Den. Haleahi Mistletoe 'Upright X finisterae, Culture questions

[Doug'sWindowGarden]

again my orchid growing friends,

My wife and I (rookie orchid growers) picked up a Den. Haleahi Mistletoe 'Upright' X Den. finisterae at the Central Florida Orchid Show last weekend. Yet again all the necessary questions were not asked when we bought the orchid. It is currently in bud, just starting to bloom. It looked great at the show when we bought it. One week later there are 2 leaves yellowing and most likely going to fall off of a cane that has buds on it. It looks like the oldest growth, because it has the buds that are getting ready to open or are already open. What are we doing wrong. Is it possibly environmental shock? We have watered it twice in a week, because the only info I can find on it is for the species plant it is crossed with, Den. finisterae. I don't know what group of dendrobium this plant is from, so that info would be greatly appriciated. Also any kind of culture info we could use also. We are still pretty new to orchids and this is 1 of 2 Dendrobiums we are just now trying out.

Thanks to anyone who looks, Doug

[Zoi2]

I don't grow this one but Den finisterrae is in the Latouria section and I believe is a cool grower. I do not know about the other parent. Environmental changes can affect leaves and buds. What kind of light and humidity are you giving it?
Someone with more experience with dens will be posting soon.
Joann

[catwalker808]

I did not recognize the name Haleahi Mistletoe, but I recognized the probable breeder from the name.

The overall cross consists of all Latouria dens (what we sometimes call New Guinea dens, because that's where the parent species come from). The finisterrae is also a latouria den., which, I believe, is intermediate, not cool.

Your hybrid has convolutum, macrophyllum (I think), atroviolaceum a couple of times ... and, of course, the finisterrae. As such, your hybrid should be a fairly easy & very forgiving plant to grow. If your roots are good, the yellow leaves are probably due to insufficient water, since the latourias tend to be heavy drinkers with dense rootballs. You may not be getting enough water in there. Your hybrid should be warm to intermediate.

Sometimes, when latouria dens are shipped from a warm to cold location, the very new shoots may turn yellow. But these plants produce such vigorous growth that you can just cut it off & a new growth will replace it ... not so slow & seasonal as the den phals. The latouria dens bloom for months at a time.

We've been breeding & growing the latouria dens for almost 25 years.

[Doug'sWindowGarden]

Thanks for the info Catwalker,

I've got it in a East, South/East window where it gets some morning sun (not much). My temps don't go much over 80 degrees. The humidity is between 50 and 70% most of the time. What medium do you use and also whats your watering scedule? Its in a green plastic 4 in pot right now, so I can't see the roots. Its in bud right now so I don't want to repot it. When is the best time to repot?

Thanks again, Doug

[catwalker808]

If I'm visualizing the plant correctly, it should be a vigorous & robust plant. If it is in a 4" plastic pot, the roots are probably filling that pot.

Check the roots. If you carefully pull the plant out of the pot, the rootball should remain intact and you can just slide it back into the pot. If the plant has been well grown, it should have a dense rootball which might need a bit more water than you have given it.

On the other hand, if it has poor roots, you would want to know that also. If that is the case, the rootball would fall apart, but you would know that you have poor roots. And you would want to address that by repotting immediately.

If your roots are good, just leave the plant as is for now. There are many potting media you can use after the bloom is through. Use a medium that is coarse enough to drain well, but will retain some moisture, a medium that you're comfortable with & is available to you. This type of plant should be a vigorous grower, therefore, a heavy drinker. It needs water throughout the year, but also good drainage. It's preferable to water more often, have the water drain through, while watering the roots, instead of having a constantly wet soggy rootball. I would use a clay pot, since the plant will probably be top heavy.

Just cut off fertilizer after September until spring(in Florida). Otherwise, you may only have new growths, which may disrupt the bloom cycle.

[Orchid Davantage]

I should say I had rather than I have, reading the post made me want to look closer at my plant. Once I lifted it, I realized the roots were brittle and dead. I wish I had read this post when I bought it.