Thanks Catwalker, you described it very well! I did the repotting one and a half year ago. That plant really was a challenge. It had new growth everywhere, in a circle around older canes.
I ended up dividing the plant and now have 2 pots that I need to repot again next spring :-) It's a vigorous grower!

Nicole

[Queenslander]

Originally Posted by Blueszz

Hi Queenslander,
Sorry, I don't understand you question. You want to know what color the flowers from mine are? I still can see the picture I uploaded, you not?

Nicole

Sorry Nicole, I meant, what colour are your flowers. Your picture doesn't detail the colour. I'm from Australia, where these dendrobiums are endemic. I was given mine as a gift with "no" name tag. But on researching through dendrobiums, I think what I have mentioned before in my prev. post, my orchid is a dendrobium x delicatum.

[Blueszz]

Well, I'm not a native speaker so please don't blame yourself :-) Sometimes it's me not fully understanding a question and then I have to ask :-)

I don't have a full size image available right now to see the details of the flowers and fall is just starting here so I have to wait a few months before I see their lovely smelling flowers again. My memory is not good enough to recall the details heh. Last year they flowered in December, just starting before Christmas if I remember well.

They did better in my climate than Dendrobium kingianum. Both pots I have flowered abundantly, too bad their flowers don't last long in a heated living room so this year I'll keep them in my unheated bedroom to enjoy their smell and flowers :-)

Nicole