Den in MD needs advice

[Carlene]

Hi Everyone!
I have a Dendrobium -bought it at the Home Depot last spring (Mothers Day). Beautiful blooms (1 cane) thru Sept. Left it 'alone' thru the winter. In Jan it started growing a new cane. I repotted it in March -to a bigger pot (oops maybe). Its in a mulch, rock, styrofoam mixture. I did not trim any roots -just cleaned. I water it 3x wk (water runs thru the pot to the saucer) The baby cane is huge now (2 lower leaves are yellowing). One of the older cane's leaves are yellowing. Its not showing any signs of blooming (visible). On warm sunny days I've let it go outside for 2 hrs. I've been reading the posts here & the yellowing is 'normal' & I shouldn't cut them out?? (on the dens) It does get fertilzer mixed in the gallon of water I water it with (orchid food fertlzr).Will it bloom? Should I be doing anything else? Did I make any mistakes that I should fix?? Thank you for any advice.

i'm not sure but i don't think dendrobiums like to be repotted and may sulk or stall, they don't like being overpotted either. if i have to repot one i put it into the smallest pot that will accomidate the roots. i put mine in full sun outdoors in the summer. don't let it sit in water, be sure it has stopped dripping before placing it back on the saucer. have no idea when it will bloom again, maybe this summer if the stars are right.

[Ellen]

You don't say what sort of dendrobium you have, but dendrobiums generally only bloom once a year, so I wouldn't expect any sign of blooming until next winter. If your plant is growing new canes, that means it's healthy, and you shouldn't worry about it. Unless the plant is outside in low humidity and full sun, it probably doesn't need water more than once a week, especially in the larger pot. Benign neglect is usually the best thing for orchids.

[jerrymeola]

Dens do not like to be repotted and like to be as pot bound as possible.

One reason not to buy orchids from Home Depot and similar places is that they overpot the plants intentionally in order to charge a higher price. They sell pot size not quality.

All orchids like to be pot bound. Otherwise they spend all their strength in growing roots until the pot is full. Even if you had not moved it to a bigger pot it still may not have bloomed for a year or two, because it was overpotted at home depot.

A den with one cane in bloom is best in a three inch pot, so you can judge how overpotted it is. Most growers put small dens in a four inch pot from the start in order to get a larger plant and more flowers at the first bloom at the expense of having to wait longer to flower the first time. Yours was already at the first bloom, but probably should not have been repotted for 2-3 years.

I always tell my customers that the plant is good in a four inch pot until it is so big you do not like the way it looks. My favorite den, in my personal collection, is 28 inches tall and 30 inches wide, has 7 large canes in the main pot and 7 10-12 inch canes hanging over the side outside the pot. It has roots in the air eight inches above the pot. It is in a 4 1/2 inch pot for the last five years and I have no intention of repotting.

It is a Canacalatum type which is more difficult to flower than the DenPhals (A hybrid with Dendrobium phalaenopsis in its parentage) sold by Home Depot and it still flowers 9 months a year for me. They like to be pot bound.

Yellowing of leaves is common in dens (most leaves live only 2 or at most 3 years) but it should not be occuring in new cane growth. Most likely the roots are stressed from the repotting. The plant should recover by itself, there is nothing you need to do except general care. So long as the newest leaves are green the plant can shed the older leaves.

The DenPhals sold by Home Depot and most big box stores bloom only once a year and in the spring. This is blooming time. As long as the weather will be above 35 degrees you can leave it outside. They handle the cold very well. Do not expose it to temperatures that low too quick if it has been inside.

The den needs 2500-3500 foot candles of light to rebloom (about 40% of July August noon sun in Maryland). It is very unlikely that even a southern window in Maryland is lettng this much light in to the plant.
Light is the most critical condition for orchids to bloom.

Fortunately dens are very forgiving. Put it outside full time as soon as the weather is safely above freezing and you may be lucky and get more flowers this summer. At the very least you will get a lot of new growth and twice as many flowers next year.

[janet_a]

rocks. got mine in rocks. and it took 18 months in a full western exposure before they revved up enough oomph to bloom. (just outside rockville MD)

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

We need to know if the flowers on the original plant were spread out along the length of the bulbs (nobile type), or the flowers came off the top of the plant in a spray (Phalaenopsis type). The first type needs some cooling during winter to bloom, while the second type needs to be kept at room temp constantly. The Phal types don't all bloom at exactly the same time, and maybe yours is getting ready to bloom yet. Remember, a change in environment may shift the bloom season some. On the other hand, if your plant is a nobile type and you didn't cool it off during winter, you may get a lot of baby plants instead of flowers. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[Carlene]

You guys have been so helpful. I'm lovin this. I really have developed a 'bond' with this orchid. I want to get more but want to get it right w/ my 1st one first. Thank you so very, very much with your advice. I will be in touch. Den in MD (I'm right outside of Rockville too [Janet])