Help with my dendrobium nobile!
 

I bought this orchid 5 years ago in bloom and I have not been able to get it to rebloom since! Can anyone give me some advice? I feel like I have the worst luck with dendrobiums! It will produce keikis about once year. It's inside during the winter and I have been putting it outside during the summer months. Once it starts to cool down I leave it out for a couple nights before bringing it in because I read the cool weather will help induce blooming. I've kept it in clear plastic pots for years until about a month ago when I switched to pottery. I just don't know what to do with it, I would love to see it blooming again!

Sorry, I was having a hard time adding pics!

I have a nobile den and it's been the easiest plant of all my orchids. As I am relatively close in weather temps to you I will post what I do and maybe it will be helpful to you. As soon as the chance of frost is past or a warm day, put it outside. Not in direct sun until it becomes acclimated to it. Slowly allow the plant more sun until you have it in full sun until noon. Then have it protected from the harshest until later in the day (sunset). Don't allow to dry out as this is when it makes it's most growth. Fertilize regularly and flush monthly. As you get into the later summer months allow more sun, makes canes stronger and better flowers (ripens canes). As of sept 1st. NO more fert at all. Keep it outside for as long as you can without harm (freezing) make allowances for colder=less water. Bring into house and place in an unheated room or basement. Around late Dec or early Jan. I see the start of buds. If you are getting keiki's you are keeping either to wet or still fertilizing. The with-drawing of water is not no water, but less maybe misting instead of watering. As the cold treatment to get flowers and having the den. too wet is a recipe for disaster (mold, virus eg). If your canes are shrinking not enough water. Don't be alarmed if your den is dropping leaves some do that when the canes are mature and ready for flowers. I would think looking at your den. I would hope for a really good growing over this summer and hope maybe one of those canes that you have now flowers next year. If not you will have to hope that the canes you ripen this summer will bloom next year. I would also stake those canes as they grow, better so they aren't damaged by someone or thing knocking them. There's lots of people here that you will get great advice from. Read the sticky's lots of excellent info there. Goodluck and don't hesitate to ask for advice.

Cheryl

This is what I do with my mobile dens and have very good success. Mobile dens require a rest period where they don't get watered. I generally start reducing water late September and by the end of October, stop watering completely. I will only must or drizzle a bit of water slightly around the edge of the pot only if the canes appear to be shriveling. I start to water again gradually come late winter/early spring when I start to see new growth. During this dry period I have them in very bright light. If you are getting keiki's instead of blooms, it's probably because you ate not giving your plant a rest period. During active growing, I water and fertilize profusely. My plants are outside from late April until mid October. I start with filtered sunlight and gradually increase the amount of sun until they are getting direct sun for a few hours each day.

Hello ivymastiff,
your Den looks like a nobile but I can't tell for sure from the pictures. If you remember, did the flowers grow along the canes or were they on a spike?

Edit: I just saw the title, sorry (maybe another coffee would help me!) :blushing:

You have been given good advice above. To sum it up, your den nobile needs a good winter rest (little water, no fertiliser, low temp) in order to bloom.

Have you looked at the roots to see what their condition is like? I only ask because all the nobiles I have seen(including my own) are very much upright in growth habit and the way yours is falling over makes me wonder whether it is struggling with a poor root system.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I think my biggest problem is that I haven't been giving it a cool period. The bulbs are hanging down like that because it was angled in a hanging basket for years until just recently. It bought it in bloom I believe in April, so maybe I will be surprised with flowers instead of keikis this year!

The species nobile, at least, becomes pendulous as it gets bigger, and definitely grows towards the light. I was given a couple of keikis from a mounted plant, and the canes definitely go several directions, even when they were fairly small.

I don't know about other species of the type, but would think at least a few others would also likely become pendulous ...

I have taken a pic of my Emma type dendrobiums, just to make you jealous. The pic is taken into the light I know, sorry, but it shows 2 new spikes. There is actually a third spike on the cane that still shows the dry spike of last season...

OK, I was just comparing to mine which is very large and definately hgrows upright, it does tend slightly towards the direction of the light as it is against the wall under my patio but basically in an upright direction.