Tends to happen when it's been too dry.

Agreed. They rarely seem to grow right after this takes place on a stem. When the next one is pushing be sure to water and feed generously.

Thanks @dbarron and @iochroma. Does that mean this cane is a lost cause! Should I manually split the leaves to see it that helps?

The cane is still photosynthesising, so let it be. I don’ know if splitting it would help. I don’t think it is likely to flower no matter what you do at this late point.

really.. you have the gall to show us a picture of a huge plant in a tiny solo cup.. and make us wonder what is wrong.. rotflmbo...

no plant of that size.. can be properly watered in 4 tablespoons of meida in a plastic cup.. its nto even in a pot.. lol ..

repot it for your balcony garden.. keep in full shade for a few weeks.. since its not the best time to repot outdoor plants... even better if it can stay in the house during recovery...

wink wink.. hope you are having a great day...


ken

Haha ken. I am not sure which part the wink wink applies to.😊 I got this dendrobium orchid as a seedling 3 years back. Some of these dendrobiums have limited root systems, especially younger plants (orchid years to maturity can be longer than most perennials). Also, the roots easily rot. So, one has to be creative finding the right sized pots and right media. I am really trying to do my best keeping the roots from rotting while giving it enough water. It is in bark and lava rock so it's not that the media is too water retentive.

One thing I'm learning (and I've been doing orchids for more than forty years) is that you given good well-draining media (not something water retentive like spaghnum), you can't overwater most orchids (yes I'm certain there are exceptions to that rule). In particular oncidiums and dendrobiums are darn thirsty during their active growth periods. In particular smaller ones, I often water every day in the summer (inside with AC).

I think there might be something else going on here. Do you use fertilizer, Super Thrive or any supplements? What about pesticides or maybe spray anything near by?

Everything looks healthy except for the fused growth. If it was dehydrated I would think the cane would be pleated . I think something else could have deformed the growth.

I wouldn’t cut it open, and I think it could still flower.

No super thrive. I do use the bettergro twin fertilizers - the grow and the bloom ones. With orchids that don't have enough roots and those that might bloom soon, I use the bloom fertilizer so this one got the 11-35-15.

I may have used some see weed and MgSO4 on separate occasions for one or two waterings. My cattleyas seem to have uneven green coloration on the leaves and several have made one or more sheaths in the past year but are showing no buds (first timers all, two others did bloom on their first sheaths). I read on some orchid society page that uneven leaf coloration can be magnesium deficiency.

I also found an orchid hobbyist from Hawaii who blamed a mutation for this funnel shaped growth in some dendrobium hybrids.

Anyhow, too late, I did try to restore normal order with a razor and it's healed nicely. Here are the three leaves I cut, oldest to newest. The newest has vertical folds, probably because of being squeezed by the steep funnel of the distorted leaf no. 2. No sign of buds and it may not bloom but at least it will make some more food for the plant. It might even grow another leaf or bud.

And it has a spike! First on this, 3+ years from seedling

Now in full bloom. It's called Hidden money (unregistered). Six flowers for a first spike off of a wonky fused leaf growth, not bad. I think it's a keeper.

well.. apparently it doesnt care about that small 8oz plastic cup its growing in...

what i dont get is how it doesnt flop over in the slightest breeze or pet or child or grandchild or a hip against the table... how it it standing upright.. can we see a pic of the whole plant...

if it were mine.. i would have it in a larger pot.. pot in pot.. just for the bigger pot to give the pot stability.. maybe just play sand in the bigger pot...

what works.. works .... and who am i to tell you otherwise... eh???

ken

Haha, Ken, you are still miffed about the 8 oz cup. :) I put it in a ceramic cup to stabilize it and make it more presentable for display. I will post a full pic in a bit. No pets or kids to dislodge it. Yes, many of my orchids have been known to jump from the windowsill when it gets windy and they are sitting on the sill of an open window. It is usually the bigger pots that dive first given that they have more foliage to make them think they can fly. Almost all ceramic and terracotta pots and caches I have are broken. I have taken to hot gluing and super gluing them because new ones will break too and I refuse to spend more on the pots than the plants.

Ken, here are pics for the whole plant. I have on occasion put lava rock or shiny glass pebbles at the bottom in cache pots when needed or added river rock to the potting media to stabilize. This one hasn't needed such treatment as yet

That is a very productive and well behaved Den phal. This is my first one to bloom so far.