Dendrobium speciosum
 

Finally figured out what this plant likes in order to flower: abuse. This is a tough-as-nails species that handles direct sun in our hot and humid summers, and the cool, dry winters in the sunroom seem to be to its liking too. Four flower spikes this year (so far). The one that's got all of its blooms open is longer than my arm, and I gave up trying to count the blooms after I got to seventy-five. Very nice honey fragrance on sunny days. Even though the individual blooms don't last very long, the spikes all don't arrive at once, so it makes for an extended blooming season.

Steve

Those are some lovely flowers and the plant overall looks very happy. Enjoy the blooms !!!!!

That's a really cool Den. Steve!! Nice growing!

OMG! :drool:

What a gorgeous bloom! Looks kinda like a bundle of snowflakes. And what great pictures you took!Nice job!

Crisp clear photos of a beautiful plant. Thanks !!

This plant is gorgeous, reminds me of a winter wonderland. Beautiful flowers on this and I love the overall size of the plant. I think I want one now.

Absolutely gorgeous! I agree with Ethan, it looks like a bunch of snowflakes from a distance.


And it likes abuse?? Now that's my kinda plant :poke: ....it just got added to my want list :evil:

Holy Cow!!!! That's really amazing....a little too big for me but WOW!!!

Steve, you are right, D.speciosum requires very bright light to flower well, almost to stage of leaf yellowing. Yours looks a little too green to have flowered but well done. In their natural habitat they grow in near to full sun for many hours during the day.

Roy, do you mean that I didn't abuse it enough?! I'll give it more sunlight next summer. It might just appear a bit darker than it normally would because it was an overcast and snowy day yesterday and I didn't have the flash on when I took the picture of the entire plant. I will say that it's one tough plant. I have it growing in nothing but crushed brick and granite pieces (found out a couple of years ago that it didn't seem to like the bark mix I had started it in), and even though it hardly ever gets fertilized, its new growths over the last two years have consistently gotten larger. Thanks for your feedback. I'll see how far I can push it by sticking it out with the cacti next summer.

Steve

Oh wow Steve, that is Fabulous!!!!!! :drool:

Thanks, Gloria--and everyone else--for your nice comments. If anyone's interested in acquiring this species, I got it from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. They have several varieties listed on their website, and Andy's Orchids carries a couple varieties also.

I love to get one of these if I could give it enough light! A plant that loves abuse sounds just about perfect. I love the flowers on it, the spikes look like a cloud of butterflies!:)

Great growing!
Maybe that's the answer to my den problems. I try to care for them but they don't seem to like me. Maybe if I just leave them alone.........

Steve, a beautiful plant an excellent photos! The individual flowers are lovely. Very good growing!
Nancy

Wow! Very pretty plant there. Great job! Another one to add to the ever growing wishlist!

I got one of these recently and have it in kind-of-bright light...I'm going out to move it right now! :)

*Okay, mine's out with the vandas :D

Have you seen the yellow varieties as well? Take a look at the photos on Santa Barbara Orchid Estate Home Page - they have some nice ones that you might like!
Cheers!

That is gorgeous! And fantastic photos too!

Oh what a beautiful orchid. The spray of flowers are gorgeous. I just love the many flowers they produce. I just added to my wish list.

Nice work Steve. How big is the plant overall, without spikes?

Chris, the plant itself is approximately thirty inches wide and maybe around twenty inches tall. I guess pedunculatum can only be considered a "dwarf" when it's compared to its larger-growing relatives. It's an easy going plant, though. I think you could probably beat it with a stick and it would still do just fine. :-)

Steve

Steve, sorry I haven't replied earlier. Thats right, you haven't abused it enough. These plants flower best if the foliage is slightly yellow. Everyone tries to have a lovely green healthy looking plant which they do but never get the proportionate flowering to plant size. Noting that these plants only flower off second year canes, they need heaps of light just short of burning. Then you will get the flowers.

You better stop being so nice to it too Sue. :coverlaugh:

Thanks, Roy. This summer when all of the plants go outdoors I'll move the speciosum away from the other orchids and closer to the cacti.

Steve

Oh Bugger!:_(
Beautiful plant but too big for me.
I'm trying to reduce the overall size of my orchids so I can fit more in!:evil: