Dendrobium leaf yellowing.

[Cantando]

How do you stop leaves on a dendrobium from turning yellow and falling off? I always seem to have this problem. I got a new plant in the mail and when it arrived it was obviously very vigorous with strong roots, a new growth, and several flower buds. It's a fairly large plant and it came in a very tiny and compact pot, so I repotted it into a 6 inch pot in a charcoal/bark/pumice medium. A little over a week later, I see the bottom leaf on the biggest cane turning yellow. What should I do?

[tom499]

that sound fine to me as new leaves grow, older ones will die. Just let it fall off and then bin it. you should only be worried if they all start falling off

but really, as long as its just the older outer leaves you have nothing to worry about

[Sharyn]

Leaves turning yellow over the winter is common. Your den. will also require an ajustment period to your home, however, you mentioned that it arrived in a very tiny pot and you repotted in a 6" pot? Sounds like the pot is pretty large. Dens. like to be pot bound. I'm sure there are others with more experience, but I usually only go one pot size larger.

Many dens are deciduous and leave bare canes. But these bare canes can also bloom, so all is not lost.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Unless that is a VERY big Den, 6" may be too big. Be sure to let the pot dry out inside to almost completely dry. In winter, when the plant is neither growing nor blooming, let it get very dry before watering. If the pot is too big, it will take so long to dry in winter that the plant may self-destruct.

[jerrymeola]

I have a 6 year old den that is extremely large and I still would not put it in a 6 inch pot.

A six inch pot is for a plant of about 20-25 canes.