dendrobium questions and advice needed

[electric.chowder]

I have a habbit of never passing a discount plant (my house looks like a plant hospital at times) but found this dendrobium for 5$ and couldn't leave it at the store. It didn't have a tag, and I have no idea how to care for it (I tried searching through the forum and web for info, but since this type of orchid requires different care for each kind I figured I'd ask)

thanks!

bill

[arleneg]

Hi Bill,

That's a Dendrobium which need medium to bright light conditions and to be watered when dry (not bone dry). In case you haven't read about the skewer method, try searching for the thread with the keyword skewer.

I hope someone else who's really good in ID-ing a Den. will be able to chime in and give you the full name.

[electric.chowder]

Thank you! I have it sitting in a west facing window with a porous cutain pulled. also have it sitting in in a bowl with rocks and water in it (no water is touching the plant though). It's planted in moss right now (that's what it came in) should I repot with a different medium?

[turkeytaker]

It looks sort of like Dend. Thongchai Gold, but there are several other dends with the same patterning.

If you're comfortable with moss, it should be fine. My dends tend to do well in lavarock, but I like to water and I'm in a low humidity environment. If you grow in a dry environment and aren't heavy-handed with the watering, your guy could do quite well in moss. Since the pot is clear, you'll have a much better idea of when to water.

Good luck! Looks like a nice plant.

[palito]

nice plant for just 5 bucks! with clear pots it's easy to guess when to water.

It appears that your plant blooms from a spike at the tip of the cane. That indicates that it needs dendrobium-phalaenopsis type care, as Arlene and turkeytaker both advise. My dens need almost as much light as cattleyas. The west window is okay, but you may find that you don't need a curtain. Why not put it outside for the summer? Now is the time that your den will be growing at its best. It needs lots of fertilizer and water during the summer. After August you can back off the watering and feeding.

[electric.chowder]

Thanks for all the help everyone! these past few days I've been putting all my orchids outside (2 phals, an oncidium and now then dendrobium) in the afternoons because we've been having scattered thunderstorms and the humidity is really high, I've been sitting out of the sun and rain so they are staying mostly dry and been making sure the leaves are dry before night. orchid126, where would a good place outside be to sit it? the temps have been getting in the upper 80's F, but like I said the humidity has been really high and at night it gets down in the 60's F. I think I may try the moss (I'm new to orchid growing and am still trying to see which medium works for me, this forum has been lots of help though thanks everyone!). I'll try to get a better picture of the flower while it's still hanging in there, I had some difficulty uploading pics from my digi cam, and just ended up using my iSight :/

Thanks again for all the advice!

bill

[kmarch]

Dear electric.chowder,

You can find a very clear and helpful culture sheet on your type of orchid at the American Orchid Society website at www.aos.org.

Cheers!

I'm in New Jersey and we often get in the high 80's and 90's and it's very humid, but the plants seem to thrive under those conditions. On very hot days I wet them down, and the phal is protected from rain, I must wet that myself to protect the crown. My dens get several hours of good morning sun, then bright light for the rest of the day. The plant needs as much light as you can give it short of burning the leaves. Try it in one place and feel the leaves. If they're hot, move the plant to less light.

[Glitter]

Hi electirc chowder.....you're not going to believe this....but I bought the same exact orchid today as well for $5.00 ...Even the pot is the same as yours. It came with a clay pot over the plastic pot.

I don't recall it having a tag with it and I cut off the bloom stalk cause the one remaining bud was wilted. I'll go out there tomorrow and see if there's an ID tag with it.

[Glitter]

LOL...I just noticed the clay pot sitting off in one of your pics. Got it at Kroger? LOL

[m3phist023]

Your dendrobium looks a lot like one of mine, almost identical, in fact, and it's an Anching Lubag x Thongchai Gold.
So hey, good call, turkeytaker!

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by m3phist023

Your dendrobium looks a lot like one of mine, almost identical, in fact, and it's an Anching Lubag x Thongchai Gold.
So hey, good call, turkeytaker!

Check out the difference n the lips. I don't think hey're the same cross.

[electric.chowder]

right store right price, got it at kroger glitter my last remaining flower is wited as well, I need to cut that off (add that to the list of things to do tomorrow) right now I've got it sat on the front porch, it gets indirect light all day and maybe an hour (or less) direct sun, I'll check it more closely over the next couple of days

[Glitter]

Electric Chowder....

I pulled the price tag out of the trash. Our orchids came from www.costanursery.com

I wonder if you send them a pic....you can get n ID on the orchid. I already cut my bloom stalk off.....so I can't get a pic of my flower.

[elitebettas]

Hello,
That is a dendrobium THONG CHAI GOLD, beautiful plant