Den peguanum watering tips

[catwalker808]

Den peguanum is a fascinating tiny mini, but it requires some discipline to grow a nice plant.

Here's some background on watering issues. I had some old film photos I had taken over 20 years ago, but about 8 years ago I wanted to take some digital photos. Den peguanum blooms during our rainy "winter" season, so I brought a community pot from our nursery into my office to photograph it out of the rain.

I took photos indoors, then just left the cp on top of a filing cabinet. The pbulbs had no leaves, just the flowers. Out of curiosity, I left the cp to see how long the flowers would last. With the new buds opening up, the whole blooming sequence lasted several weeks.

After blooming, the bare leafless pbulbs are like dormant bulbs. So I ignored them, thinking I would take them out later for potting up. THREE months later, with not a drop of water, with only office lights in an air conditioned room ... the bare pbulbs started to put out new shoots.

My point here is that proper growing media & watering practices are crucial. The fine roots are mainly for clinging to some sort of support. The plants need very good drainage, even during their growing season & no water during their post bloom dormant season. The tiny pbulbs on young or older plants are very susceptible to rot from overwatering.

A little discipline required, but the blooms are rewarding.

[camille1585]

Nice information!! So at what point do you start watering again?

[boytjie]

Interesting info, thanks! I just last week got one of these guys from Andy's. I'll grow it like I do my other winter-rest Dendrobiums: I typically withhold water from Halloween to Valentines Day.

[catwalker808]

Camille.

The plants need a bit of water when they're blooming. After the flowers die off, the plants will usually sit there & do nothing until it gets a bit warmer.

If the plants are mounted or at least very well drained, if they have a very dry environment, give water occasionally to prevent the pbulbs from shriveling up. I would wait until new growths start to emerge, then start to water again on a regular basis. As the leaves become larger, water & feed weakly, but regularly... that is the growing season.

If you handle a plant right, it can develop from a pea-sized plant to a thumb sized plant in one season. If it's under nourished & underwatered in the growing season, it can go from thumb sized back to pea-sized. If a plant is potted in a wet medium, soon it will be "pushing up daisies". That's an American expression meaning it will die.

[camille1585]

Thanks, that's great info!
One of my favorite ebayers has this plant periodically, so I think I'll get one next time

[Discus]

Originally Posted by catwalker808

soon it will be "pushing up daisies". That's an American expression meaning it will die.

I think it's a generalised English expression - at least Monty Python use it in the dead parrot sketch.

[NatalieS]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Thanks, that's great info!
One of my favorite ebayers has this plant periodically, so I think I'll get one next time

Such a co-incidence! I was up til 1 in the morning looking for suppliers of this plant as I wanted to suggest it for the members project!

It's so odd looking - reminds me of baobab trees from back home in SA.

[catwalker808]

You may be right. A lot of places have daisies.

I should have been more specific: "pushing up daisies on boot hill." (American cowboy movies).

In any case, wet soggy roots are usually fatal.