Dendrobium laevifolium
 

Growing inside under lights. This one is in bark and probably never fully dries out.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1790/...7edffe19_b.jpgDendrobium laevifolium by Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis, on Flickr

I think I might give up, mine is leafless but trying to push new growth. I'm using the same conditions as you, Steve. Sigh.

I just took in a rescue that sounds just like yours. I potted it differently. The bottom half of the pot epiweb and the top half is spag. The pot sits in a shallow dish of water so there will always be humidity at the roots. I'll eventually repot the blooming Dend in this thread this same way.

I don't like to appear stupid but, what is epi web and what could you substitute? Synthic? Mine's in pure spaghnum and a clay pot but, always moist. Bright light...

What a beautiful little plant! :love:

I've always wanted this species, but since I've heard it can be a bit difficult and it also happens to be hard to find here, I settled on a hybrid of it, called Den. Hibiki (bracteosum x laevifolium). It's supposed to be easier (tolerant of a wider range of temperatures) and also bloom like crazy. I got it in February and struggled with it at first, but discovered that I was giving it too much light and too little water.

EpiWeb was developed by a company in Europe as a synthetic and sustainable substitute for tree fern. It doesn't hold water so it's good for plants that need frequent watering but without staying soggy (often used for mounts). So epiweb cubes at the bottom of a pot are mostly used for drainage, though I won't speak to how it works in Steve's case.

Mine was in an east window. It bloomed profusely, and lost all it's leaves. I moved it to higher light. It's now at the end of an LED, about 6-8" away. It's trying to push new growth, but not successfully. I've heard it was easy but, this doesn't seem to be my case. I recently repotted in moss and saw that it only had it's original root system. No new roots. I vote for difficult. What does it want?

Sounds about right! The rescue plant (not the one in this thread) sits in a shallow water dish to keep humidity around the roots high. However, the moss is held above the waterline by the Epiweb. We'll see if this technique works.

I've got mine a few inches from the LED!

Moving closer and bagging for humidity.

Those flowers are really gorgeous! :)

So is hibiki deciduous or evergreen? I got mine a month ago and has a leaf turning yellow. I water when totally dried out
Thanks

I have two Den. bracteosum (the other parent of the Den. Hibiki) and I keep mine well watered and fertilized most of the year. I don’t let them dry out spring-fall and only let them get slightly dry in the winter. These will lose their leaves though on old canes. Mine seem to hold on to their leaves for a season or two, at least.


And Steve, that color came out beautiful on your laevifolium!

My Hibiki is on a southeast window with same light my Iwanagaara was in when it bloomed, no direct sun. Is this too much light? And you all are saying to give it lots of water. I thought dendrobiums liked to dry out. I am so confused

The Dendrobium genus is huge and broken up into sections: different sections, different care. These ones fall under the section Pedilonum which are mostly from mossy intermediate-cool areas that get high amounts of rain. A few are from lower elevations that are still very steamy with high rainfall. Hence keeping these types fairly moist for most of the year. I only let mine go dry out in the winter but I still water them shorty after, no prolonged dry rest or anything. They are still epiphytes so they still need air around the roots, but I can’t let these go even as close to being dry as I would for something like my Den Phals or even my Spatulata types.

Thanks!

Exactly. This is a giant genus with species occupying many different niches.

Epiweb consists of non-woven plastic threads randomly filling 3-dimensional space. It is flexible and reversibly deformable, like a sponge, but has less material and more air. If you can't find it, look for evaporative cooler pads formed from plastic threads rather than wood excelsior. I would guess there aren't many evaporative cooler stores in Indiana.

Thanks Sara Jean. I see you live in my area. I am in St. Charles Parish.

I have Hibiki. I water it every day. It is in sphagnum moss. I never let it dry out-- just drain. Right now its flowers are about to open.

I have another like it a canaliculatum hybrid that is doing great when watered every single day. Over time, the canes plumped up on that one. I thought it was toast at one time, but now it has 4-5 new growths starting and a thick pseudobulb.

I would definitely water any of the New Guinea Dendrobiums daily.

Hey! I got lost in St. Charles Parish today!
And then kept up my winning streak by getting lost in Lafourche Parish right after that:lol:
I had no intention of taking an extended tour of the back roads of Louisiana on my way to Lafayette this morning, but at least it’s very pretty out that way

---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 PM ----------

This is exactly what I use for one of my two Den bracteosum and, out of the two, the one in epiweb is doing far better (the other is in leca with a bit of sphag for top dressing and it’s ok, but not great like the other one) I think Kelley’s Korner still carries this product.

Like others I water both of these daily, as well

Steve, you were going to post a picture if your set up. For now mine is tented in moss in a clay pot, watered daily. It recently pushed a set of not so great looking leaves.

Ah yes, thanks for the reminder! I'll get a pic when I get home.

Could you share a photo of your Hibiki? I have a feeling that mine could be looking better, so it would be nice to see a happy plant. Thanks for your culture info, I may switch mine to sphagnum because I think it's not quite happy in bark- probably drying out too much.

Here is my Bulbo Karen Lewis grown the same way as my rescue Dend laevifolium. The Bulbo is in a clear pot and easier to show. Long fiber spag on top of epiweb. I have a well on the bottom that keeps humidity around the roots but does not directly touch the spag. The spag should not dry completely, but the water well acts as a backup in case the spag gets crispy. This is more of an issue for my Bulbo which experiences weeks on end of 100+ degree days.

The Dend with flowers is in a tall 3" plastic pot with small grade bark that never dries out and has live moss on top.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1764/...922881ae_b.jpgBulbo Karen Lewis seedling in spag and eco web by Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis, on Flickr