Yes, you should start watering. I can't see how you have it potted (size of pot, media). In your climate, this plant should be moved outdoors in bright light.

Jane

Yeah, it lives outside. I’ll take other photos tomorrow when there’s daylight. It is in a clay pot with ventilation holes & lava rock.

I just posted some photos I found from Jan/Feb but I don’t see the message here.

The plant in the pot with holes could be repotted now. Not sure about the pictures with the other three. Two of those appear over-potted and should be put into smaller pots. The large one looks very healthy and should flower. It should be repotted in a slightly larger pot with new, fresh bark.

If it has not flowered, I suspect it needs more light and I would gradually move it to higher light. Water when almost dry, don't water on a schedule. As the new growths appear to mature, cut back on fertilizer, especially nitrogen. You want flowers, not more growths.

Does this plant have a tag with the name? I don't know if it is a summer bloomer or winter bloomer.

Try cutting back on watering and fertilizer. Give it more sunlight.

Jane

It did not come with a tag. It was sold to me as dendrobium nobile, and that’s it. :)

If I remember correctly, it has a history of falling, and breaking pots, which resulted in what was once one plant being split into two: the large one & the smaller in the same size pot.

I neglected to cut back on watering one winter & they produced keikis profusely. I gave some away, but the other three (one in a small clay pot with holes & two just in black plastic pots) are keikis I’ve grown out. Those three will just have to survive as is, or not. I don’t want to waste much time & effort until I make a decision on the larger two.

Both of the larger two have some canes with nubs. I’m hopeful they’ll become buds rather than keikis. I do not want more babies.

Right now, none are in bark; just lava rock. Given the heat & humidity here, bark seems to degrade so quickly for anything that isn’t inside (the only orchids I keep inside are phals). I’m willing to try bark, but I’d rather experiment with the second-biggest, and that’s the one that doesn’t need upsizing. Maybe I’ll try anyway. I’m currently having a bit of difficulty finding a new pot for the larger one. So far, I’ve just encountered much larger, not only slightly larger.

As for light, they’re kept out on the balcony. They’re getting the most light I can give them. Everything is bright, but direct sun doesn’t last too long, because of a neighbouring building. We’ve all got limitations; these may just not be suited to the conditions I can provide.

I’ll see what happens this year. I think I’ll end up trying to rehome them to someone higher in the mountains (I’m right on the coast), where they might get somewhat cooler winter temps & possibly more direct sunlight.

Haha... watch it bloom after all this time & be a colour I don’t like! I have zero recollection of how it was advertised.

Ok, now I'm stumped! The new photos helped and assuming they are nobiles, you need to cut way back on watering during the winter months. Do they drop their leaves during early winter?

Give them one more chance. This year, water now, keep the light you have, water and fertilize until September/earlyOctober.

Let them go dry during early fall into winter. Are your fall/winter months cooler? Dend nobiles need a cool-down and dry out. Not completely, just water a little if you notice the canes starting to shrivel.

If you are getting new growths now, you might get keikis again. Don't despair. Stopping watering nobiles and cool temps get them to set buds. You want to see leaves yellow and fall off during the fall.

Sorry if this is confusing, try reading this https://www.aos.org/orchids/culture-sheets/dendrobium.aspx

I grow in Florida, but your climate is even hotter. We do have a distinct wet/dry season and I'm able to bloom these dendrobiums. I don't know what your climate is but assume you get cooler winters and a dry season. When summer ends, cut way back on watering, move the plants to an area where they won't get rain. Usually these plants shut down in Fall and begin to lose many of their leaves. Your plants look very healthy and if you follow the directions, you should get flowers next year. Give them another year.

Jane

Thanks, Jane

Typically I don’t have leaf drop in the winter. One winter I just watered like crazy. Another winter I didn’t water at all, and mostly was met with shriveling. This past winter, I watered when I noticed shriveling of the canes but before it got bad.

On your previous advice, I’ve started watering more regularly. The rain won’t start until late May or early June, but it will be plenty hot before then. I’m at about once per week watering now, roughly. I’ll Increase that gradually to daily. Fertilizing is roughly weekly, using a 17-17-17 product. Should I switch at some point to a high-P (or is it high-K to induce? I can’t recall right now)?

Fall isn’t much cooler, but once the rains stop in November, the temps drop, somewhat. Nights can get chilly, dipping into the 60s and once or twice possibly break below 60. I’m not convinced that, at my altitude (essentially sea level), I can get a sufficient drop. I lived in Miami Beach before moving to Mexico. The climate is very similar, although our dry period here is more sustained and pronounced (and I think the 2-3 day winter South Florida gets doesn’t really work itself down here). I‘m going to follow your suggestions. We’ll see what one more year can bring.

i remain curious about the nubs I’m seeing on some canes. They’re where I would expect blooms to emerge. I fear another flush of keikis, though. I’m going to see if I can find any photos of what a bud nub would look like.

I’ll update this thread as things develop. I appreciate your help.

I’m somewhat hopeful. I found this photo (which, reading the blog, did eventually become flowers) & my nubs look just like that so far. Fingers crossed.

Yes, nubs are flowers! So your plant is a spring/summer bloomer. Good job!

I would still suggest cutting back on water and fertilizer over the winter months. You can water, now. Don't fertilize heavily. You don't want keikies.

Post back when you get flowers.

Jane

I still have my fingers crossed that these will become blooms instead of keikis. I’m somewhat less optimistic though.

Still looks like you will get flowers.

Be patient.

Jane

Keikis. Fortunately, only two so far. Hopefully the other bumps won’t develop.

Any ideas on how I can trick them into blooming next spring?

my current plan is as much water & sun as possible, along with heavy feeding through the end of summer. Then as the rains stop, don’t supplement watering & don‘t feed.

Bloom booster fertiliser? When?

The smaller ones I can probably put in the refrigerator at night. For how long & for how many nights? Thoughts on the large one?

I’m giving them one more year before either rehoming or discarding.

Also, as I have zero interest in any more babies, is it fine to go ahead & twist off the keikis now?

Here (Sydney Australia) is nobile/softcane heaven. One month till the shortest day. There was sunshine every day in the last week and humidity was low.

10.00 am outside is 14.9C low was 5.3. Cloudy and we might get a sprinkle of rain.

They are not my thing, but I do know that they are better outside under a bit of shade-cloth than in a glass-house.

I suspect that they are just about impossible in your climate, they do need that drier/cooler (winter) with sun to "decide to bloom in spring".

Here is what they look like at a spring show or orchid society meeting here.Softcane Dendrobiums in spring

Dry winter isn’t a problem here as long as I refrain from watering. It just doesn’t get cold here. I’m trying to think of making some contraption with a cooler for the big one. The others I could put in the refrigerator.

I‘ll try to research artificially cooling nobiles.

Hopefully someone can chime in.

Do we have anyone who grows nobiles in the Miami or Honolulu areas? The climate is pretty similar.

I threw mines out..lol

There are much better, more fun orchids to grow that actually reward you with beautiful flowers with no work needed. I hated this orchid. In fact I threw 4 away. Just a bunch of kikis or leaves.

I’m close to that point, Mike

I’ve thrown in the towel!

I tried high-phosphorus fertiliser. I even put the small one in the fridge at night.

My climate simply isn’t conducive.

I’m giving them to some people who are located in the sierra.

I’m trying to remind myself that this opens some prime real estate for something else.

I love your optimism.

The little one was entirely unaffected by the fridge nights. They can take temps colder than a refrigerator. And it only spent the night in there. In the morning it went back out on the balcony with its mom.

August: got high-phosphorus fertiliser.

Stopped fertilising in September.

I’m not sure when the rains stopped this year, but generally it is late-October or early-November. I didn’t water at all. It did rain one day in January. Otherwise, no rain & no water. I’m right on the coast (literally 3 blocks) so it generally stays humid here' even in the winter, so I did not notice any pronounced wrinkling of the pseudobulbs. It finally almost entirely defoliated.