Elleanthus natural senescence habit

[qbie]

Hello it's me again

I picked up an Elleanthus last year which is possibly amethystinus and was wondering, after flowering, are those canes, unlike Dendrobium kingianum, incapable of flowering again in subsequent seasons? If so, do the leaves on those canes naturally brown later that year or a subsequent year after flowering? I can't seem to find much information about Elleanthus in general. Thanks.

[Roberta]

Elleanthus grows a lot like Sobralia (they're fairly closely related). The canes won't rebloom, but may stay leafy for a couple of years after blooming. If the inflorescence is completely dried up, you could trim it as you would as a Sobralia, but don't rush - I don't think t they rebloom like Sobralias, but give it a chance. I don't have Elleanthus at the moment, but have lots of Sobralias, I wait until canes become completely leafless before any trimming. Don't be too tidy!

[qbie]

Dumb question, but when you say trim, you mean remove the cane as close to the base of the plant as possible right? Though leafless, some canes still have a little green on parts of them. Others are totally brown. I should only remove the completely brown ones right? Thx

[Roberta]

No such thing as a dumb question! I would only remove what's brown all the way down. If there is green, it's stored energy for the plant. Remember, these don't have pseudobulbs. So after a growth has bloomed, and started to lose leaves, it may still contain moisture and energy. When it's brown and brittle, it's really done.