The Six Horticultural Groups of Dendrobium

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Randy

Hi Ross,

Did you by any chance see where the Dens like Den spectabile fits? I didn't see any category that seems to fit it's growing habit. It's persistant and needs to be warm year round. However, I don't know about restricting water twice a year. Any thoughts from yourself or anyone else? I also know it's a bit fussy about getting repotted and needs to re-estabish itself before it will flower again.


Randy

According to Jay's site IOSPE Photos, here is the description and recommended culture:

A spectacular, medium to large sized, hot growing epiphyte in primary rainforests, mangrove swamps and moss forests as well as an occasional lithophyte on rocks from Papua & New Guinea and the Solomon Islands at elevations of 300 to 2000 meters although it is most often from 300 to 500 meters with semiglobose at the base, to 8 noded stems carrying to 5, towards the apex, lanceolate to ovate, coriaceous, obtuse leaves, that blooms in the winter and early spring on an axillary, 8 to 16" [20 to 40 cm] long, few to many flowered [to 20] raceme with minute, oblong bracts that arises from near the apex of leafed mature canes. Fertilizer as well as water should be reduced through the winter months and resumed only after the onset of new growth in the spring.

Emphasis is mine. So it sounds like only a winter rest (not dormancy). I don't know which group that fits into, however.

[calvin_orchidL]

Originally Posted by Randy

Hi Ross,

Did you by any chance see where the Dens like Den spectabile fits? I didn't see any category that seems to fit it's growing habit. It's persistant and needs to be warm year round. However, I don't know about restricting water twice a year. Any thoughts from yourself or anyone else? I also know it's a bit fussy about getting repotted and needs to re-estabish itself before it will flower again.


Randy

Hello spectabile is a latouria type...not sure how it falls into these categories, but if you search latouria dendrobiums you should find a lot of information. I remember finding an amazing website somewhere that breaks down the dendrobiums into many many botanical groups...I even posted it somewhere but now I can't find it anymore

EDIT - found it! Phil's Orchid World Dendrobiums Not too useful in terms of cultural information, but interesting taxonomically and may help you group similar orchids together based upon family

[Randy]

Thank you my friends!

Randy

[nancy]

Despite what Ms. Northen may say, I think aggregatum is 1) certainly not deciduous and 2) a full, dry winter rest will really p*ss it off! Mine never flowered under those conditions!
Or, maybe I am having dumbluck!
Regards - Nancy

[2hennypenny]

I am a newbie to orchids and this forum and I have several Dens who's catagory I don't know. Burana Stripe and Burana Pearl, King Dragon, Bobby Mesina and Betty Gotto. Can one of you very knowledgable people help me as I don't think I'm caring for them as well as I should.

[Randy]

Originally Posted by nancy

Despite what Ms. Northen may say, I think aggregatum is 1) certainly not deciduous and 2) a full, dry winter rest will really p*ss it off! Mine never flowered under those conditions!
Or, maybe I am having dumbluck!
Regards - Nancy

I get the best flowers on my Den. aggregatum by giving it a full rest for only 2 months. I slow down watering in October. Allow it a full dry rest in November & December, then begin watering it again in January. It usually awards me with a fabulous display of flowers which start coming out in early Febuary and are in full bloom by the end of the month.

It's just too bad they only last for such a short period of time. This year I'm going to leave it go dry December & January hoping to have it in bloom for the Longwood Gardens show. We shall see.

Mine grows in nothing. It has a hook in it so I can hang it. I drove the metal stake straight through the cluster of bulbs and bent it around so the cluster wouldn't fall of. Spring, summmer and fall, it get's watered daily and lots of low dose MSN fertilizer.

If you don't rest it all you get are a few flower spikes. But if you rest it for a couple of months you will get LOTS of flower spikes!!

My
Randy

[Randy]

Originally Posted by 2hennypenny

I am a newbie to orchids and this forum and I have several Dens who's catagory I don't know. Burana Stripe and Burana Pearl, King Dragon, Bobby Mesina and Betty Gotto. Can one of you very knowledgable people help me as I don't think I'm caring for them as well as I should.

Howdy & Wellcome to the group!

I can't say about all of what you have w/o photos, not knowing all the names. However, I do recall the Burana's are the Den/Phal types. These are easier to care for than the straight species dendrobiums. They don't need winter resting, as a matter of fact, if you don't water them enough they loose leaves, which might lead you to think they were deciduous, which they aren't. I've killed a couple that way, LOL

I hope sombody more knowledable than I am can give you more advice. I'm not the best at growing those types of Dendrobiums.


Randy

[2hennypenny]

Thanks Randy,
Any info is welcomed since I know so little and have too many Orchids that I don't want to kill.

[Ross]

When I originally posted this thread, I simply paraphrased a classification system coined by Rebecca Northern. There had been lots of questions regarding culture and I hoped to simplify most of the questions into her classification system. Like most systems, nothing is fool-proof. But suffice it to say, that if you know a broad group your plant falls into, then her system will be a good start with culture. The crosses yield the most controversy and confusion. Named crosses require one to seek out the original parentage and determine, based on percent of the original parents and subsequent contributers, which of the 6 major groups your plant should be in. It's not and end-all solution, just a help in determining how to start taking care of your plant.

[kavanaru]

Which section do Dendrobium laevifolium, Dendrobium brassii, Dendrobium moniliforme and Dendrobium harveyanum belong to? just curious....