wow! so pretty! I have 3 nobile dens, and only one of them bloomed. not sure why, as they all endured the same treatment this winter: no water from thanksgiving til early january and placed them in the coldest part of my growing area at night. oh well. yours is gorgeous

That is spectacular! How do you chill them down in Mexico? I have just about given up on Yamamotos. They are supposed to be easy to flower, but all I get are new growths. Haven't watered since Nov.

Just beautiful, good growing..

Jane

This particular nobile gets whatever lowered temps we get here. I give this one no rest period. I continue watering right up to blooming. Wished it would give me more keikis instead of blooms.

Other den nobile that I acquired down here gives mostly keikis if you don't give it a rest period.

I brought down 8 new yamamotos in June last year. One is doing well. A couple more fair. I would have lost the others except for keikis.

So...All I can conclude is you treat each one differently if you can find their secret.

I have only one nobile. It's "Love Memory Fit." I did get a great bloom off of the one cane that matured completely (the end of the cane grows a bump and quits adding new leaves). It probably has about 30 flowers on that cane right now. I kept it outside and watered freely all summer, then cut back on water in fall but kept outside until temps got very low (35 at night regularly). Then I brought it in and kept in my southwest window for the winter. My house ranges from 60 - 68 degrees except for when the rare Wisconsin winter sun warms the table where my plants sit.

I cut back on water in the winter, but did not stop watering completely.

My bigger issue was getting the canes to mature over the summer, since they won't bloom until the end of the cane hardens off. This plant currently has 5 brand new growths from 1-2 or 3 inches long and I am going to try to increase the sun and fertilizer this summer and see if I can push them harder to mature before next fall.

Last summer, it was with all my orchids under the eaves on the northeast side of my house.

Susan

Beautiful plant. How fortunate it made the transition.

I have the Den Himezakura 'Sanokku' from Yamamoto and stumbled into successful conditions for it here in Minnesota. Basically, it's been watered and fertilized through the winter because in October, one of the two canes started budding, and the 2nd started budding in January.

The first flower opened Dec. 30, and a flower faded two days ago, so it's putting on a nice show, despite my lack of info.

Winter temps in the cooler growing area have been high 50s @ night to mid-60s or mid-70s during the day, depending on sunlight. Two octopus lamps w/ 26W CFLs. The shelves get E/SE light from sliding glass doors.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know the plant was from Jiro Yamamoto. It's testimony to his success that I did several things wrong and still have flowers and buds. :) His directions are linked below.

Hope this helps. Whitecat8

Here is a link that might be useful: Care for Yamamoto Dens

You all forced me to post more pictures....mainly from my yamamoto orchids haul....not all a total success.

Pic label: D. Nobile's.from yamamoto orchids....plant on left is "Sunny Gold Harp" no green showing, background is Yellow Magic Festival..some flowers and a new cane, plant on right foreground is Kumiko 'Angel Peace' with a new cane although no flowers this season. There are several others in the same condition. Purchased in Jun of last year. Shipped to Texas and hand carried here. I may have made my first mistake by transferring them immediately to lava rock from coco chunks.

"Yellow Song Canary" pictured is past its prime. It had another full flowered cane and I consider it a success for the first year. "Himezakura 'Sanokku' had a few flowers and two keikis so I think next year I will have a better plant.
The book is still open on the other six although all but "Yellow Song Canary" have a keiki or two and or new shoot.

I'm most disappointed with "Sunny Gold Harp" which had 13 canes when I received it. I'm going to wait it out.

I'm becoming fonder of the noid as time goes by. Now have a couple of more mature plants and loads of keikis. I have 8 more pots already begun. The pictured plant is from keikis 3 years ago. It is better grown then the mother plant, more vigorous.

The epi's are just because I like them. Same with the dogs.

Here is a link that might be useful: den nobile

Susan and White cat, I just came back to the warmth of Virginia from my first visit to Milwaukee. I actually flew from Atlanta GA to Milwaukee. It was 67 degree in Atlanta. I fell asleep on the flight. When I woke up 2 hours later, I looked down and saw a large frozen lake and flat plain with snow, ice and skeletons of trees - 0 degree at 2 pm. Is Milwaukee really as tough as it looks like? How do you live happily in such coldness?

First of all, nobiles in nature, and in the care of most growers, flower the second year on pseudobulbs after they have matured. Due to a drop in temp in their habitat, the canes stop growing and do not mature until the end of the growing season the second year. Prior, during, or after flowering the cane starts a new growth, but again, this will not flower 'til the second year.

Many have seen Yamamoto hybrids for sale with flowers on one mature cane, and wonder how this can be done: Simple. He grows them at sea level in HI, where it is warm, to maturity, and THEN takes them to another nursery in the mountains where it is cold, and cuts out one year of waiting for flowers.
It is not unusual for a second year growth to continue growing upward, and at flowering the lower part which grew last year will flower, but the upper new growth will not flower until the following year. Most flowering canes will flower a second time on the third year of growth, but these tall ones will now flower three times, on the fourth year of growth.

I am enclosing a piece which I have found to be of help in fowering ANY dendrobium:

Most orchid growers are aware of the large number of species in the genus dendrobium, and the diverse cultural requirements for their management. Likewise, in reading books on their classification one is soon overwhelmed.

I believe this represents the easiest way to classify this group, and in particular have a reasonable understanding of the cultural requirements for any specific species.

Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 16:20:19 +0000 (UT) From: "Richard R. Trussell" Subject: [11941] Dendrobiums Our interest in Dendrobiums has led us to understand the difficulties many newcomers have in learning how to tackle their culture. Reading the Willis Dair lists suggests to us that these difficulties extend to both sides of the Atlantic. Although Dendrobiums occur naturally only in a well defined geographical area - from India to Australia - there is within this area a very big range of climatic and environmental variation. Understanding this geography is an important part of understanding the necessary conditions for successful growing. A good atlas, or better still a good globe can be as valuable as a textbook! We have put together the following notes for the British Orchid Growers Association "Growers and Buyers Guide, 1996-97" and offer them as possible assistance to those tackling their first plants of this fascinating and important genus. Dendrobiums come from South East Asia in an area that stretches from Northern India to the islands off the East coast of New Guinea and Australia , and to Polynesia. The latitude where they grow is important. The Equator runs through the middle of the territory, and here it is always hot at sea level witout any seasonal variation. However the plants from north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn are used to a much greater range of climate, with colder drier winters and warmer wet summers. It is important therefore to know where every plant comes from. For convenience we consider cultural advice under three headings, 1. Nobile (pronounced no-bill-ay) type, or Himalayan plants. 2. New Guinea plants . 3. Australian plants. 1. Nobile Dendrobiums These are some of the easiest to grow, but can be a little difficult to bloom regularly. Their flowers are showy with colours ranging from white through pink to purple, and the lip is often beautifully marked in contrasting colours. They make magnificent specimen plants. Others are yellow or brown, while the recently introduced Yamamoto hybrids have all the colours of the rainbow. The Himalayan climate is not unlike a warmer Switzerland, with bright, cold but dry winters. Culture. November to February: day time temperatures can drop to 40-45F, during this time you should not water or feed, but provide plenty of light and air movement. March to May or June, warmer and moister conditions; buds and flowers develop and new growths appear. Water sparingly until the new growths have developed good roots. June to November corresponds to the Monsoon period, warm and very wet. Give a low strength, high nitrogen feed in April and May, then feed weekly with a balanced fertilizer during maximum growth. Change to high potash for the last month, October. Note - if you do not dry and cool the plants during winter you won't get flowers! Himalayan Dendrobiums from lower altitudes need a less harsh winter, but still dry. 2. New Guinea Dendrobiums . The climate varies with altitude and in the mountainous areas there are cool, wet misty nights and mornings followed by warmer bright days. The exquisite cool and intermediate miniatures like D. cuthbertsonii grow here. Never allow them to dry out completely, and feed often with dilute fertilizer. The river valleys between the mountain ranges are warmer and wetter, and home to some of the most exotic of New Guinea orchids, e.g. D. lasianthera from the Sepik River basin, and many latouria types with long lasting flowers. All these need generous feeding and watering. The southern plains resemble Queensland, Australia, but are wetter and very warm all year through. There is seasonal rainfall variation with a wetter summer and drier winter. Two of the outstanding species from this area, (which are also found in Queensland ) are D. bigibbum (D. phalaenopsis) and D. canaliculatum, the former often found growing on rocks, the latter on the trunks of paperbark trees. The easiest New Guinea plants for beginners are D. aberrans (cool conditions); D. lawesii or D. antennatum (intermediate), and D. atroviolaceum or D. bigibbum (warm). 3. Australian Dendrobiums D. kingianum and near relatives are the easiest to grow. The pseudobulbs or canes can be any length from 5-30cm tall, and are thin and often spindly and tough. The leaves are narrowly oval, with two to four at the top of each cane. The flowers appear in late winter or early spring in loose sprays at the tops of both old and new canes. New plantlets or keikis may sometimes appear instead. These can be removed and potted separately after they have developed good roots or left on the parent plant where they will eventually flower also. There are two to ten flowers on a spray, each measuring 1-3cm across in shades of pink or purple. Other plants in this group may be taller and have cream or white flowers. For their culture give intermediate temperatures and drier conditions than other Dendrobiums. Spray once a week, and water generously in the spring and autumn with dilute feed. A few cold weeks, down to 45F, will encourage flowering. Potting - Dendrobiums like to be in small pots with their roots confined. Bark, perlag and charcoal make up an open mix which drains easily. Repot either when the compost becomes acid and soggy, or when the pot is full of roots. This often means every year. Plants from the mountainss of New Guinea like a little mosss mixed with the bark, or they can be grown on slabs of bark or treefern on a mossy bed. Such slabs need daily misting for most of the year. Dendrobium hybrids. These are almost always derived from species within one group, either Himalayan, New Guinea or Australian. Surprisingly, most of the 'Singapore' orchids, although developed there, are derived from species of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, and need much the same culture as the River Valley New Guinea species. So - when you buy a Dendrobium, ask which group it belongs to, and where it comes from - and we don't mean which nursery! >From Richard and Ann Trussell, Devon EX15 3NP, U.K. whitmoor@msn.com

That's a wonderful blooming, congratulations!!!

I grow a few soft canes as well but they never seem to do that well.

Snasxs,

Sounds improbable to be happy in such low temps, huh? First of all, Will Steiger and his expeditions proved that, after about 30 days in cold weather, your blood really does thicken up, so you don't feel the cold as much. In the spring, you see guys (usually) outside in shorts when it's in the 30s, and they're really not cold.

Then, it's almost never humid during the winter, at least not in MN, so you can stay warm in the right clothes.

One time, the temp here was about 0. As long as I walked around, I was comfortable outside. Got on the plane and flew to Arkansas in the same clothes. Temp was 40+ and humidity in the 50s. Outside, I couldn't get warm - the humidity goes right to your bones.

Wilford, thank you for the detailed info on Dens. It's going in my library.

Whitecat8

Thank you, Wilford, for the wonderful post. I'm growing better dens now because of the information you've provided over the years.

good info - i think my canes just were not mature enough on the other plants. maybe they will bloom next year.

I'm giving up on them. Checked them today and all are making new growths. No buds, no flowers.

Jane

I am going to chime in here, since for the first time in 3 years my Yamamoto Dend. nobile bloomed for the first time. This doesn't make me an expert by any means, so I will tell you what worked for me. First of all, I contacted Mr. Yamamoto himself (via email) and he was extremely helpful since I had a simple question for clarrification. His online care sheets are phenomenal (I know that it was posted recently so look for it).

I decreased water frequency and stopped fertilzer in early August and gave my plant outdoor Midwest autumn until it went practically freezing. I then placed it in an unheated shed-like structure (a spa house with windows) until just before Christmas where it regularly dipped to about 35F.Here it got no water. Once it got really cold here (-20F), it went into our heated/attached sunroom, near a chilly window. Daytime temps from about 60-80 (depending on the sun; we had little this year in Chicago)and night time temps when around 58-62 (my father refuses to let the "tropical" plants get colder); even though they would like it cooler than he does. Being next to a chilly window and a door that opens quite a bit to let the cold air in helped. Anyway, over the winter I kept the plant drier, but misted regularly in the early mornings (when it was warm). Leaves started to yellow and as the days got longer, the canes shriveled. So I incrreased the water frequency, from every 2 weeks or so to weekly but deeply. There are 2 flowers open and a lot of buds just pushing out. Now that spring is almost here, I will return it to the unheated spa-house in a Southern window and give it cool temps again in the 40s at night. It should be in flower by ealry May.
hope this helps.

Interesting - I could do that, but didn't think I had to with these dens.

Thanks for the info.

Jane

snasxs,
Whitecat is right, your body does get used to it, however, this winter was too long and too snowy even for almost everyone I know here.

It sure does make you appreciate Spring and Summer.

Susan