Dendrobium Aggregatum not blooming in 3 years

[lusenok]

Hello friends. I have a large dendrobium aggregatum what never bloomed for me and, frankly, I'm losing patience. Please tell me what could be wrong here.
It's a big fat plant with 30 or so pseudobulbs residing in 8 inch shallow pot with coconut coir / bark mix. It diligently grows 2 or 4 pseudobulbs every year but doesn't bloom. Last winter it got winter rest December to March. This year it hasn't had a drop of water since November 1st.
Light levels in my house are kinda-ok. I have a southern window and managed to bloom a few cattleyas, dendrobium phalaenopsis and even Neofinetia.
Sorry for the poor picture quality, we have a very dreary weather today in the Northeast

[Bud]

You are giving your plant such a drastic winter rest. I see the bulbs are dry and wrinkly. Some OB members manage to bloom this orchid plant with no winter rest at all.
Try to experiment: instead of drastic winter rest= you spray it wet and damp only once a week in winter whereas water it every day in summer. This kind of Dendrobium wants to have a regular water regimen in the summer in its growing stage. But even in its rest period in situ it gets morning dew in the mornings= so a drastic winter rest wont help at all.
Do not give fertilizer in winter since it is rest period but as soon as you see new growth resume feeding it.

Dendrobium aggregatum aka Dendrobium lindleyi

[Roberta]

Another thought... Light. I agree with Bud that it does need at least a little water during its rest (learned by hard experience... I killed a few nobile-type Dens before I figured out that the "no water from Halloweed to Valentine's Day" was far to harsh in a dry climate - and no doubt your house is also very dry from heat. Light has two components - intensity and duration. The intensity may well be adequate, but probably for not enough hours each day. In my "early orchid career" I had the problem with Phals, solved with the cheapest fluorescent shop light that i could find, on a timer 12 hours a day, to supplement the light that came in the window. Phals like less intensity than Dendrobiums, you may be better off with a nice bright LED desk lamp. Same concept - extend the hours of good light.

[silken]

I agree on the water but also the light. In NY in winter your days will not be long enough to be providing adequate light for many of the high light orchids without supplementing with lights. According to OrchidWiz, this is one of them. 3500 to 4000 fc of light to bloom it. It would need light similar to many Cattleyas.

OrchidWiz also indicates that this must have the cool winter rest in order to bloom.

[Leafmite]

I couldn't get mine to bloom either for three or four years and then an OS member brought hers to a meeting to show off the blooms. I asked about the winter rest and she said, "What winter rest?" She just watered it normally through the winter. Last year, I didn't give it a rest and boom...blooms. It might be that the air is already drier in the winter and that mine is potted up in red lava rock and a Vanda basket so it dries quickly but I was impressed.
This year, mine decided to put out a second set of growths this autumn, under the T5HO lights so I am not sure what will happen. It will be fun to see.

These do like Cattleya light so you might want to increase the lighting. Good luck!

[wintergirl]

Your leaves look a little dark green, so my guess would be light also.

[estación seca]

It should also be growing more than 2-4 new growths each year. As above; I agree it needs more water and light. Are you fertilizing it?

I posted elsewhere on this Board that a speaker at our local club meeting lived where it is native. It gets drenching dew every night in the winter, when nights are in the low 40s F / 3-4C. In other words, it is cold and wet all winter. It doesn't rain, but the dew is extremely heavy. Your house may not get cold enough for it to bloom.

[lusenok]

Originally Posted by estación seca

It should also be growing more than 2-4 new growths each year. As above; I agree it needs more water and light. Are you fertilizing it?

Yes, it gets the same fertilizer regimen as the rest of the plants: about 1 g/L solution weekly in spring/summer/fall.
So more water and light then.

---------- Post added at 05:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:17 PM ----------

Thank you everyone for your help!
Will try to supply more light. Went to water the plant ASAP

[silken]

Is the fertilizer a balanced one or higher on the nitrogen?