Den. Christina Princess

[Ordphien]

At least that's what the tag says. Google is pretty sparse on info. I'm assuming it mislabeled or something.

Anyway. While in Trader Joe's it struck me that I have no dendrobiums. None...
So I figured... why not buy the cheap Trader Joe's ones, and perfect my culture before buying registered hybrids.
Anyway, none of the hard cane types caught my interest, but they did have one unopened nobile. I figured... why not? And brought it home.
So far none of the buds have opened, I'll be sure to post when they do though!

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[Ordphien]

Oops, pictures!

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[NYCorchidman]

I have been buying some nice den. nobile hybrids from TJ lately as well.
It's nice because they are cheap and I get to have flowering nobile in the middle of summer.
Mine all flowered way back in late winter.

Most of these are from Yamamoto Dedndrobium, so once the flowers open, you can get a pretty good idea of what you have.
Many of their plants are not patent protected, so sometimes they are sold under some interesting names.

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

I have been buying some nice den. nobile hybrids from TJ lately as well.
It's nice because they are cheap and I get to have flowering nobile in the middle of summer.
Mine all flowered way back in late winter.

Most of these are from Yamamoto Dedndrobium, so once the flowers open, you can get a pretty good idea of what you have.
Many of their plants are not patent protected, so sometimes they are sold under some interesting names.

We don't really get nobile dens here... dunno why... it was this one or a magenta one. Out was a great debate but I went for the mystery one.

I'm concerned that I've messed up is normal growth cycle by buying it in summer. But this was the first ones we've had all year, and probably won't get more.

I'll Google the company after the first flower opens, dont wanna ruin the surprise!

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[Ordphien]

I say that and look over, what do I see?
The first flower opening! I wonder what it'll look like tomorrow. Pink and white obviously lol.

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[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by Ordphien

We don't really get nobile dens here... dunno why... it was this one or a magenta one. Out was a great debate but I went for the mystery one.

I'm concerned that I've messed up is normal growth cycle by buying it in summer. But this was the first ones we've had all year, and probably won't get more.

I'll Google the company after the first flower opens, dont wanna ruin the surprise!

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That is strange because nobiles will do so well in your climate.

Anyways, I bought a nobile hybrid in bloom in the summer, but that was early June years back.
I find that it is not the best but still grew and flowered fine the next year because it came with some new canes. One was nearly mature at the time of purchase and the other one quite short, which did mature short due to short summer days left to grow.

I think I see the same thing going on your plant.
I see one or two unbloomed cane that is quite tall, so that one should flower next spring as usual.
The other shorter ones (if they are new, I can't tell from the picture) may not have enough time to grow to full length this year and mature short. will still flower most likely.

Or one trick is that you can encourage them to grow to their full potential by providing fertilizer and warm&bright condition well into early winter.
Once you see the top leaf forming, then they are done growing so you can subject the plant in the cool or cold winter to encourage blooming again.

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

That is strange because nobiles will do so well in your climate.

Anyways, I bought a nobile hybrid in bloom in the summer, but that was early June years back.
I find that it is not the best but still grew and flowered fine the next year because it came with some new canes. One was nearly mature at the time of purchase and the other one quite short, which did mature short due to short summer days left to grow.

I think I see the same thing going on your plant.
I see one or two unbloomed cane that is quite tall, so that one should flower next spring as usual.
The other shorter ones (if they are new, I can't tell from the picture) may not have enough time to grow to full length this year and mature short. will still flower most likely.

Or one trick is that you can encourage them to grow to their full potential by providing fertilizer and warm&bright condition well into early winter.
Once you see the top leaf forming, then they are done growing so you can subject the plant in the cool or cold winter to encourage blooming again.

Do they? It seems like they would. Except winter is our rainy season lol.
We get lots of hard cane dens, but not a lot of nobile...
I realise now taking a picture of a green plant against a tree wasn't very smart.
It has two matured growths with buds. One of them is less than half the size of the other.
A tall maturing cane that's still growing, past the already tall flowering one. And a little one that's about 6"tall.
Seems like the same scenario is going to work out.

Our summer heat lasts at least until the end of October usually. Sometimes into November. So maybe there is still hope for the small growths.

Maybe I'll do what you suggested and just keep them growing. I might just skip blooming season and induce keikis.
That way everything will be in schedule and I'll have a nice display come the next spring.

Quick question... I've seen your posts about your nobile dens that you kept on your friends Sun porch in winter. They looked spectacular! About how dry and cold did you keep them? And for how long?


Been watching the bud slowly open all night... can't wait for tomorrow! Hope it's fragrant.


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[NYCorchidman]

Rainy winter will rot them.
You have to somehow protect the plant from getting too wet. You don't have to keep them dry as many people believe. They just need less water but still need water during the rest.

Night temperature is more important than day time temperature. In the late fall, if the night temperature dips under 65, this is enough to stop the growth.

They will not skip flowering as long as they get cool rest. The shorter ones will still flower but of course, less flowers because they have less nodes to sprout spikes from.
I've never had keiki "problems" with my nobiles.
From what I read from studies, it is mainly triggered by not enough cooling with or without extended fertilized into late growth season.

Keikis are useless as far as flowering.
They usually make at least one or two new canes each season and well grown cane can grow quite tall, which translates into abundant flowering the following spring. So I would focus one normal healthy growth for great show rather than inducing keikis.

Where I used to keep my nobiles for winter rest was my friend's balcony. It was covered with glass so the day time could get quite warm on sunny days but it would get quite cold at night but never below freezing.
Depending on the outside temperature, but I would say day temp fluctuated between 80-50 and night temp 55-40.

I kept them there the entire winter (November to February) and the buds came up in January and they opened in February.

The flowering was just amazing!

So I would say it takes at least two months for the plant to initiate buds under cooling process.

I watered them good during the rest. Sometimes it is wrongly called dry rest, but it's cool rest with less watering not dry.
Underwatering during this period can shrivel up canes badly and cause buds to drop if formed at all.
Basically you will kill or nearly kill the plant as any sever underwatering will.
In the wild, nobiles do not get summer downpour during the rest period, but they do get plenty of water in the form of early morning dew and even during the day, the air carries high humidity.

Depending on the day, I watered at least once a week to sometimes three times a week.
In the unheated valcony, day time can get quite warm on sunny days and with very dry indoor air drying thing fast, frequent watering was necessary.

I go by pot weight in deciding when to water.

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Rainy winter will rot them.
You have to somehow protect the plant from getting too wet. You don't have to keep them dry as many people believe. They just need less water but still need water during the rest.

Night temperature is more important than day time temperature. In the late fall, if the night temperature dips under 65, this is enough to stop the growth.

They will not skip flowering as long as they get cool rest. The shorter ones will still flower but of course, less flowers because they have less nodes to sprout spikes from.
I've never had keiki "problems" with my nobiles.
From what I read from studies, it is mainly triggered by not enough cooling with or without extended fertilized into late growth season.

Keikis are useless as far as flowering.
They usually make at least one or two new canes each season and well grown cane can grow quite tall, which translates into abundant flowering the following spring. So I would focus one normal healthy growth for great show rather than inducing keikis.

Where I used to keep my nobiles for winter rest was my friend's balcony. It was covered with glass so the day time could get quite warm on sunny days but it would get quite cold at night but never below freezing.
Depending on the outside temperature, but I would say day temp fluctuated between 80-50 and night temp 55-40.

I kept them there the entire winter (November to February) and the buds came up in January and they opened in February.

The flowering was just amazing!

So I would say it takes at least two months for the plant to initiate buds under cooling process.

I watered them good during the rest. Sometimes it is wrongly called dry rest, but it's cool rest with less watering not dry.
Underwatering during this period can shrivel up canes badly and cause buds to drop if formed at all.
Basically you will kill or nearly kill the plant as any sever underwatering will.
In the wild, nobiles do not get summer downpour during the rest period, but they do get plenty of water in the form of early morning dew and even during the day, the air carries high humidity.

Depending on the day, I watered at least once a week to sometimes three times a week.
In the unheated valcony, day time can get quite warm on sunny days and with very dry indoor air drying thing fast, frequent watering was necessary.

I go by pot weight in deciding when to water.

I'll find a "rain shadow" in my yard this winter. I think under the balcony needs watering every few days even if it's been pouring for weeks.
No keikis then lol.
When would you suggest I stop fertilizing? Our winter doesn't truly start till December or January. Normally January in my section of SoCal.

Thanks for all your advice. It seems, aside from the rain, my local climate is going to match up perfectly. But we'll see lol.
I'll be sure to keep them hydrated during winter.
From what your saying I'm gathering cooler temperatures and reduced fertilizers are the keys.

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[Ordphien]

Here it is guys! Two flowers open! And a bunch on the way.
I'll take one more picture when it's in full display.
How long should I expect the flowers to last?

There's a lovely light scent to it. Not as strong as the other nobile they had for sale... maybe it'll strengthen with time.

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