To divide and repot this Dendrobium nobile? - Orchid Board

Plethodoncinereus · #1 12-11-2016, 10:51 AM

Hello,

I have a Dendrobium nobile type orchid that I got back in September from a swap and sale. When I got it, it had a bunch of 2-3 in stems. I started the winter rest last month and root growth has since exploded. I mist the aerial roots every few days and they continue to grow. I did some googling and I think I have what is a community pot of very young plants. Does that look right? If so, should I divide them while the roots are actively growing? I see that they will get quite big. I don't want them to crow each other out but I'd like to keep them together if they can all live happily like that. I like big sprawling plants. Attached are two photos. One is of the pot before the winter rest and the other is from today. The lighter is for a size reference. The plant is in an east-facing window.

estación seca · #2 12-11-2016, 02:11 PM

Hard to say, but I don't think it's a community pot. I think it's a smaller plant that has a lot of growths in all directions. It just doesn't seem likely you would get a community pot at a swap and sale unless it came from an orchid nursery. Somebody planting into a community pot would probably use a smaller pot.

I don't know how big it will eventually get. You could leave it in that pot for a while, since the bark looks OK. If it's a mini plant it's big enough to bloom, but it may eventually be a large plant that isn't fully grown yet. They are triggered to bloom by low night temperatures. I agree with misting just the new roots with plain water.

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 · #3 12-11-2016, 02:28 PM

It seems to be only one plant with multiple growths. There are a few, dry ones, that were cut, probably before you've got it.
I think is a division from a bigger plant that is is still too small. Nobiles thend to grow a lot bigger than that.

dounoharm · #4 12-11-2016, 09:59 PM

my guess is a handful of keikis....nobiles make loads of keikis, and some lazy people (never moi) will take them off the parent plant and just put them in a pot to contain them....they get scraggly....

Plethodoncinereus · #5 12-11-2016, 10:22 PM

Ok well it sounds like the consensus is that it's a single plant. In that case, I will leave it as is for the moment. Considering how big a typical nobile can get, should I be worried about overcrowding? I can always find a bigger pot down the road I suppose.

estación seca · #6 12-11-2016, 11:06 PM

It will be fine in that pot for some time. The medium will break down before the plant outgrows the pot.

Plethodoncinereus · #7 12-12-2016, 11:23 AM

Thank you for the all the suggestions!

rbarata · #8 12-12-2016, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Considering how big a typical nobile can get, should I be worried about overcrowding?

Nobiles like to be tight. In fact, one of the most common problems is that the best pots for them are the smaller and because they grow a lot in height, usually they tip over.
Wait for spring and if it grows a lot keep the same pot for one more year. I not, repot it. They gorw fast so you'll have quickly a more accurate view.

Fairorchids · #9 12-12-2016, 06:26 PM

Once you get the plant re-established and into healthy growth, you will find out how tall this particular clone can grow. If it is taller than you like, here is the trick the commercial growers use.

To get their plants to a desirable and uniform height, when new growths reach the desired height (say 12" or 16"), they pluck the center leaf from the new growth. That stops the growth in height. The 'plucked' cane will still mature, and bud normally when treated with cold period.

rbarata · #10 12-12-2016, 07:06 PM

If you grow it on a windowsill new growths will follow light, thus they won't grow straigh up, increasing the tip over problems I've mentioned before.
I use a technique which is to rotate the plant. I don't let the new growths to be too inclined. When I see they're starting to do it, I rotate the plant, and so on.
Using this technique this year I have a 20" cane growing straight up without any tipping issues.
From all the canes, only the oldest two on the left don't have buds. All the others, even some leafless are full of them.

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