Dendrobium kingianum

[csabol]

Hello all, This is my first posting and i'm concerned about my Dendrobium Kingianum. I've had it for over a year now and it seems to have initially lost a good bit of leaves but now i have moved it to another indoor greenhouse(if you can call it that) and i think it's giving off more keikis but not as many as i would have expected reading all the care sheets. It is in a white plastic 4 inch container that the plant takes up a good bit of the 4 inches. I did not water it all that often in the winter but have increased now that it's spring. I try to keep high humidity in the current location and it has a southern exposure and it's also under lights. My setup is not ideal but i do my best with what i have. Any further suggestions to help my plant thrive. Every care sheet says how easy it is to grow and I have not had much luck. I bought it in bloom and I'd like to see it there again by fall. I do have luck with all my other orchids in the current setup so i know it's working with them. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[brookn]

They give a lot of keikis with too much fert., and they like water a little more than the typical dend. Hope that helps, they do like bright light.

[csabol]

Thanks I sure hope moving it does the trick. It's now in a place where i will keep a closer eye on it plus more water and sun.

[Leisurely]

Your plant would benefit greatly from an outdoor vacation during the warm months. Don't expect flowers in the fall because they bloom in the spring if provided the right conditions. They like a cool, (fifties at night) bright, (as much sun as possible) and dry (occasional light watering) winter rest. No fertilizer should be given during the rest period because you will get keikis and no flowers.

[csabol]

I hope this photo works. I was having a hard time getting the size small enough to post. My plant does need some help and I will trim some old dead stalks off eventually. I will also give it a good vacation outside as suggested. It is still very cold in northern PA in the nights so i'll bring it in for now.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by csabol

Hello all, This is my first posting and i'm concerned about my Dendrobium Kingianum.

I think the problem is that the "K" in kingianum is capitalized. Species names don't like to be capitalized.

Originally Posted by csabol

I did not water it all that often in the winter but have increased now that it's spring.

On a more serious note, I think this is your problem. You've treated it like a nobile Dendrobium and not a kingianum. Den nobile likes a cool dry winter while kingianum likes a cool wet inter. We grow lots of kingianum line bred species and hybrids here in Australia (they're native here) and I have several. I keep mine fairly wet all year round. Our winters here are cool (maybe 50F day and 40F night) and wet and this is when they bloom. Your plant looks severely dehydrated to me which the plant would be if it weren't watered.

Your light sounds good. I dont' know what your temps are like but mine get as low as 40F at night in the winter and over 100F in the day in summer.

They're cycle is that they grow in spring/summer, growths mature and they start t spike in autumn and they bloom in winter then sit for a few weeks before they start growing again.

Originally Posted by csabol

Every care sheet says how easy it is to grow and I have not had much luck.

Well, every orchid can be super easy if the conditions are right. The opposite is true too, every orchid can be difficult if the conditions are not right.

It's spring for you now right? So you should be watering and it should probably start growing new growths (not keikis) at about this time.

Oh and I should probably mention that I do not fertilize my kingies at all.

Keep us posted with your progress.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Leisurely

Your plant would benefit greatly from an outdoor vacation during the warm months. Don't expect flowers in the fall because they bloom in the spring if provided the right conditions. They like a cool, (fifties at night) bright, (as much sun as possible) and dry (occasional light watering) winter rest. No fertilizer should be given during the rest period because you will get keikis and no flowers.

This sounds like nobile culture to me. This won't be ideal for kingianums as they like it wet all year round.