Growing Dens in the South

[orchidman77]

I read on the Yamamoto Orchids website that they actually control when their dens bloom based on when they start watering, feeding, and giving the plants "normal" temps again to start the growing season. Have any of you done this? It would be interesting to document an experiment doing something like this.

David

[Donald]

I'm sure you'll find many growers do this. I presently have a couple of den nobiles that have been outdoors since April. They will be brought in befoew the temps drop below freezing, given no water until late February then will be watered at the first signs of new growth. Have fun

[orchidman77]

Wow, sounds like fun. For some reason, dens seem to be the plants that you can experiment around with and get interesting results without killing the plant.

Actually, I have another weird idea: I want to fertilize my den (when I actually get it!) with a high-nitrogen fert one year to encourage LOTS of keikis. That way I can propagate it fairly easily and have tons of plant the next year!!!

David