caring for Dendrobium Alexandrae

[charleyismydog]

Hi. I am a newbie here. I recently got my first orchid (Oncidium) to rebloom and am now very excited about orchids.

I recently inherited a Dendrobium alexandrae. I've done a bit of research but haven't found any culture tips for it online. The person I inherited it from wasn't having much success with it and I'd love to see it flower since the pictures I've seen online look so pretty. Right now it looks a little strange. It has 8 canes in total but 6 of those look dry and have "string" type things coming from them. 2 canes have leaves (one of the ones that is dry has a healthy leaf and one of the canes that is healthy and glossy has one healthy leaf and one with a dry yellow and black tip). There is also a tiny one that looks healthy. I repotted it in an orchid mix (bark and charcoal) and watered it once so far (I got it this week) and placed it next to my Dendrobium cucumerinum (which is doing quite well) on my windowsill.

Does anyone have any helpful tips for this species? I don't even know what to look for to see if it's even possible to bring back. The roots were all beige. I didn't see any green ones. I trimmed some that looked really dead. There is one nice bright green nub coming out of the base of one of the canes (I assume this is going to be a root).

Thanks for any help anyone can offer!!!

[fred]

Hi and welcome to the forum

i hope you enjoy your stay here with us.

The new nub as you call it could be a new growth also the string like things sound like they are roots

posting a pic will help also

I have enclosed two culture links also

Dendrobium Culture notes

http://aos.org/aos/uploadedfiles/doc...redendrobe.pdf

happy chatting

[kmarch]

charlie,

Welcome to the forum!

Dendrobium alexandrae is one of a group of Dendrobiums sometimes commonly referred to as the "New Guinea Dendrobiums", so called because they are found predominently in and around that island. These plants are classified by taxonomists in the Latouria section of the geneus Dendrobium.

Because Dendrobiums are such a large and varied group of orchids it is difficult to find a culture sheet that is very helpful and people are often confused because they see many Den culture sheets which give over general and conflicting information. BUT......

Here's some cultural info on Den alexandrae:
TEMPS - intermediate to warm - winter nights not below 60-65F - temps remain fairly constant all year round. Day time highs range from the mid-70's to the low 90's.
LIGHT - shady - in the norther hemisphere, an east window is probably best or perhaps a south window if it is shady
WATER - gently moist all the time - the areas of New Guinea where this plant somes from gets even rainfall all year, there is no dry season althouugh winters see slightly less rain that other seasons
HUMIDITY - high - in the wild they gt 80%+ humidity year round

Good fresh air circulation is important for this Den as it grows high in trees where it is constantly bathed in fresh breeze.

Note on the capitalization of the name: genus names are capitalized but species names are not so the "a" in "alexandrae" should not be capitalized.

It sounds like you might be interested in Dendrobium species? If so I can not recommend highly enough the Baker & Baker book titled Dendrobium Species Culture. The authors are Margarete and Charles Baker and the book contains year-round climate data and cultural recommendations for every single Dendrobium species. It's a remarkable book and a "must have" for anyone interested n Den species.

Happy Growing!

[charleyismydog]

Wow Kmarch. That was all so helpful. Thanks so much! I will definitely get that book. I actually live on the 27th floor and keep the window open a bit most of the time so perhaps that will simulate growing up high in the trees? :-)

I do like Dendrobium. I like a lot of the orchids that look more like aliens than flowers. Ha ha.

[charleyismydog]

Thanks Fred. The string-like things are actually coming from the tops of the canes. They make me a bit nervous. I will take a picture later today and post it. I've never seen anything like it before, but that's not saying much coming from me.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by charleyismydog

I do like Dendrobium. I like a lot of the orchids that look more like aliens than flowers. Ha ha.

I like your taste in orchids! I too like a lot of the strange things. Check out Den spectable. I can only describe it as "shocking". You'll love it. Also Den finistrae which sports almost creepy thick hairs on the outer surfaces of the flowers. All of these are New Guniea Dens from the Latouria section and so will have very similar care. If you can do one of these you can probably do most of them.

Happy Growing!

[charleyismydog]

Here is a photo. Sorry it took me so long. Anyone know what those stringy things are on the dried-out looking canes? Thanks!

[fred]

that is old protective sheath that can be removed if you wish.

thanks for posting the pic

[charleyismydog]

Ok. I can just strip off the strings? Thanks Fred.

[fred]

Yes you can
just go slow and gentle with doing that it should come off very easy

[charleyismydog]

Thanks so much!

[fred]

your welcome

once the Den is cleaned up may be you would like to share another pic