Dormant phase for my den noble?

[vcuchick]

I have a Den. Yellow Song 'Canary' that I've had for a little over 2 years now...

Here's my question- it finished it's blooming cycle a few months ago- sadly, I never realised when I got the plant it usually only blooms for a couple weeks... *sigh* I am in serious flower withdrawl...

Now, my orchid is no longer blooming and I need to know if I should hold off watering as often...I've heard of Den's needing a dormant phase- is this true? If it blooms in late Feb, early March, then when should the 'dormant phase' be taking place?

The new growths from last year are now taller but still appear to have some growing left and it's forming new roots...

Anything I should be doing now to ensure lovely blooms next year? The blooms I got this past winter were stickly by accident- I was a really new novice back then and didn't know a thing about what I was doing- it rebloomed as seen below, but definately not in the profusion I got when the plant first came home with me from the grower...

Help! (the Den is the yellow one to the right in the group shot below...)

Last question- when should I repot? The current growth is at the edge so there's definately not enough room for new growths this year...

[jerrymeola]

I never recommend withholding water from Nobile type Dendrobium and do not recommend it for species Den nobile either.

In Florida a rest period is a heavy watering only once a week.

Failure to water is the quickest way to kill these plants.

Do not fertilize after August as nitrogen even in small quantities at this time can force the plant to grow at the expense of flowers.

A full tutorial on nobile types is at
Care of Nobile type Dendrobium

[janet_a]

i water and fertilize as normal til about sept, then cut the fertilizer out, then start cutting the water back around halloween, so that i'm down to watering every two or three weeks til the plant starts popping out flower spikes, then i gradually bring the water back to weekly, and then start fertilizing again. plant blooms end of january into february. my flowers usually last a month though... maybe your just needs to acclimate.

[vcuchick]

awesomeness!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you!!!!!!!!!

What about repotting? when's the best time of year?

[11Orchid126]

This is the growing season for dens. From April to the end of August they need lots of water and fertilizer. Then follow what Janet A says.

[janet_a]

i repot when the plant makes a land grab for the nearest pot.

i let them all get pretty root bound, as i am lazy. but in general i try to repot them when they're popping out a new growth. mine's a merlin and seems to be quite happy in lava rock in a clay pot in a western exposure; grows and blooms regularly

(of course, you and i are in the 6 - 7 zone; we'd keep watering year round if we were in FL, like jerry. but i never cut out water altogether. )

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

I never recommend withholding water from Nobile type Dendrobium and do not recommend it for species Den nobile either.

This may be how Jerry grows them but this is not the generally recommended culture for nobile-types and especially not for the species Den nobile which receives almost no rain at all in the wild from December through roughly March.

Janet's recommendation to gradually reduce watering in Oct-Nov (Feb-March in the Southern Hemisphere) is good advice. I'd only add that the exact month might vary a little depending on your geography. It's May here in Melbourne Australia and I'm just now to the point where I'm no longer watering my nobiles.

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

Failure to water is the quickest way to kill these plants.

I disagree with this statement too. Nobile-types and especially Den nobile expect a cool dry winter. All my nobile-types get a cool dry winter and everyone I know here gives their nobiles a cool dry winter. It's simply not true that giving them a dry winter will kill them. I will say that the plants do not get completely bone dry, they do receive just a bit, usually just enough to keep their canes from shriveling. As I understand it, the Yamamoto nobile-types are not as insistent about having the cool dry winter though.

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

A full tutorial on nobile types is at...

I checked out this tutorial and there are a couple of things in it that aren't quite accurate.

The site says: "They are easy to recognize when in bloom because the flowers come directly from the cane and not on a flower stem like other Dendrobium."

This is not correct. Nobile-type flowers are held on inflorescences (stems) just like other dendrobiums, it's just that the inflorescences (stems) are very short, often only about 1cm (0.25 inches) of so.

"They can take full sun without shade or can be flowered in shade."

The first part of this, the part about them taking full sun, may or may not be true depending on your locale. This summer mine got sunburn even under 70% shadecloth. There probably are places where they can take the full hit of the sun, but Australia would not be one of those places.

I agree with the second part. I have flowered nobile-types with no direct sun.