rest period

[starwhiz]

I started growing orchids in May 2005 so I'm still learning to properly grow orchids.

I heard rest period or dormancy will make orchids to flower. But what exactly is a rest period and, does this apply to all orchids? Thanks for any information anyone can give.

[Kev]

I really depends on what you have. If you have a specific plant in mind, it might be better to post the name. There is this misconception that many of the orchids commonly grown (like phals) go dormant in winter. They may look that way, but usually it 's only because they aren't receiving enought light if grown indoors without supplimental light at this time of year.

It's really kind of a broad question, although a good one, so maybe if you can give more specifics about what plant or plants you are referring to someone can give you more appropriate advice.

Kev

[starwhiz]

The leaves on my dends are starting to fall off and the roots were turning brownish. Roots rot on my cymbidiums. I got an after bloom cattleya (lc. ann akagi) in August. I dont see new growth and new roots...

[Kev]

Originally Posted by starwhiz

The leaves on my dends are starting to fall off and the roots were turning brownish. Roots rot on my cymbidiums. I got an after bloom cattleya (lc. ann akagi) in August. I dont see new growth and new roots...

Of those three, I only grow Dends. It sounds like you have a problem with root rot. These can be very sensitive to overwatering. That's why I grow most of mine in lava rock. Again, there are 1000's of Dends out there. Some do have a rest period and drop there leaves. I would bet however, that you have a Dend phal of some sort. These really don't rest and shouldn't drop there leaves, although they can if they don't like their conditions.

I think you're going to have to take this one out of its pot to see what's going on there. They must dry out between waterings.

K

[janet_a]

i tried this rest period thing with my two dens (one phal type, one antelope) and came damn near killing the antelope. needless to say, this year, no rest period. i don't give any of the other plants a rest period. but YMMV.


ok what's with the cloud?

[starwhiz]

Thanks guys. I'll try not to do a rest period and see what happens. It's the first winter for the orchids (I started raising them in May).

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

For the more common Dendrobiums, the kind you find at Home Depot, you are probably safe just stretching out the watering times so that the plants stay completely dry for a few days to a week. There are Den species that need to be very dry at the roots for several months (but misting is OK), and those that need to be damp at the roots all the time (no rest). For your Dens and your Cattleyas, a good rule of thumb is no fertilizer while not growing. This is a form of rest. I have grown Cattleyas for many years with nothing more than a steady wet dry cycle winter and summer, but have been a chronic under fertilizing person.

I'm surprised at your rot loss with the Cymbidiums. You must have them in a particularly inappropriate mix. Are you in Florida where they get rained on constantly? With really good drainage, and relatively low humidity, I water every other day with no problems. I have some warm growing miniature Cyms in relatively small pots that hanger high in the warmest, brightest part of my greenhouse and they get watered every day. The 2 plants have good root systems and they drain the pot dry every day. Cynthia

[pikespeak62]

Here's my question.......
Do you wait for leaves to fall or just start drying out at a certain time?

[Kev]

Originally Posted by pikespeak62

Here's my question.......
Do you wait for leaves to fall or just start drying out at a certain time?

I'm not sure what you are referring to. On most orchids people grow, the leaves shouldn't be falling. Agian, it's impossible to generalize about all orchids since there are so many different types with different needs. What plant are you talking about?

[pikespeak62]

different deciduous dendrobiums

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I have just recently gotten the book for Dendrobiums that has all the Baker Culture Sheets for Dens. The discovery that I made is that I was starting the rest too early in general, and that different Dens start at different times. This I am basing on the rain/humidity data that is given in the culture sheets. Most of the Dens that need drying or cooling, seem to need it starting November or December, with the more extreme drying out later in winter because many of the locations have a lot of dew condensing on the plants until later in the winter when the humidity drops and there is less or no dew. Each Den. species is different. I have all my Den. species, just over 40 of them, with a big red label with a month in large black letters. This is the month that I plan to change something. So the first of every month I make the rounds to see what I need to do. Some will get a yellow tag that says 'mist only', or a geen tag removed that was my cue to keep them wet. Some will go into the cold frame, with whatever tag is needed such as a yellow tag to reduce watering. When a plant is changed because of the current months red tag, a new red tag is added with the month noted for the next change in culture. This is a new system made possible using the book 'Orchid Species Culture, Dendrobiums', by Baker. I have a summary of my interpretation of the cutural requirements for each plant on the tag (1"wide) for each plant. I will have to see how well this system works. Most of these plants are recent acquisitions or are poorly grown plants that I have had for a year or two. I few have done well sometimes in the past, but irregularly. This is going to be a very interesting year. Even my old warm growing hybrids are being treated differently. Cynthia

[pikespeak62]

Wow.......I don't have 40!!
I have about 6.
The ones I really want to bloom are anosmums
I started drying them out last year in Nov.
They grew nice new growth, but no flowers.
When do you start waterinf again?.......when budded?

[Kev]

Cynthia

This rest period thing has been one of the most confusing things for me too. I think we often look out our windows to see what's going on outside and base our decisions as to when to start these rest periods on that. Coming from a cold climate, that isn't always a good thing. Our winters are long and start early. What orchids want could be very different. Your system sounds like a good one. I think I need to develop a plan for mine based on some serious research.

Kevin

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

PP62, I had a nobile years ago that never,well almost never, bloomed for me. It had half a flower and a keiki where the other half of flower should have beem. So I don't know if watering in bud is necessarily the thing to do. My plan is to continue with the culture pattern I have marked on each lable irrespective of bloom. However, this will be the first time thru this system, so I may find for some, this is a bad idea. Just won't know until I have some experience under my belt. I will start watering again when each plant starts new growth. Now, for the warm growing Den hybrids, I have decided to treat them somewhat like the bigibbum and phalaenopsis Dens, this means strethching out the watering considerably, but to do so after flowering (in this particular case). There is always a problem with experts telling you to dry the plant off after flowering, when your culture has been bad enough up to this point that the plants won't bloom, so you don't know when to dry the plant off. I wish I could give these authors a piece of my mind. However, I have enough of these hybrids to get a sense of the timing for the group. Half are still blooming and are getting a simple wet dry schedule Of the rest, some are still maturing a grow, but are almost done, and one or two of these are possibly going to bloom, and a couple are getting a mostly misting only treatment. I have a bigibbum that has gone down hill for two growths in a row. The last growth was not much larger than a pea. This guy is now getting no water what so ever at the roots, but does get misted every day, although this may change to less misting later in the winter. Cynthia

[starwhiz]

"I'm surprised at your rot loss with the Cymbidiums. You must have them in a particularly inappropriate mix. Are you in Florida where they get rained on constantly? With really good drainage, and relatively low humidity, I water every other day with no problems. I have some warm growing miniature Cyms in relatively small pots that hanger high in the warmest, brightest part of my greenhouse and they get watered every day. The 2 plants have good root systems and they drain the pot dry every day. Cynthia"

Hi Cynthia, I live in high elevation dry air low humidity colorado, I grow orchids indoor and, I use medium/small bark charcoal mix. I was watering them when I see top medium drying out. Im trying to water them once a week now.

[pikespeak62]

Cynthia
Sorry I didn't reply to your last post.
I have trouble locating threads when they disappear from the first page!
And....assume there are no replies.
As for the anosmums, I'm experimenting with them.
Slowly cutting back on water, but not completely cutting them off.
Last year I got nervous that they weren't dropping leaves, so I forced it by stopping watering.
But, they didn't bloom.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Yeah, I'm having the same problem with the existance of a page 2 also. It's the pits. I hope Dave changes it. I am now looking at the date of last post, to help me know if there is a new post.

Starwhiz, I think you may have a mix that is too much like house plant mix. I like a mix made of a mixture of bark sizes and a little very fine bark, like the dust that you sift out of your regular bark before using. Be sure to water very well, when you do, so that every part of the mix is wet, and you will be less tempted to keep adding just a little more because you think some part of the mix didn't get wet. Other than that, can't guess what the problem with your Cym. is, since I don't grow them indoors.

PP62, I just bought a Den. anosmum from Cal Orchids earlier this month, and James Rose said 'absolutely no water until next spring'. Well, I checked Baker's Den. book and decided to cut off watering 1st of December. But I will probably be misting once or twice a week, maybe more if I can't manage to bypass the plant while I'm misting everything else which I do every day. Most of these plants look like they need to be dry at the roots, but occasional misting is OK (a/p Baker). The other common thread is increased light during winter. Maybe indoor growers have a hard time coming up with this change. Everything in my coldframe is getting very high light as there is no shade cloth, just 2 sheets of plastic, plus a layer of bubble insulation that diffuses the light somewhat. For those that stay in the GH, I will move them to the south end of the GH where there is no shade cloth on the end (south faceing) panel, just the same plastic sheeting/insulation as on the coldframe. Cynthia

[pikespeak62]

Mine are under HID lights and I'm running a humidifier.........so, maybe?
I'm still confused as to whether you force them to drop leaves by dehydrating or let it occur naturally

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Since I have seen some Dens loose leaves after withholding water, and I believe that some keep their leaves an extra season if you don't dry them, like some nobiles (mine), I think the best plan is to dry them off on schedule, because if you wait, and the plant also waits, by the time the plant looses its leaves, it may be to late for it to set buds. At least, that is my concern. This is why I'm so pleased with the Baker Culture Sheets. I finally have hard dates for making the cultural changes. I may be a month off from the average/optimum time for a culture change, but that's exactly the way nature works anyway. Some years the weather changes early, and some years late. My guess is that the plant takes its cues from the weather. Cynthia