I can't understand my Den.

[Katsols]

I do not understand my dendrobium, I can't tell if there is something wrong with it, if it's healthy or what it wants.

When I first got it, the den. burana emerald lost all of its leaves but it grew a stalk during this winter.
Now I do not know what is going on with it, I have not seen any root growth this whole winter and I went to check on them today and they pretty much look exactly the way they did when I got it in the fall. Some roots were dark and hollow so I cut those off with clean scissors.
The stalk is growing another new leaf but the roots look like cr@p to me, I've never grown a Den. before so I don't know what is normal.
I attached some pics below, could anyone give me some advice, please? I'm worried that it looks ok now and then it will just quickly deteriorate, I want to avoid that before it's too late.

[Regelian]

Your Dendrobium belongs to the D. biggibum/Spathulata hybrids. They are not the easiest, imo. The growth cycle is relatively short and very warm. They require lots of water and fertilizer during this period, as well as full light. After they stop growing we typically see bloom and then we start the rest period. Dryish to dry, (your hybrid will handle more moisture in the rest than pure D. biggibum) , just a touch cooler and full light. Once you get the hang of it, it is easy, but, and this is the tough part, most of these hybrids are out of cycle when we purchase them, as they are imported from the SE Asia-Taiwan (sometimes Hawaii) areas. I find they need a year or more to truly settle in.

If you can grow Phalaenopsis, well, then these should be OK for you, just much more light and a dry rest.

All this said, I cannot grow them as my home is too cold (20°C or cooler) and my greenhouse even cooler. Most heated homes/apartments are good for them, I just don't have such a home! I typically end up giving mine away to friends that freeze when they visit me.

[Katsols]

Thank you, I appreciate your reply. So in the winter it was going through its growing phase then, but I'm still concerned how the roots look, i would assume they would grow as well during this period.

Also to clarify once the stalk stops growing (if it doesn't bloom lets say) i just cut back on the watering and fertilizing that's it?
Thanks again!

[Sporkin1954@gmail.com]

I know you posted this a long time ago. Hopefully it's still alive. Yours is a Den Phal. I have the same one! They definitely don't like a lot of water. I think yours was over watered. I have mine in mostly lava rock and a littlebark. They do great that way.

[estación seca]

If you click on a user's name you get their profile. The original poster hasn't visited since May 2024.

This kind of Den. doesn't grow in winter. They drop leaves when they get too cold or aren't watered enough. They want to be warm and moist all year. The leaf drop was from being too cold or from not getting enough water.

This kind of Den. only makes new roots after new growth begins during warm weather. Repotting should only be done when new roots are forming, not in winter. The roots the original poster cut off were probably all or mostly healthy, but older. I advise people never to cut off roots, because you can't tell which are dead.

The plant still could survive. If kept warm and moist, it would begin growing in Spring and make more roots.