dendrob question-blooming

[lara5170]

I have a question about one of my dendrobs. I keep record of my orchids each have a section and I note how they're doing. the dendrob in question has been blooming & sending up shoots repeatedly since june,starting this repeat spike and bloom in early may with it's first spike and then bloomed in june. now it keeps sending up more shoots with blooms. I've had this one for about 3 yrs and this last yr it has been in the same spot today I checked and this 6th one is now7 inches and has the buds of 9 blooms. I have never repot it& prior to this it had never bloomed since I got it 'in bloom'. I have a cousin into orchids.he's been watching this with me & suggested I talk to someone about stopping it but the plant is in perfect health, beautiful roots & in the last year has sent up 6 seperate 8-12 inch stems that have all spiked & bloomed. I think I should leave it & enjoy. please tell me what you think.

[mayres]

They like as small of pot as possible and to be root bound. What kind of media is it potted in? If it were bark or other organic material it may need to be repotted soon due to a breakdown of materials. If it is in something like lava rock probably not. Generally from what you have said - I'd leave it and enjoy for awhile longer - sounds good!

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Your plant may be a hybrid with unusual parents, as Den hybrids go. So you appear to have the right conditions and treatment for this plant. If it is in bark, test the bark by pressing down on the top of the mix. So long as your finger does not go into the bark, or the bark starts to hold more water and take longer to dry to your usual dryness, just leave it alone. Congratulations on having/growing what appears to be a great Dendrobium. Cynthia

[lara5170]

Hello- my dendrob is still blooming and is developing another spike . I'm thinking this might be the last one because it is only about 6 inches long and only has 5 & a half buds. I have been trying to figure out what kind it is ....the blooms are the biggest I've ever seen they are between 4-6 inches wide and a deep magentalike purplish red. My aunt & I tried to take some pics and if they come out I will try to post them. the tag it came with is very worn out but it seems to say something like 'bigibum???' when I find a decent book I plan to look it up . If anyone knows of any good orchid books ...preferrably that can be found used I would be extremely grateful every so often I look online for what a good book is but it can be very confusing.

[mayres]

Does it look like this? http://www.myducksoup.com/orchids/imageinfo/om7.shtml

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Does it look like there is more on the label than just Den and bigibum?

[jerrymeola]

6-8 months of flowers on a Dendrobium is not that uncommon. It is uncommon only if you buy the fast growing common types at Home Depot and WalMart.

Almost all canaculatum hybrids will produce multiple spikes on each cane, with numerous new canes each year. After a couple of years I consistently get 8 months of repeated flower stems as you describe.

There are a large number of hybrids in Hawaii now that can bloom 12 months a year. Most are grown for the cut flower trade and while they bloom any time all year they are not normally in bud at all times. The plant needs some rest.

your description makes me think it is a canaculatum, since flowering from June to September is common on the ones I own.

Den CK. Ai x canaculatum usually gives me 20 or more flower stems from June to September on a oplant I have had for 5 years



Here are two more canaculatum hybrids I am growing this year. In general the flowers are about 1 1/2 tp 2 inchs and closely spaced on the stem. TAhey are consideered Spatula or antelope type Dendrobiums.

Den Dolphinski is just starting to bloom for me after 18 months (slower then other dens), but they are rewarding me with 2-3 flower stems per cane.



Den Ooh's Blue is fast becoming a favorite of mine. I have gotten three stems of 10-14 flowers each on a 5 inch high cane. I can only imagine it in a year or two.

[lara5170]

I looked at http://www.myducksoup.com/orchids/imageinfo/om7.shtml and it is a similar color but the lateral leaves are not narrow they are wide, very wide

[Townsville]

If you will forgive a Newbie jumping in here - it sounds as though you have a Cooktown Orchid (Den. phalaenopsis often called Den. Bigibbum). This is an Australian native, which grows north of Cairns. It is Queensland's state floral emblem.

Townsville

[Townsville]

Hi
I found this government site that gives full info on the Cooktown Orchid, including pictures

http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/qld.emblem.html

Townsville

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Ah, this article confirms my supposition that bidgibbum needs very little water in winter, or one gets 'rot or leaf loss'. My plant has gone down hill for two seasons, and last winter I dried it off severely in winter, and now it is looking a little better, and is on the wagon again this winter. Didn't know for sure drying out would work, but I figured I had nothing left to lose, as it wasn't going to survive another down hill season.

[Townsville]

The reason for this, Cynthia, is that North Queensland, where both Cooktown and Biggidum are native, has almost all its rain in summer - 'The Wet'. So far this year we have had only 30mm - but should get heavy (sometimes VERY heavy) rain from January to end of March.

Townsville

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

My bigibbum thanks you. I was planning to water about once every three weeks, but now I think I will just leave it go until I see new growth, with a rare above pot misting. I certainly never had this big a problem with the hybrids, many of which must have a lot of bigibbum in them, but I certainly learned over the years that they really liked being quite dry during winter (while not growing or blooming), maybe a watering once every 2 weeks for plants that dry out in three days.

I've started collecting Den species over the last 2 years and have over 50 different species now plus a few varieties. I have Bakers Dendrobium book (~1000 species), and reading up on each of the species as been a real eye opener. All of the Dens, with the possible exception of those being moved out of the genus, require being kept on the wet side while growing. This goes against the grain for those of us that were raised on Cattleyas as the main focus of 'real' orchid growing many years ago, where wet/dry is THE rule.