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ivy_05

Newbi and need help with Dendrobium

ivy_05
14 years ago

I went to Lowe's and happened to wonder into their garden section by 'accident'. I found this beautiful Dendrobium Orchid still blooming and had healty green leaves. After two weeks at home I notice some of the leaves started to turn yellow on one of the plants and one leaf had two black spots on it. My questions is: 1) Why are the leaves turning yellow? 2)What are the black spots and what should I do about it? 3) How to care for this plant. I have the care instructions but they seem pretty basic and what I've read on dendrobiums is that they have a wide range of varieties and some have different likes and dislikes. Thank you for your wisedom and time.

pics are on the link and look at orchid1 for the plant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics

Comments (2)

  • arthurm
    14 years ago

    Sorry i do not have a facebook account so i cannot view your picture.
    Does your plant have an id tag with a name? Failing that you could look at the pics in the link to find the sort of Dendrobium you have.... care instructions varyaccording to type.
    Click on the two icons of sub-tribe Dendrobiinae and then if necessary the thumb nails.
    As in the other post apart from fine tuning the id you need to tell people about the conditions where you are trying to grow the plant.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Orchid Photos in Sub-tribes

  • terpguy
    14 years ago

    Hi Emily,

    Like your Wilsonara, we really need to know under what conditions you are growing your plants in order to help and diagnose any problems.

    as far as care, you have what's referred to as a Phal-type Dendrobium (for specific care look up dendrobium section phalaenanthe). They like:

    Light: lots of light! When I had mine, I gave it direct sunlight from about 2pm til sundown. South window is best for trying to grow this. A west window could possibly do it, but I'm not sure. Anything less and you'll have a hard time getting your plant to bloom.

    Temps:
    warm! the more warmth you can give them, the better, short of burning them.

    Water:
    Conventional wisdom, so vaguely put: they want to dry out between watering.
    My wisdom: during active growth (mainly spring and summer), water when they get to the consistency of a wrung out sponge. They can get dry, but don't let them STAY dry for too long. They can grow and flower just fine if run drier, and can forgive the occasional forgetful watering, but for *optimal* growth, evenly moist (not drenched or soaking! Again, think wrung out sponge) during the hot parts of the year is key. During the winter, do let them get dry. Theres less light and cooler temps, and they aren't growing much. Thus, they need and use less water than in the summer, and can tolerate drier conditions during this quiet period. Allowing it to dry down will keep it from rotting.

    Flowering: People say that these are short day plants, they'll flower when days grow shorter. However my own experience says they'll bloom whenever they feel like it, granted I was working with a mature plant and not a small younger one. These plants flower from the top of new growth but they can also send flower spikes from old canes. Mine did the latter frequently at various times of the year and not just when days got short. Younger plants will probably not be so free flowering. As always light is very important. If they aren't getting enough light, they will not bloom.

    I feel like I'm forgetting something. If I am, I know someone will speak up. Til then, be sure to let us know what conditions your plants are growing in.

    Also, just a point to consider, you might want to open up an account with webshots or flickr, or some other photo hosting website (its free!) so you don't have a bunch of strangers poking around your facebook page. Lord knows privacy is a big concern these days!

    Chris

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