Denbrobium canes

[Johnnie Eagan]

I have 3 dendrobiums. When I purchased them they were in pretty sad shape....hardly any leaves, several "bald canes". My question is will these canes reproduce leaves? Should they be pruned?

[Orchid_lady]

I wouldn't pruned them if I were you. You don't say anything about the roots. Are they healthy? If they are, then they should grow fine.

[Ellen]

If the canes are bare, it's unlikely that they will grow more leaves. What will happen is that new canes will sprout from the base of the old ones, and those new canes will produce leaves and eventually flowers. Don't cut the old canes. They store moisture and produce energy for the plant. Good luck with your dendrobiums.

[jerrymeola]

Both answers so far are good.

In addition the old canes, while they probably will not produce leaves, they can produce flowers on the bare canes

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

You want to keep a minimum of 3, and preferably 4 or 5 canes in a row up to the latest growth. Each cane in a row going backwards from the latest is a year older. So 5+ year old canes can be removed and will not affect the quality of the plant. Use a steriled tool to remove. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[junieg2]

You're gonna love your dendrobiums. They may look a little funny at first, but they are beautiful when they bloom. I recently cut one of my "naked" canes so that there were two section lines to each, laid them on a wet bed of sphagnum moss in a plastic bag, and set them in my sunroom. I now have new growth on the sections and will soon plant them in growing medium. These dens. are a heck of a lot of fun to play with. Enjoy yours. jcg