Thanks Arthurm, well as I said my phals have not show any indication of spiking so I guess it's not cool enough, bummer. Velleta

You will find many past threads related to this orchid and some places in the tropics get quite cool at night, particularly those well away from oceans.

I cannot offer any useful advice because I do not know what degree of temperature drop is required.

When my son was a Junior orchid grower someone him a plant of Den. densiflorum. It never flowered no matter what I tried. It did flower this year and maybe it has been in the yard for something like 25 years.

Do not believe all this bone dry stuff. Perhaps a bit of dew at night and the odd shower or two gets the plants through to better times. I posted a picture of Den. Mousmee over on the gallery. Not my orchid!

Den. densiflorum, Mousmee and

aggregatum are closely related and need similar conditions.

Were your plants locally grown?

Hi Arthurm, I don't think they were locally grown. I bought it from a plant nursery which import plants from overseas. Velleta

I have one and it is not blooming. it has been way too hot. Way above normal. Perhaps you have a friend that lives higher up the mountain which should be cooler?...

If the plants are small, say 5 or 6 canes, I would start watering again. I've always seen the flowers come weeks before new growth starts so I don't think you will get flowers this year. If it was a larger plant , 10 or more canes, I might wait it out a while.

A large plant would be able to support some growth now and some more in the spring. A smaller plant might struggle trying to do both.

James brought up a good point about the size of the plant. I've been looking at the temps for Jamaica and perhaps they are so high, plus high the humidity levels make it impossible to flower your orchid without something like a cool house.

Phals might need need a different trigger......

Dropping night temps here to about 13C seems to be enough and in tropical climates an event such as the onset of the wet season might suffice.

Would be nice to hear from someone who has actually flowered this orchid.

Arthurm so to make things more in perspective, jamaica has different temperature for each parish.

Now I live in westmoreland which is very hot even now, while I have friends who live in Mandeville and their phals have already started to spike.

That being said some parts of jamaica are a lot cooler than some.

I knew this orchid would pose a challenge where I live so I guess I will just have to wait and see what the results will be by spring comes around.

Both plants have 20 0r more canes so I am gonna just sit it out patiently.

It would be nice to hear from someone who has been sucessfully though. Velleta

Mine flowers, around March. My night temps are in the mid 50s, day temps are in the mid 80s on a sunny day low 70a on a cloudy day. I also have Dend Chrysotoxum which has never flowered.

Hi Velvetta. I'm not sure how to advise you. I checked mine today and they are mounted and no sign of spikes or new growths. They do get some water when I water everything with the hose. I try to avoid them, but they get wet.

You plants look too dry and shriveled. I would give them some water to plump up those bulbs. Mine are fat. One mount only has 6 bulbs and it flowered last March. The other has probably 10 bulbs and flowered at the same time.

Mine are mounted and outside. If it rains they get watered. They get watered when I hose the others. I do not fertilize.

It has been unusually warm here in Florida. It was 88 degrees today. My plants are messed up because of the heat. All my Phals are spiking though.

My guess is the heat probably has your plants confused. I would give water ever if you lose the flowers this year. You need to keep the plants alive and support the new growths.

Put them in full sun and give them some water, maybe once a week. If the growths continue, you might as well fertilize them and sacrifice the flowers.

Let us know what happens.

Jane

It took me a long time, but I finally figured to grow orchids that like where I live. It made it so much easier with a lot more flowers. I'm sure that Jamaica has many micro climes. Are you closer to the orchid society meetings? Perhaps consider trading plants for those that like your new spot better. I first grew orchids that had flowers that intrigued me. Now the first question is it suited for my environment and culture. I've been given plants that I would trade or give away if I thought it would not be happy here,,,Very few complaining orchids around here nowadays...

Thanks JANEY and Shavedmonkey.

Yes I was looking on it and decided I was gonna water them because they are way too swiveled.

The new growths are still growing too. None of my phals have started to spike as yet and they are very healthy.

This time last year they had already started. But this season has been really hot so maybe that's the cause.

Yet my Vanda's, catts, dens, oncidiums are spiking or blooming their heads off.

I have concluded that I might not get any spikes from my phals this year but I am not worried because I know they are healthy.

Ok I will resume watering the aggregatum. And see what happens. Thanks guys.

Velleta

Dendrobium aggregatum was one of or even the first orchid that I purchased from Lowes when we moved to Houston almost 10 years ago. Nobody told me it was a difficult orchid and it certainly has not for me. It sat on my kitchen windowsill year round, no special treatment or winter rest and blooms reliably every spring. Last year I decided to have it summer outside. I have decided it a few times, the last division I mounted. I keep the mounted one inside and the potted one outside on a covered balcony (both get watered about every 8-10 days) to see whether it makes a difference in blooming.

Please post back the results. I was watering yesterday with the hose and it got soaked. Mine bloomed in March. I'd be interested to see the difference.

Jane

Well the new growths are still growing so I started to water properly. No pals spiked either. Too damn hot. We only got about a 5-6 degrees difference. Not enough to initiate a spike bummer. Velleta

Started getting cool here (50's). Took a look at mine and no sign of spikes, but no growths either. Hang on Velleta, your temps should begin to drop.

Jane