nobile type Dens in bloom

[gngrhill]

The pink one is my D. Lucky Angel 'smash' and the white one is a Noid. I found it interesting that both of them bloomed on the old leafless canes and nothing on the new canes. I have 5 other nobile types that are not blooming yet. Maybe they won't. My Lucky Angel did not bloom as well as last year, so maybe my conditions just weren't right enough.

[rbarata]

The white one, judging by the photos is a Dendrobium Spring Dream 'Apollon'. I have one too and this year is full of buds: 39 in total, half of them growing on old canes (some of them 3 and 4 years old).
Maybe you had temps above the recommended? Or maybe this year, as it was warmer than usual, the differential summer/winter was greater. My apollon also smashed its record in bud count.

[gngrhill]

Originally Posted by rbarata

The white one, judging by the photos is a Dendrobium Spring Dream 'Apollon'. I have one too and this year is full of buds: 39 in total, half of them growing on old canes (some of them 3 and 4 years old).
Maybe you had temps above the recommended? Or maybe this year, as it was warmer than usual, the differential summer/winter was greater. My apollon also smashed its record in bud count.

They are outside in summer, so depend on Mother Nature for temp changes day to night. When I have to bring them inside for winter I can't keep them as cool because I have one grow space with t5 lights which keep it warm enough for the ones that like it a little warmer. I keep them outside until frost warnings and even then I put them out in the daytime and set them inside at night so they won't freeze. I think that the new growth did not mature enough before winter and that's why they didn't all bud. Don't know how I can hurry them up .

[terryros]

At least some of the nobile-type Dendrobiums do not bloom on the current year's growth, but only on the previous year's growth, which may be leafless. This is not true of all hybrids, depending on the mix of species in the hybrid.


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[Leafmite]

Very nice!

[rbarata]

I think the key for their "normal" blooming is to find a spot with cool temps all day (night included).
As a reference, my Apollon is always at 15 ºC (59 F) with drops to 12 ºC (54 F).

[gngrhill]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I think the key for their "normal" blooming is to find a spot with cool temps all day (night included).
As a reference, my Apollon is always at 15 ºC (59 F) with drops to 12 ºC (54 F).

I don't have a spot that cool once I bring them inside. Days run close to 70F and night get down to 59F

[rbarata]

Days run close to 70F and night get down to 59F

So, that spot is outside. They can handle those temps, in fact that's what they need. As long as they don't get frost or temps much lower.

[estación seca]

Edit June 15 2020:
Yamamoto Dendrobiums in Japan hybridizes and produces a great number of these plants. Their Web site formerly had excellent growing information for hobbyists. Unfortunately it is no longer there. You can still look at the varieties they grow, and maybe see one very similar to yours.

I saved the page, and summarized it in a post in this thread:
Uncertain if Dendrobium is still alive

Yamamoto now has a page showing how to force Dendrobium nobile for Christmas flowering in Japan's climate. There is a lot to learn from that page, but it is intended for growers who can artificially heat and cool their greenhouses during off seasons. Note they use coconut husk for growing medium, which many orchidists would say retains too much water for orchids. For many orchids that is correct, but this is a very thirsty orchid.

[rbarata]

This caught my attention:

The most common cause of poor flowering or production of off shoots is the accumulation of too much nitrogen from fertilizers. Nitrogen should be given only as a trigger for new shoot growth. Once the new shoot has started to grow, it is too late to apply nitrogen. The ultimate size of new cane has been determined at this point. Therefore, do not apply nitrogen after August or sometimes in late July.

I am surprised by the large qty of buds in my Nobile this year. I almost didn't fertilize this summer (comparing with the previous years) because I was giving it bath tub water showers to control spider mites.
So, after the showers it didn't made much sense to me to fertilize a plant whose roots were already saturated with water.
Maybe that's the reason for so many buds.