I need help with this Orchid
 

Hello,
I have been a lurker on this board for quite awhile and have learned a lot from all the vast knowledge that is here. Over the last year have been become attached to Orchids and have started a little collection of my own. For some reason I favor Orchids that need a chance after they have already bloomed and are on discount because the "show" is over. I have managed to to get several of them to bloom. The reason for my post is I have an Orchid that I bought on discount that is very pathetic looking and has been producing offshoots like crazy. The offshoots are so thin and weak I don't dare remove them. But I just noticed the other day that one of my new growths had a bud ready to bloom?! This could be the worlds smallest Orchid ever. I do not believe that it was meant to be so miniature. Can you help please identifying this Orchid and what is going on with it. I don't think that this one will ever become big and strong like my others but was wondering if anyone has ever had this happen.TIA

:hello kimmelk and :welcome: to the OB !!!! You orchid seems like a nobile type dendrobium. This is it's blooming season. I can see in another cane that it had buds already. The off shoots are known as keikis. Do not remove them from the plant until they've got a nice set of roots about 3 inches in lenght. Now you should fertilize and water heavily as it is the growing season. And it will definetely open up for you and the pseudobulbs aka canes should get plumper. Hope I could help. If you've got more questions just ask.

Welcome aboard. I lurked awhile too before jumping in...

I started out buying plants from the pass-due rack too and got some good ones that way - but be careful!! I also once brought home a case of Black Rot that spread to a couple other plants before I caught it and that ended my bargain hunting.

I have seen this kind of behavior in Dens before. It's usually ones that are struggling where they seem to put their energy into blooms vs. growing. I've actually had a broken off 3" piece of cane put out one tiny bloom before expiring.

A couple suggestions -

Have you repotted this dendrobium since you got it? It appears, at least in my experience, that it's in a pot that is too big. These usually like to be crowded and grow better that way. A pot the size of the orchid in the left rear of your second phot looks about the right size. Also, sometimes growers will grow them in smaller pots where they get pretty bound and, just before sending them to market, will unpot them and put them in a bigger pot, filling the rest of that pot with sphagnum moss. I have bought a few plants from the Big Box stores that were like this. From the growers perspective, this may work well for shipping and the few days the plant sits on the retail shelf but isn't good for the plant in the long run.

For my growing conditions, your den is potted in way too much moss. For me, sphagnum doesn't dry out fast enough for Dens and they don't do well in it (there is a good culture sheet on Den care in the "Member Articles" section of this board - I've found a ton of helpful info there). This may be why your plant is putting out quite a few aerial roots - there may not be many down in the actual pot. Open and fast draining potting mix work best for me.

(May I suggest you put your growing zone or city in your profile so that others from your area can see it with your posts and will be able to share their specific growing experiences with you - growing conditions vary greatly from city to city/country to country and thus so will watering, feeding, potting mix, etc.).

Good Luck and Good Growing - and again, welcome to the board!

I think its a kind of Dendrobium. It's amazing that ur Den flowers in such condition. I want to suggest u to make ur plant grow bigger before let it flower. I mean after it has flowered now then u should move the plant to a shady place but sufficient light to keep it alive and more water and fertilizer when the plant produce new growth to make it more bigger and longer as it will increase the chance to flower.

I hope u succeed in growing ur chids in the future.