dendrobium cuthbertsonii

[dipasquo]

I got a small den. cuthbertsonii about 4 months ago; it had 5 flowers at the time and has recently dropped 4 of them; the 5th will probably drop soon. It is difficult to inspect the medium because it's covered with living moss. If I repot anyway I risk losing the moss. Tips on keeping this plant alive and happy?

[BillC]

Hi, see post on 30-10-06 which may or may not help. It could be the conditions where your plant is placed are having an adverse effect on the growth. It is not an easy plant (from Cynthia's remarks in 30-10 post).

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

For flowers to last 4 months is pretty good. Don't have one, but hear it is very sensitive to temperature, likes it cool. You probably need to do some goolgle research on this one.

Well, wait a minute, I have Baker's book on Dendrobiums, will look it up. Nights: low 50's F all year. Days: mid 70's all year. 6-8 F warmer or cooler may work. Likely extremes 87 and 28 F. Light 1500-3000 fc. Higher light is usually in winter. Keep moist all year, do not allow to dry out. Says it may like it in front of an evaorative cooler or near a mist head. By the way, these culture sheets can be purchase from Baker's web site for a nominal amount of money and in my opinion they are worth it. His books, particularly the Dendrobium and the Oncidium books, are a tremendous value. He has about a 1000 Dendrobiums covered in that book, and probably a similar number of Oncidium alliance plants in the other book.

[dipasquo]

Thanks for the replies. Thanks especially for the specific culture information; info on this plant has been scarce in my searches so far. I live in San Francisco and the grower gave me some council. This plant has been living on a window sill that's open much of the day, so it has a pretty constant cool breeze and good indirect light. A couple of the PBs have been reaching up a bit over the past 4-6 weeks (it was very compact when I bought it), so I am wondering if that is a sign that it is looking for more light. It's been too cold recently to keep this thing outside, but spring/summer/fall our outside temperate falls almost exactly in the prescribed ranges and I may consider that.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, 1500 fc is indirect light appropriate for a Phal, while 3000 fc (winter) would need some shading. Figure 10,000 fc is full mid day sun, so you need about 70% shade. 64% shade cloth is a standard opacity, as is 74(5)%.