Help save my Dendrobium (little green apples) - Orchid Board

SaraJean · #1 04-08-2019, 07:55 AM

Not sure what part of Florida you are in but I’m in New Orleans so we might have similar climates and I grow primarily outdoors. I don’t grow the Den. Little Green Apples but I do have both of the species that are in the background. This hybrid is a Latouria type and is 75% Den. convolutum, 25% Den. alexandrae, and 100% a moisture lover. I wonder if it was just a case of dehydration. My first Latouria type hybrid developed similar symptoms to yours, leaves falling off rapidly and yellowing soft canes, when I was letting it dry out between waterings. At first I thought I was overwatering so I cut back my water further to every 3-4 days, which made the problem worse. Now, I let most of them just approach dryness in the winter months (kept at lows of 60F), and water daily, with frequent rains, once it starts to warm up (when nights over 65 F). I don’t recommend misting for these types, they want to be watered well and watered often, saturating all of the media. Misting isn’t going to do much of anything, let alone hydrate this guy. The bark yours is in looks pretty large and might be more suitable for an orchid that has thicker roots. I doubt it would be possible to over water in bark that size unless it is old and broken down media. Most of my Latourias are in small clay pots with a medium sized bark (I like to use the power sized orchiata bark as it holds up well in our heat with being constantly moist from frequent rains) with a bit of sponge rock mixed in to retain air pockets. Some are potted in clay pebbles that have a layer of live moss growing on the top. Those ones will get set in saucer of water in the summer and watered just as frequently as the others. That’s how much most of these species and hybrids like water. They still need an airy root zone, but that root zone can be evenly moist for most of the year. My Den. spectabile is the only one I treat different.

Keep an eye on the temps. I have moved all of Latouria types outside and they don’t mind the temps that are wildly swinging around but I do protect most of them from anything below 60F. They could probably handle it a little cooler but I don’t like to risk it.

Also watch out for spider mites this time of the year. If you are getting a few days or weeks with periods of low humidity like we do in my location, that is prime time for mites. The last time I got a bad spider mite infestation on my Den. Nora Takunaga (another Latouria hybrid) it ended up killing the plant. It was already weak from being dehydrated and the mites were the final nail in the coffin.

Good luck! Yours looks perfectly salvageable and these hybrids do tend to bounce back pretty quick once you identify and fix the problem. I would first check the roots to make sure you HAVE a root system to hydrate the plant and then go from there