My first Dendrobium

[etcherkate]

I bought a half dozen baby orchids at a show in April. The price was right, but I may have gotten in over my head as a beginner orchid hobbyist. So far I've only managed to kill one, but I'm not sure what to expect with such young plants.

This is my first Dendrobium. Since bringing it home, it's grown a happy looking new bulb. My question is, when plants are this young, should I expect flowers to arrive with a new pseudobulb? And do all pseudobulbs grow flowers, or are they hit and miss?

I keep this plant with all the others, about two feet away from an East window. The plant sits in an improvised humidity tray and is watered just before the moss dries out, every ten days or so, and fertilized three out of every four waterings. I haven't changed the potting mix since purchasing the plant in April.

Thanks for taking the time to read my question!

[AJW]

The plant you have is a species and according to photos in orchid Wiz it will be quite spectacular. See if on of your society members has orchid wiz and you will see the photo and get more detail I suspect the size of the plant you show in the photo will not flower for about another two years at least:ORIGIN/HABITAT: New Guinea, Bougainville, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Plants grow on trees in swampy lowland forests, lower mountain forests, or in planted coconut or Casuarina trees from sea level to 3600 ft. (0-1100 m). On ridge tops, they grow on the surface of the ground in thick moss and peat. The plants survive exposure to high light and hot temperatures at lower elevations, but they are more abundant in cool, shady locations at higher elevations. -- Source: Charles Baker

[estación seca]

Translating to Portland, as warm as you can keep it. High humidity. Don't let it dry out very long. As much winter sun as possible, but be careful in the spring that the small seedling doesn't sunburn after the long, dark winter. It should eventually do great outside during the summer, and you can probably gradually move it into full sun as spring progresses once it's much bigger. Next spring move it gradually into dappled shade. Fertilize a lot when in growth.

[etcherkate]

Originally Posted by AJW

The plant you have is a species and according to photos in orchid Wiz it will be quite spectacular. See if on of your society members has orchid wiz and you will see the photo and get more detail I suspect the size of the plant you show in the photo will not flower for about another two years at least:ORIGIN/HABITAT: New Guinea, Bougainville, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Plants grow on trees in swampy lowland forests, lower mountain forests, or in planted coconut or Casuarina trees from sea level to 3600 ft. (0-1100 m). On ridge tops, they grow on the surface of the ground in thick moss and peat. The plants survive exposure to high light and hot temperatures at lower elevations, but they are more abundant in cool, shady locations at higher elevations. -- Source: Charles Baker

It's really quite a strange looking Dendrobium! Thanks for the estimate on how long I should expect to wait for flowers. So far, so good!

---------- Post added at 08:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:10 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

Translating to Portland, as warm as you can keep it. High humidity. Don't let it dry out very long. As much winter sun as possible, but be careful in the spring that the small seedling doesn't sunburn after the long, dark winter. It should eventually do great outside during the summer, and you can probably gradually move it into full sun as spring progresses once it's much bigger. Next spring move it gradually into dappled shade. Fertilize a lot when in growth.

It won't be much longer before my plants outgrow their windowsill. When that happens, maybe I'll try to convert a corner of my laundry room to an artificially lit, higher humidity and more brightly lit growing area. I'll have to pay more attention at my local orchid society; it seems like there aren't a lot of Dendrobium growers...maybe because we get less sun 8 months out of the year than other locations.

Thanks for your advice!

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by etcherkate

...It won't be much longer before my plants outgrow their windowsill. When that happens, maybe I'll try to convert a corner of my laundry room to an artificially lit, higher humidity and more brightly lit growing area. I'll have to pay more attention at my local orchid society; it seems like there aren't a lot of Dendrobium growers...maybe because we get less sun 8 months out of the year than other locations.

Consider some of the very small epiphytic plants that have been called Dendrobium and also Dockrillia. They don't need huge amounts of light to grow and flower well. Mature plants can easily fit on a 4" / 10cm square mount. It's not hard to find D. cucumerina, prenticei, lichenastrum, linguiforme, toressae, wassellii. They would also do well for your outside in dappled sun during the summer.

I should have added that these are miniature plants with miniature flowers.

[etcherkate]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Consider some of the very small epiphytic plants that have been called Dendrobium and also Dockrillia. They don't need huge amounts of light to grow and flower well. Mature plants can easily fit on a 4" / 10cm square mount. It's not hard to find D. cucumerina, prenticei, lichenastrum, linguiforme, toressae, wassellii. They would also do well for your outside in dappled sun during the summer.

I'll keep an eye out for the Dockrillias--this is the first time I've heard of that genus. It's a much more dramatic looking flower than most of the Dendrobiums I see in my local nursery.

[dbarron]

Dendrobiums do well in fairly high light areas, but they're so diverse that you'll find a few that seem to prefer lower light too. However, with most orchids, pushing the light limits is the key to good flowering.