winter care advice for dens.

[bluestones]

I just received my first two dendrobiums, a pierardii and a unicum. (could not resist) i was wondering if anyone has any advice on winter care on either or both of these 'chids? light, heat, water, etc. they have started to go dormant and the unicum has tiny little ?buds? on the stem. thank you.

[sii]

Hmmm, I'd like to know as well.

I have 2 dens (Emma white and a nobile type) I haven't done anything special with them. I've left them where they always are and water once a week as needed. The stem on my nobile den has stopped growing. But my emma white is rewarding me with 2 spikes! Should be seeing blooms soon.

[JeffreyGreen17]

Usualy some nice bright indirect light. lower temp and humidity and little to no watering for a month or so depends on what type of dendrobium you have.

Normally with some dendrobiums you don't water them until signs of new growth appear or your plant is severely suffering from dehydration.

[Bud]

That den on your picture will lose leaves so dont freak...when the leaves deminish stop watering unless the stems wrinkle and you can spray it a bit...but dont water it in its dormancy or it will not flower this spring but only produce keikis...your determination will be rewarded with cascading blooms...and leaves in the spring; then you can resume watering it.

[camille1585]

Just a small piece of information, Den pierardii was renamed some year ago and the correct name is Den aphyllum.

For this one at least (I think the same goes for unicum, but I don't grow it so don't know for sure) you need to supply it with a cool dry rest with good light. As a guideline many people stop watering these winter resters around Halloween, and start up again in March or when the buds appear. You can give the roots a light misting every few weeks. The older canes will very likely lose their leaves, so don't panic

Even if you don't have a cool spot, not watering it during the rest period is far more important. otherwise you get no blooms, or only keikis at the very best.

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[gnathaniel]

Actually, I think the current accepted name on pierardii/aphyllum is Den. cucullatum, but who can keep track? Most people still seem to know it as pierardii.

It's not necessary or always even advisable to keep these bone-dry in the winter, in their natural habitat they do tend to receive some moisture from heavy dews in the morning for at least part of the winter. The single most important blooming cue for the 'nobile-type' Dens is cooler temperatures, though all the ones I grow need far less water in cool weather (particularly after they lose their leaves) than they do during active growth.

Keikis seem to occur more often when a plant is over-fertilized (too much nitrogen) or stressed in some way, such as root or rhizome damage. Over-drying to the point where the pseudobulbs get all shrivelly is probably not a good idea for this reason. Overwatering is a factor in that plants not using excess water are more likely to get root rot, particularly in cool weather. Certain species like cucullatum (pierardii) and loddigesii will almost always 'keiki' no matter how you grow them, it's just their natural growth habit to branch and vine like that. Good luck, you picked some gorgeous Dendrobiums to start with!

--Nat

[Connie Star]

I have a den kingianum in spike- I've put all my dens on a cool to cold porch that gets a lot of light. Should I move the spiking one in?

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Actually, I think the current accepted name on pierardii/aphyllum is Den. cucullatum, but who can keep track? Most people still seem to know it as pierardii.

The KEW world plant checklist seems to have disappeared off internet, the link is dead. But I looked up an old thread abotu this orchid where I know we discussed the name. And unless there have been further changes, you are right, it's Den cucullatum. I'll have to look in Orchidwiz, that should be up to date.

[bluestones]

thank you all, this is very helpful

[gnathaniel]

Originally Posted by camille1585

The KEW world plant checklist seems to have disappeared off internet, the link is dead. But I looked up an old thread abotu this orchid where I know we discussed the name. And unless there have been further changes, you are right, it's Den cucullatum. I'll have to look in Orchidwiz, that should be up to date.

I use this one: The Plant List. It's a collaboration between Kew and MOBOT and may have superseded/replaced the standalone Kew site since it's more inclusive.

I've got a few seedlings of Den. cucullatum that are getting close to blooming size, I might try some (poorly controlled) experiments to see how they respond to different temperature and moisture regimens throughout the winter. There's a bit of contradictory information out there, though I have found that this species (as with most but not all I've grown in this section) is more likely to keep its leaves if kept moister in the winter. I've gotten blooms and usual (same or less as on drier/leafless ones) amounts of keikis from plants that have kept their leaves through the winter. Den. loddigesii seems to bloom a little better if I water thoroughly (mounted plants) about once a week through the winter, though Den. unicum and related species definitely seem to like being on the dry side.

Sorry Connie, I can't lend much advice on kingianum. I froze my big alba one to death last winter leaving it outside on a 26 F night; it survived the 3 28 F nights prior to that...

--Nat