No registered orchid Hybrid called Dendrobium Elfin Gem. Are you sure about the name.

Den. canaliculatum comes from Tropical North Australia where it is warm all year and there are two seasons...."The wet season" and "the dry season".

Growing side by side is Den. Blue Twinkle and Den. Hialeah Twist. Both the flowers and plant have similar traits. They get morning sun. They are potted in lava rock in a clay pot. Watered every morning. Protected 50 degrees and lower. Blue twinkle takes an occasional rest from flowering but in bloom more than not. And Hialeah Twist is still going for 29 months now. Still several spikes. 2 new canes are emerging.

I also have Den. carronii, a species that is a miniature plant, young and yet to bloom. It is on a stick, bought from Andy's. One mounted and 2 potted.

Yet another, Dendrobium Banana Royale. A forth one in the group. Also potted with the same culture. A young plant with flower longevity.

My guess is my micro clime is very similar by luck to there natural home. Except I need to protect from the cold. I think most collectors provide an environment that matches the comforts of some specific group of microclime. Find your match is the challenge. They are a joy to grow...

Like Arthur says we also have a wet and dry season too.

, so Arthur always catches me mixing up names, the correct one is: Dendrobium Elfin Charm ( Den. Blue Twinkle x Den. carroni )

I have several Australian Dendros (kingi, speciosum, tetragonum species and hybrids), and they have proven to be very tough and grow great in my environment.

This group seems to be a lot more difficult to please. I also have had Den. johannis var. nigrescence and Den. Minnie (Den. johannis x Den. carroni) for a little over a year but its the same story, they are not doing very good. Minnie I just mounted on a stick a couple of weeks ago after loosing more and more roots from being in too moist in a pot I guess. Den. johannis v. nigrescence just got repotted in Orchiata which retains less water then regular orchid bark. Hope that makes it happier.

I thought our climate is not too different from Florida climate, It must be my treatment, I`ll think about lava rock or mounting

Also the snails seem to just love these orchids (strange they go for some and don`t touch others like kingis and Tolumnias). What do you do about them if you have orchids outside in the yard? I guess I can`t get around chemicals. So far I just picked them off in the morning and evening but we had so much rain this year that they are just everywhere.

Thanks for the advice and pretty pictures!

Eve, I suspect that the Florida Climate is pretty unigue, it has that very warm stream running past the front door. But I've never been there so I do not know.

The little problem with the Australian Dendrobiums is that most of the Epiphytes come from the east side of Australia which stretches from Latitude 10 to 37 South. Here is something 33 South. The orchids that you mention as easy there are easy here too.

The ones that are difficult here need a heated glass-house. Den. canaliculatum needs to be grown on a mount and it needs high light and minimum temps above 50F. Doesn't like cold grey winter days. I have several, they struggle along and would be better if I gave them more warmth. Last spring, all the bloom stalks got eaten by a caterpillar, so you are right about them being bug tempters.

Now to the breeding of Blue Twinkle x carroni. Tracking back to the ancestors to the species you find

Dendobium canaliculatum, xsuperbeins, lineale, gouldii, nindii, schroederianum probably all very tropical.

Now canaliculatum is not found in a tropical rain-forest. it grows on paper-bark trees, Filmy shade from the intense tropical sun. Here is what David L Jones says in the book Native Orchids of Australia.

"This widespread, very common species grows in open habitats, particularly woodland and Savannah formations. It is common in humid situations such as along stream banks and especially on the stunted trees which grow on low-lying, heavy soils that become inundated during the wet season, in particular this orchid favours paper barked species of Melaleuca as a host."

I've looked at the climate figures for Houston in the past. It is more like Sydney, Australia than probably Miami. Though it is hotter in Summer and Colder in winter than Sydney.

Lots and lots of Australian native Hybrids that you can grow, But maybe avoid the tropical types unless you can provide special housing.

Re the snails, try the less toxic snail baits that contain the Iron EDTA Complex. They are a bit more expensive than the traditional baits but are more friendly to the environment.

I use the iron for snails also. Brand name here is sluggo. You can get it with or without a poison added. No need for the poison. The iron is very safe. OK in veggie gardens and around pets. Non toxic. Home depot wants around 9 bucks for a 1 pound box. And one pound will keep you coming back. To be effective you need to cover your whole yard. I got together with neighbors and orchid club folks to save freight and we each got 25 lbs. I use 2 or 3 lbs per application. Works well. But if you put a little near your orchids ti is not meaningful. Do the whole yard! The only good snail is a dead snail...

Malaluckas have been on the invasive list for a while. A lot of them have been taken away. A nice tree in the wrong place.

What exposure to the sun for these dendrobiums do you offer?

Arthur, the prevailing winds in the summer come out of the south and make it pretty hot and humid here. But our winter lows are cooler than in Florida, I know that most of my Dendros have to go inside for their winter rest.

I have a River birch in my yard that has this papery bark that peels off in spring and fall and anytime really, maybe a piece of that would make a good mount?

Got my chemical weapon (2,5 lb for $16.87) and applied it (says it`s even OK for an organic garden so it should not be too bad for anything else but the snails).

Thanks for the in-depth info Arthur and Harvey.

About the exposure, I`ve been moving Den. Elfin Charm and Den. canaliculatum around because they are loosing leafs and get eaten by snails. I hope to have solved the latter problem now.

Den. Minnie and Den. canaliculatum are mounted and hanging on a basket off the brick wall with eastern exposure. Most of my other Aussie Dendros have the sweet spot on the gate with sun in the early morning/ late evening and always a breeze. Den. Elfin Charm is on the bakers rack.

It is probably not quite bright enough but in another couple of weeks I`ll be going on vacation for three weeks and I try to group my plants according to their watering needs to make it easier for the orchid sitter.

Den. johannis is in my new little shade house, (bottom left corner) growing bright with almost full morning sun.

I`ll keep on trying to get it right and look at the pics of your Dens in the meantime, Harvey!

Lovely setups. All you can do is try various locations and methods and see how you go.

germangirl, Please tell what and when you use for the plants in terms of fertilizers, supplements etc...include brand names. Also in general do most of your orchid roots demonstrate translucent tips?

I apply fertilizer weakly on a weekly basis using different products like better gro, super thrive and Schultz Orchid Food ( I `ve heard orchids like verity too). The root tips are bright green.

germangirl, it appears you are doing everything right. It must be climate. So when getting plants at least you know what not to get. Do you have any brassavolas in your collection? Perhaps we can consider a trade?

Yes, I like trading too. I`ll be going on vacation soon, can I get back with on the subject next month?

I do not see the option to send a private message under your profile. Mine does have it so we could talk about specifics.

I could not find an opportunity to adjust the pm. Got a hint?

edit: I think I fixed it.

No, sorry. Mine was like this when I signed up with the forum.

Saw the changes you made to your profile.