Dendrobium Sulcatum Care

[Artrussell]

I purchased a Dendrobium Sulcatum recently and it is now starting to loose its blossoms. I know little about this type of dendrobium and am wondering about its care as it has no leaves, but rather blossoms and the flattened pseudobulbs.

I assume lots of light, but other than that am uncertain about care of this particular type of dendrobium.

Can anyone point me to the general guidelines for Dendrobium Sulcatum?

Thanks,

Art

[RosieC]

I'm afraid I can't help with the care for this one, apart from by bumping your thread.

One note, is that is should have a lower case s at the beginning of the name. This might seem a small thing but an upper case indicates a hybrid, while a lower case indicates a species. The upper case made me think hybrid and I was hoping I could find out it's parents and see if I knew about caring for any of those. Just one of those little conventions that can help.

[Artrussell]

RosieC,

Thanks for getting back to me and for the additional insight. I have a long way to go and look forward to the trip. Do you have a recommendation as a reference on naming conventions?

Thanks,

Art

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Artrussell

Do you have a recommendation as a reference on naming conventions?

Not really, I've picked up bits here and there. This is what I can remember just now.

1. Genus names have a capital letter
2. Hybrid names have a capital letter
3. Species names have are all lower case
4. A name in single quotes after a hybrid or species name is a 'clonal' name, that's when a specific clone has been named, often after an award.
5. When specifying an unnamed cross brackets show which part was crossed first. For example A x (B x C) means that B and C were crossed then the result was crossed with A.
6. Sometimes with species an abreviation representing the person who discovered it is added to the end of the name. This isn't always listed and confused me for a long time what it was.
7. Letters like AM/AOS after a name indicate an award (in the example I've given it would be an award of merit from the American Orchid Society).

That's what I can remember just now. I'm sure there has been a thread here about it before but I can't locate it just now.

[WhiteRabbit]

I found some culture info here:

http://www.orchidweb.com/orchidofweek.aspx?id=41

Light:
Low to medium from 700 to 2,500 footcandles being ideal. This plant prefers an east window or bright filtered light. It will also do well under artificial light culture.

Temperature:
Intermediate to warm with winter night temps around 58 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter day temps should be 70 or above. Summer temps can be several degrees warmer.

Water:
Water as the mix approaches dryness if in bud or flower; allowing the potting media to become just dry is acceptable at other times of year.

[RosieC]

Oh, yeah and there is a weird one I found out about natural hybrids recently.

Lets say there is a natural hybrid of A x B and that has been named C.

If in the wild C crosses with A or C crosses with B then the result will still be called C

BUT if C is crossed with either A or B in cultivation then the result is given a new name and is NOT C.

This is because in the wild you have no chance of knowing how many times it has been 'back crossed' with one of it's parents so you can't give it a different name, however when a 'back cross' is done in cultivation you CAN know and record how many times it has been done so it must be recorded as such.

This means that a natural hybrid can range drastically from being almost idential to one parent, through a mix, to being almost identical to the other parent.

Anyway... getting really off topic here, good job the moderators (such as myself) are not too strict about that here, or I would have to tell myself off
Sorry for the digression.

[Artrussell]

No apologies necessary. I'm glad to be along for the ride.

More importantly, thanks for taking time to respond!

Art

[shadytrake]

Though recommended to reduce watering in the winter, it should never be allowed to shed its leaves due to excessive drought to force blooming.

Since it is done blooming and should be actively growing, you will definitely want to water it a bit so it will put out strong growths for next year's blooming season.

It likes to be intermediate-warm with bright light (not direct light) during growing season and reduce light a little during winter rest.

I love Dens. I'll have to put this one on my wish list.

[Artrussell]

shadytrake,

Thanks for the additional perspective. I'm a fan of Dendrobia as well. Unfortunately, this one has no leaves, so I'd guess it was forced to encourage blooming. I'll be sure to water adequately, but without allowing it to get waterlogged.

Thanks,

Art

[vmijct]

Just read this post. I have watered mine all winter. Guess I know what's wrong now. I'm going to repot today. Thanks for the info.