"Orchid Dendrobium
(aka-bamboo orchid)
Caring for and growing them"

The deciduous orchid dendrobium come from the northern equatorial belt, and their growing season corresponds to that of most of our garden plants, which makes them less difficult to handle. They send up new growth in spring and complete it by late fall. During this period of active growth they should be carried at an intermediate temperature with a correspondingly high humidity.

Their requirements for humidity, however, are not too difficult and water trays plus frequent syringing in bright weather will keep them in reasonably good condition. Water is applied regularly to the pots though not in heavy quantities. The compost should be allowed to dry out between waterings, yet not be permitted to stay dry for longer than a few hours.

In winter the deciduous orchid dendrobium drop their leaves and go through the stage which orchidists variously call rest, dormancy, or a ripening period. The slight summer shade under which the orchid dendrobium were grown is done away with as much as possible.

They are given all the sunlight they can stand without injury. The temperature of the growing case, window, or greenhouse is allowed to drop to the cool classifcation, although most deciduous dendrobium orchids can stand a consistently low temperature of 40°. Dendrobium superbum has overwintered Southern California frosts. Commercial folks sometimes lower the temperature of their houses in order to retard spring flowering, making it coincide with profitable Easter sales.

While at rest the deciduous orchid dendrobium are given copious amounts of fresh air and considerably less humidity. Very little water is added to the compost—just enough to keep it moist so that roots may stay alive and somewhat active and the pseudobulbs remain plump.

Enter your search termsSubmit search form

Web easy-orchid-growing-tips.com

According to many reports, Burmese dendrobium orchids are sun-scorched so badly that the pseudobulbs shrivel and the roots fall off. That may be a suitable natural condition, but in artificial culture there is no sense in subjecting dendrobium orchids to such harsh treatment.

Perhaps, they will work better for you under clinically ideal conditions. If you wish, try summering deciduous dendrobium orchids beneath the shade of yard trees. This is a most successful method of inducing good, hard pseudobulbs and insuring flowering the following spring.

Most growers stand solidly behind the opinion that the secret of flowering deciduous dendrobium orchids lies solely in the treatment they are given after the summer's growth is completed. Flowers are produced only from pseudobulbs that have been correctly ripened. If you overwinter plants at high temperatures the incipient flower buds at the nodes undergo a drastic change. In the spring, instead of flowers, you'll get small adventitious plants. This is a nice way to increase your stock of plants.

Dendrobium orchids in variety, however, can be propagated in the more customary manner without losing flowers. They tend to flower at the same time that they develop new growth, so as soon as the flowers disappear simply cut the rhizomes at the base of the plants, separating them into two or more divisions. Each piece should contain not less than two pseudobulbs.

The evergreen section normally produces along the stems young adventitious plants which may be cut off and potted. This doesn't interfere with flowering. Don't ruin the older pseudobulbs, though; they produce flowers year after year. The pseudobulbs of the deciduous section, on the other hand, bloom only once. They can be cut out of the plant and propagated by cuttings. This is a much faster method of increasing your stock than division. The long pseudobulbs are cut into three-inch to five-inch lengths, each cutting containing one or two nodes.

Send flowers today starting at just $29.99 - Same Day Delivery available!

The cuttings are placed on moist sand in a warm, shady, and very humid spot. It is sometimes expedient to cover them with a bell glass or similar equipment in order to keep the humidity relatively high. Within a few weeks young orchid dendrobium plants will break from the nodes, and as quickly as they develop several good roots they can be potted.

The young plants will have to be hardened before you replace them with your older plants. Gradually give them more air, light, and lower temperatures. Propagations should develop flowering growths in from two to three years—not really a long time to wait.

Sometimes it is a bit difficult to get cuttings to grow plants from the nodes. The time of the year seems to have much to do with it; ordinarily cuttings are made in the spring in order that young plants may have the full benefit of the growing season.

Regardless of the section to which the orchid dendrobium belong, they are potted alike. In the spring, after flowering, they may be knocked out of old pots, cleaned, and replaced in fresh osmunda. The size of the pot and the amount of osmunda are sometimes critical.

All dendrobium orchids have thin, wiry root systems which are among the shallowest and least extensive of all orchids. They do not need large pots—in fact, the smaller the better. Leave about a half inch be¬tween the pseudobulbs and the inner edge of the pots. The leads are produced closely against the old pseudo-bulbs and don't take up much room. The osmunda rarely fills more than one-half of the depth of the pots—not the customary two-thirds.

When repotting always keep the center of the osmunda slightly above the rim of the pots, sloping it downward and outward. This insures adequate and quick drainage away from the rhizomes, which are rather sensitive to having water around them.

Part 1 of orchid dendrobium