Den. harveyanum - Orchid Board

silken · #1 05-06-2015, 07:01 PM

My Den. harveyanum is in bloom. But I am afraid it is dying. It doesn't seem to be growing and has lost all of its leaves. I've had this for a few years and while it was a slow grower, it seemed OK. Last summer it put out about 6 or 8 small new growths that grew to no more than 1/4 inch tall. That is way more than the usual 1 or 2 so that seemed strange. They sat dormant all summer and fall and over the winter all but 2 have turned brown. Now two canes have put out spikes which is the normal bloom time. On the first spike a few weeks ago, all buds except 1 blasted. This 2nd spike produced lovely blooms from all buds. But the canes are extremely shrivelled and I am concerned that there is no energy left to produce some new growths.

If anyone grows this with success, I'd appreciate some tips. I follow what OrchidWiz says to do and have another article by someone who said these need to just be left to be cool and dry over winter and I do that with minimal watering thru winter. I think this had begun to decline before this past winter set in.