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Post by mabudon on Dec 14, 2006 10:55:22 GMT -5
My mom has been growing (more accurately "not killing too fast") some kind of wal-mart Dendrobium for the last year or two, and now she thinks she's about to kill it, so she's bringing it to me she says "the "big part" of it is not looking too good, but that the smaller "shoots" look okay She had it in almost no light in the middle of a room. I can post more details about it later, but basically what CP would it be best grown near (like, what CP has conditions that are going to be about the same for the thing) I am pretty limited in humidity, but my mom's house has a woodstove (I think that may be the problem) so we should be better off already. Should it go on a windowsill?? or under my lights?? Water it like a Nep, right??? I just wanted to post this before I get the thing in hand, so ideally I can get it where it needs to be right away Thanks in advance for anything you can help me with- I will describe the "problem" it has once I see it, I'm thinking it is just cultural and not a fungus or rot problem.. I HOPE it's nothing too nasty
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Post by tom on Dec 14, 2006 11:22:16 GMT -5
Hi Mabudon, if it's from Walmart, there is some good chances you ended with Dend. nobile hybrids or Dend. phalaenopsis. Both are pretty easy, but one thing is sure, they need more light than what your mother used to get it. I would go for a higher light area (perhaps in transition to avoid leaf burns), a south faced window would be ideal. I'm sure it can widthstand a low humidity, but it would benefit to sit in a water filled gravel tray, taking care the pot isn't touching the water. So your Drosera corner might be a good spot. How are the roots? Do it need transplantation (ie do the bark are mostly decomposed?) here is a quick link about the species of Dend. nobile retirees.uwaterloo.ca/~jerry/orchids/culture/den.nobile.htmlThe hybrids sold are usually more hardy and vigorous than the 'original species' so these instructions might act as general guidelines, but not stricts ones, except for light perhaps?
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Post by lloyd on Dec 14, 2006 11:29:22 GMT -5
I don't have any dendrobiums. I have a number of mainly phalanopsis. I find that after flowering from the store the roots are all rotted and the medium is pretty lousy. I unpot them, remove all the medium and really cut back any broken, rotted, dead or dried up roots. Then I rinse the roots with lukewarm water. I make a medium of coconut fibre chunks and small ceramic balls for the phalenopsis and for the moisture loving ones use coconut husk with long-fibred sphagnum and maybe perlite. If you use coconut husks, it takes over a week of daily tap-water soakings plus a few days of low-mineral water soakings to remove the orchid-killing salt. Commercially washed coconut fibre is washed in the ocean. I use a plastic pot just big enough to hold the roots, too big a pot and sometimes the roots will stay wet too long and rot. Watering really depends on the species or cultivar. Phalenopsis can really dry out between watering, Miltonia should never dry out and I think Dendrobiums are in between. When leaves are growing they need more water. Some orchids need to dry out to start flowering. Try and find out what species it is to see what it's watering requirements are. Mine all grow in bright natural light but never direct sun. Again depending on species some need to be cooler and drier in the non-growing season. I use orchid fertilizer at the standard concentration but this again varies with species, I think.
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Post by tom on Dec 14, 2006 13:14:27 GMT -5
Oh and if the plant is about to restart his growth and you have some clay pellet around, semi-hydroponic cultivation of my orchids made them almost carefree, so you might want to give it a try...
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Post by mabudon on Dec 14, 2006 15:59:07 GMT -5
Hmmmm...... I sort of don't have any of that stuff but perlite and sphagnum, but seeing it now (just got here) I'm not sure if it absolutely needs repotting It's a Dendrobium "Burana Stripe #1" The thing honestly looks like it's growing in a few chunks of some kind of wood, doesn't look like typical orchid-type mix to me at ALL, whatever it is, it' doesn't seem "decomposed" in the least Apparently my mom had no problems with it 'til she changed the container the pot was in- it's a clay pot and for some reason she took it and put it (still in the clay pot, she had it kinda "slack potted" in a larger clay one before)in a plastic, undrained container and I do believe the roots rotted out on it- it has a bunch of really fresh, kinda styrofoamy white new roots coming out all over the place... I dunno, does it sound like it's okay to just "wait and see"?? I plan on putting it on the water/gravel "tray" system, so that water isn't constantly in contact with the pot so much, my Neps seem to really like this way of growing and I kind of have it "down" And Thanks for attempting to help me here, I am not in a "newbie panic" by a long shot (I used up all my "newbie fear" when the Drosera tubers came last week) but would like to get the darn thing to flower to show my mom, since she knows I grow "impossible plants" pretty well, I'd never hear the end of it if this simple little sucker pooched out under my care
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Post by lloyd on Dec 14, 2006 22:42:25 GMT -5
If the aerial roots are nice and plump and turgid you are doing well and need not repot. If the aerial roots are wrinkled it is a sign the roots in the medium are not functioning and you may need to repot. If the roots are wrinkled and the pseudobulbs or leaves are drying out you really need to repot. Of course if you have a greenhouse and a mister system you can just grow it on a piece of bark with some sphagnum and the aerial roots will take over.
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Post by Syble on Dec 18, 2006 22:32:29 GMT -5
wasn't sure if you've seen the thing flower or not, so I found you some pics enjoy sib
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Post by mabudon on Dec 19, 2006 8:36:33 GMT -5
HAHA already given up on my orchid growin skillz Sib ?? It's lookin okay- if I DO get heem to flower, my pic will be a lot lousier than that- wait til you see pics of my U.longifolia in bloom- I have one "real" pic of it that looks like a purplish blur that I may post if I can't get a better one this year
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Post by Syble on Dec 19, 2006 10:26:37 GMT -5
na, not doubting your skills, it's supposed to be very easy to flower even for novices...and frequent too! Sib
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Post by lloyd on Dec 19, 2006 10:45:49 GMT -5
How come my U. longifolia won't flower? It goes so crazy, I have to cut it down every few months or it takes over my nep. terrarium.
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Post by mabudon on Dec 19, 2006 10:57:30 GMT -5
Lloyd- I do believe some kind of dormancy is the key, it does this thing where it looks like it's gonna die (I keep it in my windowsill) then in a few weeks it comes back with lots of small "leaves", THEN it flowers in or around february- if it does so again this year, I will know more of exactly what triggers it, but right now I'm thinking reduced photoperiod is the main factor, keep yer fingers crossed!! And Sib- yep, I read that it kinda flowers continuously, which is why after over a year of no flowers my mom gave up and handed the thing off to me It still looks pretty good so I think it'll be fine
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Post by lloyd on Dec 19, 2006 16:44:05 GMT -5
I grow my U. longifolia only under natural light but constant high humidity. The temperature is also lower seasonally but never cool.
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