almost time: Den. moniliforme winter rest

[jason woodrue]

Hi,

It is getting close to Halloween. Alot of orchid culture reading recommends this as the date to start the winter rest for the Dendrobiums that need it to bloom well in the spring...
Anyway, I have 2 Den. Moniliformes that just started putting out keikis (i think they are keikis - though they they resemble flower buds at this stage) they are very small right now. No roots or leaves yet.

Here is my question: does the winter rest abort keiki development? or if i want to encourage the keikis to grow should i keep the orchids a bit more moist and not as extremely dry? Will keeping an orchid from its winter rest kill it? or what will happen?

Do the winter rest guidelines apply to Den. lamyaiae, Den. unicum and all others from section Dendrobium in the same way?

Also, how cold can Den. moniliforme go?

Those of you with the expertise, your knowledge would be greatly appreciated

thanks,
mike smith (jason woodrue)

[Ross]

I don't give my D. moniliformes any rest at all. Mine are in my tank and I think the shortening "days" as I shorten my "lights on" time, are enough to spark blooming. At least mine respond this way.

[LinhT]

I don't know what will happen if other orchids don't rest but with some of the mini Japanese species, they'll have a more aggressive growth spurt when they wake up from resting. Some of them usually need the cooler temps in the winter to set spikes in Spring. All my Dend moniliforme are grown on a windowsill in moss. When the temps get cooler and the days are shorter, they start dropping leaves. When they start to look bare and ugly, I let the moss mounds dry out completely. Then water lightly. If the plant is budding, I resume watering.

[jason woodrue]

The 2 moniliforme both have keikis started and i am wondering if giving a dry winter rest will abort the keiki process?

So Ross, You signal to the plant that it is wintertime by letting it experience lower temperatures day and night, and by shortening the amount of light exposure they receive. Do you continue to water with the same level of intensity throughout the winter? Are your moniliforme kept very moist or are they dry to the touch between waterings?
If your seasonal signal works i may try your method on one of the mounted plant to see if i can keep the keikis going...

Tracy, I grew my 1 potted Den moniliforme very similar to you last year and it did grow one flower on the largest cane. it kept a good lot of its leaves, but it did definitely drop a few. I watered it roughly weekly without fertilizer until buds started in january (approximately i think). it seems like it actually bloomed in feb.

I have since acquired a mounted cluster of monilforme so this is my first winter with the species mounted. i also have den. lamyaeie which will need a similar rest.
Nonetheless, the 2 moniliforme both have keikis started and i am wondering if giving a winter rest will abort the keiki process?

[akiko]

Thanks for this thread mine has just started dropping leaves and I had been cutting back on the watering.