Dendrobium lindleyi var. aggregatum question - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Silje · #11 07-18-2013, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by violetta

The day and night temperatures are quite high. You could stop fertilising it even if you don't reduce water, so that you don't end up with tons of keikis.

I did do that. The plant has not been fertilized since end of May and I'm planning to hold back on the fertilizer until August when it will probably begin to warm up a bit again.

I'll just have to see. It will be difficult for me to give the callista-dends both cool temps and high humidity (but not water) during the winter months and I'm not sure I'll be able to manipulate my conditions to meet their needs so the few that I have now just have to be test bunnies and if it doesn't work out I'll just have to opt for other chids in the future. It's just that I loooooooove the yellow callista-dendrobiums and would so like to be able to grow them.

violetta · #12 07-18-2013, 04:16 AM

I have found that humidity isn't that important for Dens, as long as you keep them well watered.
I also can't have high humidity, so when I reduce water I just mist the exposed roots every now and then. When it gets very cold (around 5-8 degrees) I stop watering and just mist the roots in the morning.
I grow my Den nobiles outside all year and they literally thrive in my hot and dry climate.

Bud · #13 07-18-2013, 03:16 PM

Its tricky to advice you since we have totally different and opposite grow zones....and I am an indoor orchid grower.
my aggregatum had a short rest this blooming cycle....My rest period is on the 15th of December and I wait until it got buds or keikis(first week of Feb)....this year keikis formed before the spikes(I got only few flowers and the second spike all blasted)....as soon as I got a couple of inches of new growth I resumed water and fertilizer. Listen to your plants=they will give you signals

Silje · #14 07-19-2013, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bud

Its tricky to advice you since we have totally different and opposite grow zones....and I am an indoor orchid grower.
my aggregatum had a short rest this blooming cycle....My rest period is on the 15th of December and I wait until it got buds or keikis(first week of Feb)....this year keikis formed before the spikes(I got only few flowers and the second spike all blasted)....as soon as I got a couple of inches of new growth I resumed water and fertilizer. Listen to your plants=they will give you signals

Seems that aggregatums have a tendency to make their owners a bit puzzled and unsure at times.

I've got two growths on mine now. One is definitely a new bulb, there is no doubt. I've had my plant long enough to recognize that. The other one might be a spike or a keiki. At least I don't think it's a bulb. It looks different. My aggregatum is still slumbering a bit though and growth is slow so it will still take some more days before I can determine what this tiny nub is going to be.

Gosh, if it happen to be a spike I certainly hope it doesn't blast. This would be one of those plants that I would really like to see flowering. Bud blast can rather happen to one of the NOID phals.

spetrizio · #15 07-19-2013, 05:16 AM

I think 30C is too high daily temp during the rest period.
Do you have ventilation/cooling in GH?

during summer I keep all my orchids together in GH, but during the winter I separate dens which need rest in non heated room.

Silje · #16 07-19-2013, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spetrizio

I think 30C is too high daily temp during the rest period.
Do you have ventilation/cooling in GH?

during summer I keep all my orchids together in GH, but during the winter I separate dens which need rest in non heated room.

I will try to make a plan for cooler storage for next winter. At the moment I don't have a good option that will provide the plants with enough light and be cool enough at the same time. GH has ventilation and misting, but the clear blue sky and African sun still hike up the temps during daytime. I'm able to make NOID nobiles flower though...

I've just been opting to keep the plants in the GH for humidity and for high variation in day/night temps hoping that would be a trigger in itself. Outside of the GH the humidity is around 5-7% at the moment...but I suppose I can try with a bit of misting and humidity trays to help them a bit.

spetrizio · #17 07-19-2013, 11:46 AM

evaporative cooler would be perfect for such dry climate.
only problem is probably to find it in Namibia. I could not find the small one in Croatia, so I am using strong ventilation and high presure misting system.
My GH is fully exposed to sun. during the winter without ventilation temp goes over 30C even outside temp is around 0C.

maybe you need better ventilation. you need at least 1 change in 3-5 minutes. I have variable speed vent from 1 change in 10 minutes to 1 in 1 minute.