Three types of den--what to expect from new growth - Orchid Board

desertanimal · #1 05-06-2014, 05:28 PM

Hi all,

I decided to dive into dendrobium somewhat recently, and now I realize I don't really know what I'm doing. I found a really thorough write-up of culture of the various types, so I think I'll be ok on that now, but I have some other questions.

I got a division of Den. Stardust 'Firebird' that I took out of the moss I got it in and put in S/H. I figured since it barely had any roots and would presumably be making new ones, that was a good time to switch. Two of the canes are losing leaves, and some are making keikis. That's all ok, I think, as the keikis should do ok in their new environment. But what I wonder is whether I should be misting these keikis as they develop roots. And since they're growing up high and their roots will be far above the substrate, how do I transition them to S/H?

Next. I have a Den. antennatum. After some reading I think I should switch this to a smaller pot. It is doing poorly after I got it last fall because I had it in my office over the winter. The office has great windows, but I think it was just too cold. Since I ride my bike, it took me a long time to get it back home, where we don't let it get below 60F. Now it's starting to make quite a few new canes from the base. Will those grow new roots the way that new pseudobulbs on cattleyas do?

Lastly, a NOID Den. phal I recently picked up was potted in a really dense, tightly packed stuff that seemed a lot like compacted potting soil. The nursery I got it from recommended repotting it, and I've put it in LECA in the pot it came in. In my care (even before repotting because I wasn't watering it much as I was worried about the dense substrate and it took a long time to dry out the time I did water it), the lower leaves on the biggest cane have started to yellow. What should I expect in terms of new growth from this kind of plant? New canes from the base? Keikis from the old cane?

Thanks in advance for your help. Dens are different!

WhiteRabbit · #2 05-06-2014, 07:45 PM

I'm not familiar with the first two...
But, den-phals can get keikis from nodes at or near the top of the canes -occasionally from random spots

Keikis can appear along with spikes, and along with new growth from the rhizome.

Canes can get more than one spike at a time (from the top, or nodes near the top), and bloom more than one time.

RosieC · #3 05-07-2014, 04:11 AM

Den Stardust is one I grow and I've had a lot of keikis. I randomly misted the roots of the keikis, but not consistently so it probably wasn't enough to actually make a difference.

I transitioned the first keiki to S/H as a new cane on the keiki was starting that new cane then put down it's own roots fairly quickly (roots seem to start early on in the growth of new canes on these). Those new roots then grew nicely in S/H.

I kept it in S/H for a couple of years, and it kept growing further keikis off that first one. However to be honest I don't grow it in S/H now, I grow it in Leca but without the reservoir, however I water every couple of days even in winter so they are kept quite moist.

I also have 4 other keikis of Stardust growing in Leca in the same way, the oldest two flowered this year. I then have about 12 keikis of varying size growing in moss, and they seem to love it. While it was the ones in Leca which flowered this year, I sort of feel the ones in moss have happier roots. Not sure

I also have one keiki in CHC which does OK, but I think the moss is working best just now (which surprises me as I never used to like growing anything in moss at all).

desertanimal · #4 05-09-2014, 02:36 PM

Thanks for the info.! Looks like I've got a total of 5 keikis growing from these 3 Den. Stardust canes. I don't know if that's good or bad, but maybe it's just expected from the environment change.

RosieC · #5 05-10-2014, 05:16 AM

It likes to keiki, however I found this year that stopping fertiliser from beginning of August to Feb/March sort of time meant I got less new keikis and got two of the plants to flower.

I kept them in the house over winter, instead of giving a cool rest, and I didn't stop watering (just gave them rain water with nothing added all winter). The nobile and unicum in it's parentage suggest it might need a cool dry rest, but I've not found that to be the case and I've heard others who are growing it say the same.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #6 05-10-2014, 05:46 AM

Den antennatum needs to be grown in a smaller pot, as you have suspected. It likes quite a bit of moisture during the warmer months, but it still needs to dry out a bit.

During the cooler months, you can reduce the watering a bit. It doesn't go through a "heavy winter rest" like Den phalaenopsis does.

The roots on these should grow fast. They can grow long and rangy too.

desertanimal · #7 05-10-2014, 01:54 PM

Thanks for the feedback, both of you!