Please help me revamp these noids

[Julez]

I have had this poor Den which is probably a Dockrillia and Den. Speciosum now for a while and it needs to be revamped and I have no idea how, so I thought I would ask the Wise-ones........

In the last photo do you know what that is please. It is on the top of a cane with a leaf.


Thanks for your help

[berniep]

G'Day Julez

You could do worse than follow Ted's advise for the "Rock Lily" as his are magnificent.
With the dockrillia where you bought the new ones would have fact sheets I'm sure. Mine flowered last year but it is in a very small pot of bark and just gets watered and fed the same as the rest of my orchids, a big old mounted plant like that would need a fair bit of watering I would think.

Cheers
Bernie

[Julez]

Thanks Bernie, I thought about just scrapping off all the dead stuff on the Doc. but I don't want to hurt it Maybe I should soak it to see if that would work.

Um I know this may be a dumb question and my apologize to the man but who is Ted

[kmarch]

I think the very first thing I'd do, before cutting anything off or anything like that, is to start watering your dendrobiums regularly. They look extremely dehydrated to me. In the summer when these guys are in full growth mode they should receive pretty regular watering and a bit less in winter (though I see you're in Victoria and what rain they'd get here in winter will be fine). I';d get in the habit of watering them proberly for a good 6 or so months before cutting anything off. Doing this may hydrate dehydrated but still healthy roots and or growths. It will then be easier to tell what can be cut off and what should stay.

It also looks like your orchids are getting extremely high light levels. I suspect you're growing them outside with little or no shade. Try to give them a bit of shade also.

[berniep]

G'Day Julez

Getting old and silly meant to put link in Dendrobium speciosum Ted Walmsley Way

Cheers
Bernie

[Julez]

Originally Posted by kmarch

I think the very first thing I'd do, before cutting anything off or anything like that, is to start watering your dendrobiums regularly. They look extremely dehydrated to me. In the summer when these guys are in full growth mode they should receive pretty regular watering and a bit less in winter (though I see you're in Victoria and what rain they'd get here in winter will be fine). I';d get in the habit of watering them proberly for a good 6 or so months before cutting anything off. Doing this may hydrate dehydrated but still healthy roots and or growths. It will then be easier to tell what can be cut off and what should stay.

It also looks like your orchids are getting extremely high light levels. I suspect you're growing them outside with little or no shade. Try to give them a bit of shade also.

Kmarch- I am in the process of getting a new shadehouse at the moment they live under lean too with a 60%? shadecloth roof but the moron(tree trimmer) working in next door dumped one or two branches on top of the cloth putting holes in it and on those really scorcher days we had here some of my chids got burned

As my Speciosum is mounted on an old dried out tree branch, I dont think it is getting enough to drink. Do you think if I got a rubbish bin filled it with water/fert and left it in there for a few hours that would help? I have been feeding my chids with Peter's Excel Hi K 13+2.2+16.5/5.0Ca which is what the staff at AON gave me. 5gms to 10ltrs is what the direction say.

Originally Posted by berniep

G'Day Julez

Getting old and silly meant to put link in Dendrobium speciosum Ted Walmsley Way

Cheers
Bernie

Bernie WoW Ted's info is great and certainly worth giving it a try down here.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Julez

Do you think if I got a rubbish bin filled it with water/fert and left it in there for a few hours that would help?

Yes I do think that would help. I'd also consider removing it from the mount and growing it in a pot. I almost never see a Den speciosum growin on a mount. They just get too big. They mostly grow on rocks in the wild.

Just a note on the name: Dendrobium speciosum. It is a species orchid so the species name, in this case, speciosum should not be capitalized.

[Julez]

Thanks Kmarch

I had thought about removing it but I have no idea how. My Hubby purchased this chid already mounted on the log.
Since it has been getting regular watering it has started shooting so it is have a growing spurt at the moment. Over the weekend I will get a bin and give it a soak and hope it falls off. Failing that I might take it down to the meeting MOS and get someone to help me. I have loaded some more photos which may give you some idea of how I might remove it. (FYI the post you see in the background is not what the chid is on).

oops on the spelling, thanks, I have to get out of the habit of capitalizing the name of things automatically, it is one of the down falls of being a typist.

Thanks for your assistance