I am new to the group

[latebloomer59]

and I am really having trouble getting my "dens" to bloom. In fact mine seem to just wither and die. On the other hand I have several phalaenopsis and they do beautifully.
what is the trick to the "dens"
thank you
I do live in Western Washington and keep my orchids in a west window or sometimes the bathroom which has two sky lights so they get lots of bright light.

[jerrymeola]

As to blooming, Western Washington will have fairly low light levels even at noon being so far north. you should measure the levels. you can use a camera.
Measuring light levels with an SLR camera

I doubt you are getting enough light in either the west window or under the skylights. You will be surprsed how much light glass blocks. Especially since the low angle of the sun results in low light levels all the time.

The shriveled canes make me think that you are not watering enough. All canes wither but not usually until new growth has emerged. If you are not getting new canes after each flowering, then this is where I would look first.

It is possible your flower source is not a good one and the plants were damaged before buying them. You should see new cane growth within 3-4 months of flowering.

[Ellen]

I grow dens in the Seattle area, and have had good success with blooming both nobile types and others. I have some of them in a sun porch where they get hours of morning and afternoon sun, and some are outside in a semi-shaded area. Jerry is right that one key factor is getting enough sun, but another key factor seems to be cooling them down in fall as the days get shorter. You can try keeping them outside until night temps start getting near freezing in winter. Dens can be finicky, so just keep trying different things till you find the right combination of light and temperature. Good luck!

[jerrymeola]

Ellen

As to your nobiles they can take temperatures from 30-100 degrees and in Hawaii they are grown outside in full sun all day.

I was surprised because the thin leaf looks like it will burn easy but does not.

They are used to very hig sun.