Dendrobium???

[winky]

I've about exhausted all resources in getting this one identified. The canes start out slender and get wider at the top. The flowers come from the nodes near the top of the canes. The flowers are about an inch and 3/4 across. There is a definite hook to those lower petals. The center is green and the flower is fragrant. I'm not much of a photographer but here is what I can get.
Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

My guess is that it is a Dendrobium species, but you have probably already guessed that. The bad news is that there are probably more than a 1000 Dendrobium species. That flower looks pretty unique so it may not be as difficult as you might think. I would try to get a better focus on the flower and over time you may get an opportunity to identify it. Maybe you could enlist a friend with a better camera before all the flowers are gone. Try to get a side view of the flower too. The plant picture is probably OK as a full plant picture goes. Once you get some good pictures of the flower, we can see about sending them out on the email based Orchid Digest Guide, where some very knowledgeable people are active.

[winky]

I don't think it is the camera, I think it is my lack of skill. Are these any better? I changed some settings.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, I dont think you are getting a good focus in the lip area. Are you taking these with a digital camera, or a phone camera? Often times digital cameras focus on the green of the plant instead of the flower in the foreground because they have twice as many green pixels than blue or red, and the focus algorithem calculates the focus setting by going for the best contrast, and that usually means green plant material instead of flowers. I used to hold a plant label with black writing on it up next to the flower, half click while aiming at the card, then pull the card, recenter the camera, and finish the click. Some times it would take two or three tries before getting the flower in focus. If you try once more, go ahead and get a better picture of the full plant too. Then we will take the best that you have an see what we can do. Do you have a picture sharing site that you use?

[winky]

I can't post a url here because of restriction of number of posts. I put some more pictures on line at my garden club's web page. I'll send you the url.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Keep checking your profile. The number of posts sometimes jump to 10 for no reason.
Here is your URL:
http://www.downtoearthgardenclub.com...h/unkndend.mht

You have a private message.

[jerrymeola]

You have a nobile type of Dendrobium. Based on the shape of the flower it is one of the unnamed generic types.

It is very common for them to have a base that is so thin it looks like it can not hold itself up.

I just re-potted several hundred and I had some were the cane was less than a 1/4 inch thick at the base and then thickened to over one inch on a cane of about 5 inches in height.

They bloom in the winter to spring, and do not like fertilizer after September. Too much nitrogen at this time produce keiki and no flowers.

[winky]

Yes, the canes are very similar to two nobiles that I got at the Philadelphia flower show. They are the kind in which the flower is similar to a pansy. I believe one of them is Red Knight. This flower is so obviously different that I hesitated to make the connection. I'm fairly new at this.
Do they not name varieties whose appeal is only that they are unusual? This one does have a heavenly fragrance but the flowers would not appeal to everyone.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Hi Winky. Haven't forgotten you, but there has been no response to my request for an ID at the OGD. You may want to use that link for your pictures and ask at the Garden web orchid forum. I has a lot more people reading and responding there. I have been pretty unhappy with all the floating adds, but other wise it is useful.

[winky]

Thanks, I'll check it out.