Den. atroviolaceum
 

I have a Den. atroviolaceum that is about to re-bloom. My question is, for presentation it would look a lot better if I cut off the several leafless somewhat shriveled pseudobulbs. Any real problem with this?
Thanks
Nick

hi Nick - the old leafless pbulbs still store food and water for the plant, and can re-bloom on this particular plant. So, I would recommend not removing them.

I would also recomend not removing them. As WhiteRabbit said they store food and water. If you remove them you may weaken the plant.

thanks WhiteRabbit and RosieC. I figured that was the case but thought I might ask
Nick

Watch for spikes on those older pbulbs too - I have a few spikes from leafless pbulbs on my atroviolaceum :)

Nick.
In general, the older canes do provide nutrients to the front. And the atroviolaceum older caness can rebloom.

But I would say to use judgement here. Den atroviolaceum is a very vigorous plant that can produce LOTS of canes. Depending on the size of your plant and how well you are growing it, you could have a very dense & bushy plant with a lot of canes. If that is the case and the old canes are VERY old and shriveled, it might be beneficial to cut off a few canes. This will open up the foliage & give a better presentation.

IF your plant is bushy enough & has enough canes, how many flowers do you really need. I prefer a nice presentation, rather than squeezing every last flower out of a cluttered plant. If your plant does not have as many canes as I imagine, then, by all means, preserve the old canes. But they do reach a point when you do need to cut them off.

thanks catwalker 808 that makes a lot of sense.
Nick