My spike is growing slowly and it is on a Den. that has at least 9 canes in a 4" pot. I have been petting it for quite a while. Possibly they need to be rootbound before they rebloom. I don't know. I am just so happy. Will send pictures asap. Took all my Orchids out of the greenhouse day before yesterday and had to put all of them back in last night. Can't wait for the weather to stay warm enough for them to get the fresh air outside. They love it under my Oak trees along the fence. Leubafr

The man you bought the plant from should have given you some tips on the plant's care. If he didn't, you might give him a call. One would think after raising the plant for twenty years he would be concerned that it's treated properly. The saying is "you can't give an orchid too much water, but you can water it too often." That means when you water, give the plant copious amounts of water, then wait until the medium is almost dry before giving it water again. The growing season for dendrobiums is the spring and summer, so that's when they need the most water and fertilizer. In the fall and winter when the light is weaker, they don't need as much water and fertilizer as they grow much more slowly, so the advice is to cut back on them at the end of August. In fact, some dendrobiums don't want any fertilizer or water at all. Where are the blooms coming from? If they are from a spike at the tip of the cane, then the plant would prefer to be watered and fertilized year round. If they are up and down the cane then it's the type of plant that wants a dry winter. And yes, the water runs out of the bottom because of the nature of the medium. Orchid roots also want air, so the medium has pockets of air. That's why the advice is to give copious amounts of water because it runs through so fast and with just a dribble the medium doesn't have a chance to get wet enough.

The problem with Hard-Cane Dendrobiums is winter. Where are you going to place some of these monsters with three foot canes? One grew to 6 foot. Needless to say i no longer have it. As for Dendrobium Hollywood. Not registered in the RHS register of hybrids so who knows what is in the ancestry. Some are easier to grow than others. If you are a Novice you should be trying to grow what is easy in New York. Just taking a break from the local Society winter show. There are 200 plants in the display. There is ONE Vanda and nil Hard-cane dendrobiums. Anyway, ask the locals what is easy in New York and follow the fundamentals for things such as Cattleyas and Oncidiums forget about culture in Vases.

I would agree nobile dendrobium family. Five feet tall is pretty darn tall. I just pulled out a tray of nobile dendrobiums the other day so that I could remove a number of kiekies that were already blooming and some being 1 to 2 feet tall. For me this group is fairly easy to bloom as I let my greenhouse get cool in the late fall rather than turn up the heat. :-)