Wetness on cane of Den

[DonnaH]

I'm new to orchid terminology and the raising of a healthy orchid.

I received a Den Nobile a couple of weeks ago as a gift. It is 26" high and has 11 stalks (canes), and has a lot of new growth.

Yesterday I noticed what looks like a wet, stickey looking section about an inch from the tip of the cane which holds 14 flowers. Today, I see a few little black spots, at the joint where the leave meets the cane, on two, and the wetness is on the cane between these two leaves. I hope I'm explaining this well enough that you can get a picture....I can't post a photo yet.

A few days earlier I found two leaves near the bottom of the plant with holes in them, like something has taken bites out of them.

I water (soak in a container for 15 minutes) about every 4 days, draining it afterwards, and it is in screen filtered south west sun most of the day. It is gorgeous and growing rapidly.

I feel devastated about this and to think I didn't ever look twice at an orchid before.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by DonnaH

I received a Den Nobile

Donna, check th eother threads you started. I and some others have given you some info about your plant and how to take care of it. It's not Den Nobile it's a nobile-type hybrid meaning that it's a hybrid made with the species Dendrobium nobile (note capitalization) somewhere back in its parentage.

Originally Posted by DonnaH

A few days earlier I found two leaves near the bottom of the plant with holes in them, like something has taken bites out of them.

They probably are bites form some little bug of some kind. I'd recommend applying a good general insecticids like Safer's Insecticidal Soap. Follow the directions and reapply according to the directions. See how that goes.

[DonnaH]

What are your thoughts about the wet area and tiny black spots on the leaves just off the cane?

Thanks for the information above. The ID is mysterious to me, but some of it is making sense now.

[kmarch]

Since the wetness is sticky and if you have some insect activity on your plant the wetness is probably sap that's leaking out from bites on the plant. The black spots are probably small spots of mold which grows well in the sap.

[DonnaH]

I have found a nobile Den Dream x Red Empire on e-bay.....so does that mean that mine is not a noid? I haven't found one anywhere else. See link:

nobile Den. Dream x Red Empire in bloom - eBay (item 200345403448 end time May-30-09 14:59:20 PDT)

Here's my orchid:



I'll bet you who have been around here for a long time get tired of answering the same questions over and over, but I think I did my homework and can't find all of the answers with out your help. I'm as green as the leaves on my plant.

[jerrymeola]

I was interested in your plant as Nobile type Dendrobium are deciduous and yours has many more leaves than normal. I have never seen a nobile type with eleven canes all of which still have leaves. Often multiple plants are potted together on Nobile types for a better appearance but yours appears to be one plant.

Den Dream is a very old nobile hybrid made by Yamamoto 40 years ago. It was not used for hybrids for 25 years and just recently 2 new ones have been registered. It has Den nobile 5 generations back in its family tree.

Den Red Empire is a problem. I was wondering if they had used a non-nobile type to retain leaves longer, but I can not find anything registered with that name. I considered that it might have been Den Red Emperor, another Yamamoto Dendrobium, but do not see any registration with that plant either. There are a lot of new hybrids registered with Red Emperor so it may turn out to be a typo on the name and not yet registered.

Your plant has a name tag in the pot. Is this where you got the name?

I never get tired answering the same questions but yours is a new puzzle.

As for care there is nothing easier to grow than a nobile type den. They take zero degrees to 100, flooding water or drought, full sun or shade. Just do not throw them away if they lose all their leaves it is normal.

Here is a full care sheet Care of Nobile type Dendrobium

Donna where in Florida are you. There is the Greater Orlando Orchid Show this weekend in Winter Park at the Polasek Gardens.

[DonnaH]

Thanks Jerry......

Yes, that is the name tag in the pot which says exactly "Den Dream x Red Empire" (not Red Emperor). It is all one plant and has had no leaves fall off yet. I received the plant on May 9th with 14 flowers which it still has, except for the two I accidently knocked off, althought they are starting to wilt. It has produced one new flower on another cane but I do not see any more coming. There is yet another new shoot coming up...it's about 1-1/2 inches tall now. At least I think it's a shoot.

The reason I thought that I'd found it's name to be right is because the link to ebay (above) shows the same looking orchid as mine with the same name.

I plan to visit the florist today, and even try to communicate with the seller of the other plant on ebay.

Does Spaghnum moss grow rapidly or is this my imagination? How high up the canes should be the limit?

I live in the Venice area but have never been to a show...yet. That will come a little later.

[kmarch]

There are a couple of mistakes in the culture sheet Jerry referred you to:

It says: They are easy to recognize when in bloom because the flowers come directly from the cane and not on a flower stem like other Dendrobium.Den Red Emperor _ Prince

This is not correct. The flowers are borne on inflorescences which are quite short. Each inflorescence bears anywhere form 1 to about 3 flowers. The flowers do not come directly out of the cane without a stem.

It says: 1. They can take full sun without shade or can be flowered in shade.

This is an overgeneralization. In some locations, some parts of the world, this may be true. It is definitely not true in Australia (many of our members are from here). They will burn if left in full sun. In the US my species nobile received a couple hours of direct morning sun, but morning sun is much cooler than afternoon sun, so it also matters whether it is morning or afternoon sun we're talking about.

What's best seems to be bright indirect sunlight.

It says: Their leaves turn yellow and fall off year - they are deciduous.
This is true for some nobile-types. Others hold their leaves for a year and fall off the year after.