Dendrobium laevifolium blooming
 

Cute small size Dendrobium from South West Asia, hot to warm growing species, but many grow them Intermediate. The blooms have amazing color and remind me those of cuthbertsonii which I really love! I have it inside for the summer, I was afraid our summer may be not good since we had really horrible fronts with temps over 100 for a weeks, but it is cooling slowly down so it will go back outside next month.

As usual, you have a lovely plant and flowers Tommy! I don't have this species. Is it fragrant?

Beautiful!

Thanks Matt I did try to "sniff" but no fragrance. I just love the shape and color, and the size is perfect :-)

---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 PM ----------

Thanks you Sonya :-)

Very nice, Tommy! Most people don't think that this is hot to warm growing, do they? I think IOSPE says Hot-Warm, but this seems to be a slight stretch. My understanding is that it can handle warmer condition, but according to Baker & Baker's climatic data, it grows in 70-72F max and 56-58F min year-around in nature. But it grows in a wide range of elevation, so lower elevation plants may experience 6-8F above the listed range.

Agreed Naoki, I know people growing this outside in Florida most of the year, except when it gets really hot in the summer, than it goes to orchid houses or inside. So this is what I do too, it grows outside from fall till late spring, than inside the summer. However, it may happen, that this would somehow acclimatize to maybe even summer here with shady location and good ventilation, with some stress showing probably, but I do not want to test it so much :-)

Isope has been known to be wrong .

Based on over 15 years growing Den laevifolium (growing them poorly & growing them well), I believe that the best conditions are approximately intermediate & with bright light.

We don't have those conditions all year & the plants will tolerate, but not love, other conditions. In summer, with 85-90F & very bright light, plants do ok under double shade … maybe 2000-2500 ft candles (70-75% shade for us. Plants sulk & don't do much growing.

In other areas with cold winters & weak light, plants drop all their leaves & become little round bare bulbs, until they start regrowth & bloom cycles when it gets warmer & brighter.

Our "winters" are rainy & a bit higher in temp than intermediate. In our "winter", 82-83F days/62-66F nights (sometimes down to low 50's or rarely high 40's) & shorter but bright days (maybe 3500 to 4500 ft candles, available light in shade houses, the plants thrive. I think these are the best growth conditions: bright warm days, intermediate nights. Under these conditions, plants grow vigorously, with many larger fully leaved bulbs. The plants also bloom vigorously, while maintaining full leaves on their bulbs.

In their natural habitat, it's probably very bright year round. The plants probably survive during their drier period, then flourish during the wetter period.

Stunning colors ....even if the blooms are bigger than the canes, they still retain the form and it doesn't diminish from the way the flowers are presented by the plant.

Mmm ... that's a interesting little thing you have there.
I could do with one of those ... we've got the heat here in Africa ... but I'm sure I'll kill it though ... so I will leave laevifolium in your capable hands.

Cute!

I love this plant! The brightly colored cute flowers stay in bloom for months.

I bought a few last fall, but then I got lazy with watering these (there were right up against the window with curtain, so it was rather hidden behind other plants) and spidermites feasted on them. :(

A local vendor says he might have some this month, so I'm keeping my eyes out. :)

I have been growing this little cutie since Oct. in a lightly shaded north window, temp 72 day, 65 night. I have been keeping it moist. Got a new flower today, another flower and 2 new bulbs/shoots since Oct. Not sure that it needs all that much sun.

Just re-potted my guy and I was pleasantly surprised how many roots were in there. Found 2 new bulbs in first picture.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...av12-30-14.jpg


This side shows new leaves.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...enlav12-14.jpg

Great growing. They like bright, but can probably grow in lower light too. I actually mounted my plant some month ago on the kool log and it is presently outside, where it will stay, seems to be very happy, did not even loose the open buds that are in bloom for many months now.

Since it is doing so well where it is, I'm afraid to increase the light. Just love this plant though. It keeps on giving cute little flowers and bulbs. The bulbs are pinkish tinged and there is red tinging on the leaves, signs of enough light or genetic?

:love:

Noooo! Why did I click on this thread?! Yet another Dend I want and it sounds like it could do fairly well together with my normanbyense (bright light and around the temperatures it seems to get in the wild, lower lightlevels, but same temperatures can also be provided).

It's absolutely adorable and it's so small which is perfect!

Does it want to dry up more than the normanbyense between waterings?

Amazing root system. You're obviously doing something right. :biggrin:

Now I need to go and check if any of my favourite vendors have this one...

It is in all spag moss. It likes to be moist. I usually misted the top moss everyday, never letting the plant dry out but not soaking or pouring water in. When I re-potted everything was moist, nothing was rotten.

When I bought the plant the vendor only told me it liked to be moist. That was all I knew. Not sure about the normanbyense, but you can't let this guy dry out.

Sounds like the normanbyense then. You should never let that one dry out either. It sounds like the laevifolium might appreciate cooler temperatures more than than the normanbyense, but I haven't had mine for long, so I don't know yet.

Oh, a little Dend laevifolium might have slipped into a virtual basket when I went looking for one earlier. Two Paph friends might have joined... Whoops! :whistling

Oh you will love that little guy! Keep us posted/pictures.. oh ya pictures :)

It really sounds like my kind of Dend. :biggrin: It's one year from BS, so I really hope I'll be able to care for it properly. Depending on the vendor, it might take a couple of months before I get it (it all depends on the temperatures), but I can wait.

My laevifolium arrived last Friday and we did not have a good start I'm afraid. I noticed it had some blisters on some of its leaves after I had had it for about 24 hours (don't know how I missed them in the first place, but there was a lot going on on Friday). At first I thought they were scale so I started treating it, but now it seems they were not.

Anyway, yesterday I trimmed away most of its newest bulb because the new leaf was completely rotten, and that's when I discovered an unwanted guest; a slug. I'm glad I treated it against scale, since the insecticide is effective against slugs too. I thoroughly cleaned the root system and repotted it (its traveling companions have all gone through the same treatment as a precaution), and I really hope it'll be able to deal with everything it has been through.

I feel we really could've gotten of to a better start, but now it's here (although it and its friends are isolated from the rest and will be for some time in case of more slugs). :)

Sorry about the condition of your plant :(

These guys seem pretty hardy and hopefully will bounce back without much problem.

Super cute species! i have Dendrobium Hibiki (laevifolium x bracteosum) in bloom now. Once established they can have blooms on them year round.

Me too, but the slug hadn't managed to do too much damage yet (I think I did more damage trying to get rid of the 'scale'). It had munched on the newest bulb and some roots, but the Den has a viable root system, so unless I do something horribly wrong (drop it and accidentally step on it) or if I didn't manage to get rid on any possible eggs, I think it should pull through. It might lose some leaves though, but that's to be expected. :nod:

Oh, the leaves are beautiful by the way. I never expected them to have such a lovely metallic sheen to them; a very pleasant surprise. And the plant is so small! Love it. :biggrin:

So pretty!