Dendrobium laevifolium in bloom

[wintergirl]

Originally Posted by wonderlen3000

good job. i can never keep this plant alive, let alone to bloom it.

I'm curious, what happened to your plant? and what conditions did you keep it in?

[mangyanboss999]

Lovely!! very nice.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Originally Posted by wonderlen3000

good job. i can never keep this plant alive, let alone to bloom it.

Well I'm not sure I can keep it alive either. I just got it and it is now losing some leaves. The other bloom spike or bulb is growing however so it must not be that bad.

---------- Post added at 09:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 AM ----------

Originally Posted by mangyanboss999

Lovely!! very nice.

Thanks, It is kind of a cute little thing.

[gngrhill]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

Ha ha I fooled you I can't take credit for this as I got it this way. Thanks Ray. I just got this and I was surprised as it came in bloom. But I wanted to show it off anyway. Is this other funny thing a new growth or is it another bud? This is such a strange plant the bloom looks just like the Psb that the leaves grow on.

Got mine also from Ray, so can't take credit for the blooms. However, in my defense, It was is bud when I got it and the blooms opened without blasting

[wintergirl]

I noticed something new on my "resting" plant. The roots are now a very green in color. They have been white or light tan since I got it last Oct. They still look alive but green. I have no leaves now, the pseudobulbs look good. Since mine was in bloom in Oct and bloomed for about 6 months, I guess it's resting. It will be interesting to see what it does next. There is not a lot of information about this plant.

[gngrhill]

Totally new plant to me too. It does seem to have some interesting growth patterns. Hope I can keep it alive.

[wintergirl]

It does not care when you repot or even how much you repot. You won't loose blooms over it. I think it likes a repot rather than nasty old media. I have kept mine in 100% spag moss, not really tight but covering the roots. Keep it moist, I mist the moss every day. I have used well water. I don't think it likes fertilizer, everything I read says this and I believe it.

[wintergirl]

I was looking more closely at my plant and I noticed that new little shoots are coming off the sides of several bulbs. If you just look at the plant, you might think it's dying or something. I wonder if this is what happens, people think the plant is dead but it is just going through a "rest". Here are a couple of pictures. I am so happy to see this new growth. I think they will be leaves and the blooms will come from the old pseudobulbs.

[gngrhill]

Definitely looks like something is happening..Congrats

[katrina]

This little one looses it's leaves as a perfectly normal part of what it does. It blooms on only older leafless growths so you want to those leaves to drop, once the growth is mature.

They don't mind cooler temps...actually do better w/slightly cooler than too hot.

I don't grow this one anymore but the plant's normal cycle is to grow a new growth...the growth would mature...leaves would then drop...buds would form on leafless growths and then it would bloom. If the roots are good and the growths are plump and not turning black then don't worry about the leaf drop. Like some other dens...this one can get pretty ugly when it's doing it's leaf dropping thing but it's perfectly healthy.

I grew it bright but if the temps get too hot (80+) then it will appreciate a slightly shadier spot until the temps return to more comfortable levels. In the dead of the summer I grew it on an east facing porch where it got morning direct sun and then just bright after that. IN the winter it sat next to catts under the HO T5's lights.

Hope that helps.

Almost forgot...I did my best to keep it moist all the time. Moist but not soggy/soppy.