It has that common name because one of its ancestors is Dendrobium phalaenopsis, a warm growing orchid from tropical South East Asia. Anyway, it is handy nickname because you should be able to find some complete culture notes written for Phal. Type Dendrobiums on the net.

One of the cane orchids with phalie like flowers. Nice plant! Some of these are also fragrant.

These are very difficult to grow without a greenhouse, good luck!

Actually, there were a couple of dend phal or a derivative of those that circulated through the populace when I was a child, that we treated like any other houseplant..ie just in soil. They didn't grow well (by today's standards), but they did grow and produce flowers. I remember receiving cuttings (which I'd now know to be keiki's) and growing to flowering stage.
So on that note, I'd say if an ignorant savage could do everything wrong thirty years ago, they aren't all terribly difficult.

That being said, I encourage you to do your reading and do it right. And hopefully enjoy orchids further in the future...it's ummm addictive. I almost regret starting orchids again after being on the wagon for seven years, but not really.

Just keep them over 50 degrees. Easier for me than most due to where I live. But if you can keep hard canes over 50 you are good to go.

I think the major thing is LOTS of bright light. I had a really hard time with them but then after reading up on them, it became easier, mine are potted in river stones and charcoal,( I love to water) this mix help with proper drainage.i water every four days and mist every two. I fertilize every two weeks. And now they are doing great, do your home work, try to get information for where you live and how to grow them in your climate, try to join an orchid group, ask some friends who live in your area how they grow theirs and pretty soon you will have so many different varieties that you will hardly have growing space . Velleta

Hi Dbarron. So I don't understand how to do the setting thing but my email is vellitatardiel@gmail.com. I will ask my son when he gets home from school how to do the settings thing. And I always love to talk plants.Velleta

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  1. This den was repotted on 10 January 2015

Close up of the root system in near two months,roots going everywhere.you will do ok.

thanks everyone for your informative comments and advice! It came potted in what I think are coconut fibers, some sort of bark... and peat moss. I've been watering it every three days or so or whenever the potting mix get dry. I bought some orchid fertilizer and used it once at half strength. I've misted it once in the morning / afternoon and I haven't seen any mold or blackening of the leaves. House is kept at 70, but it does go down to 60 during the morning hours. I've put it by the sunniest window I have (SE facing) and praying to the orchid gods.... roots still look green and white... It's been doing fine for a week and a half now.

aztcqn,

thanks! sadly I can't smell anything from mine...

tolumniamatt,

sadly my house is extremely dry... I'd love to build a greenhouse for my plants - unfortunately im still going to grad school and i can't invest in anything permanent yet! Someday though, someday!

dbarron,

you sound like you're quite good at it! Both my parents enjoy orchids quite a bit (although he has killed a few cymbidiums...) and recommended that phalaenopsis or dendrobiums would be relatively easy to grow... and so here i am!

You'd have to be the judge of the dryness of your environment, but that might be a bit too often to water, the mixture should be allowed to become dry (not bone dry, but you shouldn't feel coolness/moisture if you put your finger into the loose part of the mix). Watering is the most key thing about most orchids.

Dbarron I think I figured it out.you could try to PM me when your ready .Velleta

I did....looked successful.

Velleta,
Thanks for the pics. Some of my aerial roots dont look too happy... I may consider removing the dying roots and repotting it like you did.

Hi Jeff, I also have a Phal Dendrobium . Mine is in the small pot that it came in, with small lava type rock. I got it in the winter last year, it didn't have any blooms. I put it in very sunny window, and in late summer, I got a spike with many flowers. Those flowers stayed for months!

My roots do not look anywhere near as green as Veletta's, they are more white but due get a bit green when I water them.nthey also don't have any new Bulbs/stalks. Last year I did get a new spike and that's the one that gave me the flowers.

I'm hoping to get another spike this year, or at least not kill this pretty orchid.

I'm in PA and I grow my orchids on or new the window sills.

What do PA and Cairns, Tropical Australia have in common? Warm winters! Lol. Anyway, I've just added my micro-climate zone to my id. It is Zone 10 on the old scale and I think even with refinements those Climate Zones are only a rough guide.

I have quite a few "Phal" Type Dendrobiums and never have much success with them. They are prone to flower in winter and they do not like to be cold and damp. A minimum low to aim at might be 55F.

At a local orchid society in 2014, 1437 orchids were benched at meetings and shows. The benching class "Phal" Type Dendrobium hybrids attracted 14 entries.

Hi Dakota,
That's great to hear! If it grows fine in PA, hopefully on my windowsill in GA...? I used to live in PA and I can easily imagine how nice it would to have an orchid blooming this time of year up there! (By PA, do you mean Pennsylvania, USA? I'm really sorry if I'm mistaken! There's so many people from around the world here, I wanted to be sure.)

Hi Arthur,

I wonder why it wasn't very popular at the meetings... Is it because den phals tend to be more difficult to grow or they just aren't very showy (or both)? Well... I'd like a challenge... so maybe this is good for me! I was getting tired of easy houseplants like dracena and pothos... I'll do my best not to kill this pretty thing!