Growing Orchids

Hi,
looking at the flowers, I would say that you have a Dendrobium Orchid. They are generally easy to grow and there is a LOT of information on them on the web. Here is a good link from the American Orchard Society to get you started…

http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=215

One thing I do know from mine that isnt in that artical is that they will drop their leaves every year. They will turn yellow and fall off during their hibernation cycle then send out a new growth later. But I believe that depends on the exact type of Dendrobium. There are several hundred different dendrobiums.

Orchids tend to be a bit like potaoe chips… once you get one you end up with more. I have over 90 of them now.. lol.
Good luck and happy growing!

Yes, they’re dendrobiums, the phalananthe subsection commonly called den-phals (not related to the phalalenopsis orchids seen for sale everywhere now; they’re called that because the flower shape is similar). They are a warm growing orchid whose ancestors come from tropical Australia (the species Denfrobium biggibum, which is the dominant force in yours) and Oceania in the region around New Guinea. They are epiphytes in nature- the DO NOT grow in soil or dirt. In cultivation, they can be grown in very loose well draining mixtures of lava rock, tree fern fiber, bark chips, perlite, Styrofoam chunks, every grower has their own favorite blend but the important thing is that it doesn’t retain water- they can’t stand wet feet, although they do best in high humidity. They can be grown in plastic or clay pots, but it’s important that the pot have extra drainage holes (orchid pots with big slits up the side or plastic/wood mesh or slat baskets work great)- the pot should be shallow, not deep, and should be weighted with clay shards or rocks on the bottom as these plants are top heavy. The only seasons where they come from are wet and dry; they can’t take cold (don’t let it get below 60*) or it stresses them and they will drop leaves or even die. (this type is also called hardcane or evergreen; they should not normally shed leaves for several years) Depending on what hybrid it is it may get quite huge; there are dwarf species/hybrids but most get feet tall- some up to 9 or ten but not usually when grown in the home. There you may expect 2 or 3 feet max. They like very bright even intense sunlight- direct morning and late afternoon, filtered late morning through midafternoon sun would be ideal. Under proper light the leaves will be a light yellowish green; dark green is not enough light. They like to be watered 2-3 times a week spring through fall, tapering off to perhaps once a week in the late fall and winter. Just make sure it dries around the roots before you water again. They can bloom all year round (a large well grown plant will sometimes be everblooming) but the primary bloom season for most is spring and summer. There may be a couple dozen or more individual blooms on a single spike, multiple spikes per growth, and the canes (properly called pseudobulbs) can rebloom until they eventually die. Don’t ever cut off the old growths until they yellow and die or unless you’re dividing a large plant- they are storehouses for the plant even when leafless and can initiate new growths. If you divide a big plant, each division should have a minimum of 3 healthy pseudobulbs. The growth eyes are at the base of the pseudobulbs and without them the plant can’t live and grow, though sometimes an offshoot (called a keiki) will form on dendrobiums from a bloom spike node. When it develops its own healthy root system, it can be separated from the parent plant and potted up.
Uh, did I forget anything? I feel like I just regurgitated a novel.
I’ve grown orchids since I was 8 (all outdoors I’m from Florida); feel free to ask me anything and I’ll help you if I can, or point you to better resources. The American Orchid Society has excellent culture sheets on their website; there’s an active fancier’s club in Baton Rouge (I think) and New Orleans Louisiana is also great orchid growing and most groups are happy to answer novice questinos with tips pertinent to your area, and there are several fanciers online forums. The close cousins to your dendrobium the spatulata or antelope dens are some of my favorites!

I guess we can’t edit our posts anymore? I wanted to add that your flowers look like Den. Sonia, which is one of the most commonly grown for the cut flower trade in the Far East. Even if yours can’t be saved, you should be able to find Sonia or a lookalike anywhere that sells mass market orchid plants (Lowe’s and Home Depot do here).
I noticed a misspelling in my post- it’s ‘phalaenopsis’ not ‘phalalenopsis’. And dens like to be potbound; always use a smaller pot than you think you’ll need. They will often fail to thrive in a bigger pot, and need to be secured- wiggling about is very bad for them. Lowe’s and Home Depot also sell decent orchid potting supplies.
Here’s one of my spatulata dens, Den. tangerinum.

Plants are popping up awake here already.Spring is on it’s way :bigsmile:

:p

I iz jealous…

Etruscan, with what I’ve experienced and what I’ve studied of the Orchidaceae family’s biology, I would doubt you’d get viable (really, any) growth with *most* orchids, especially with cut flower stems or pieces that don’t have the normal growth points. There is one big exception that comes to mind- the nobile dendrobiums (subtribe Dendrobinae). These are the type that I think StormDancer has; they are native to southeast Asia particularly the foothills and lower elevations of the Himalayas for the more common ones in cultivation. They lose their leaves in the winter months, and require a cool dry period to set bloom. Many will bloom on otherwise naked pseudobulbs in the early spring. They are also known as softcane and deciduous dendrobiums in the hobby. When they are kept too wet in what should be the dry season (sometimes when not cool enough), they will often throw out baby plantlets (“keikis”) from the bud nodes instead of flower buds. Stress can also cause this; it’s much more common with these plants than pretty much any other I can think of besides the reed stem epidendrums related to E. radicans. One known propagation technique with the softcane dens is to take a green pseudobulb, cut it into sections that each contain at least 1 bud node, and lay them in a tray filled with damp sphagnum moss and covered with plastic film. Keep the moss damp, and place in fairly bright but indirect light. After a period of several weeks or months, the nodes will form keikis. When its root system is 3″+, it can be potted up and treated as any other young seedling. A section of reedstem epi kept in water or damp may also throw out roots and continue to grow- they are a common bedding plant in south Florida, the Caribbean, and Hawaii.
I agree it doesn’t hurt to try! My husband broke off a pseudobulb on one of my spatulata dens and put it in a rain cache bowl. I’m leaving it there to see if it may throw out a keiki before it dies. I threw away a pseudobulb that broke off one of my cattleyas that fell though, they don’t keiki and it wouldn’t do anything.
As a side note on the nobile den hybrids, they’re often available mass market in the spring and can be a good starter orchid. Since they need a winter cooloff, they are a good one for window cultivation that can stay all year in the window for growers up north. They are quite fragrant, and can be very showy when blooming. Just remember they go bald in the winter!
Edit to add you can buy hormone pastes to induce keikiing of bud nodes in genera that already have the ability to produce keikis from bud nodes- the dendrobiums and the phalaenopsis.

Hi Erica! Queensland area/York peninsula for the ones we talked about, but there are native dendrobiums outside that region- Dendrobium kingianum and D. speciosum are popular, along with their hybrids! Both of those species are highly fragrant, and more tolerant of non-tropical conditions.

P.S. for Etruscan’s comment, the pseudobulb (stem) broken off the dendrobium of mine DID sprout a keikei, or baby plant. So if Bodine’s flowers had included the vegetative growth, babies were possible.