Judy, lovely flowers! It's gotta be an extra treat if it's your only blooming plant right now. To add to the confusion, my Yamamoto is reblooming for the 2nd time in a row, and it's been here 2+ years. This year, 9 spikes on 3 canes. A 10th spike blasted. Dendrobium Himezakura 'Sanokku' The flowers aren't open all the way. It's in sphag that gets crunchy on top before watering - all year round, except it's a little wetter when in spike/bud/bloom. All year, I fertilize and leach on the same schedule. Maybe 3-4 leaves have fallen. Light is E/SE w/ 26W CFLs in octopus lamps. Humidity last night was 10%. Winter temps high 50s - mid-60s or mid-70s, depending on sunlight. Just ran across these notes, but I didn't record the source: "I personally manage all of these like standard nobiles, however, the big advantage for them is that if they have a drop in temperature in the fall that they then can be placed in a warm, int, or cool room and they will flower. Moreover, they can be watered during this period. They will still lose their leaves like any nobile, either before, during, or shortly after flowering." Flowers on this one have a lovely scent, too. Of course, this culture may not work in the long run. Enjoy! Whitecat8

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

I re-looked at the discussion you suggested, Arthur (found it in my initial search before posting my question) and I think I found the answer. It looks like new growths (meaning canes, I hope) appear at the same time as the blossoms. And that means that when I bought the plant it had all the new (cane) growth for the year it was going to get. I had taken the term 'new growth' to mean root growth. I hope that is the case, as all the postings and websites I have looked at concentrate on getting the plants to bloom. I am not worried about blooming right now- I just want to insure that the plant is growing as robustly throughout the summer as I can urge it to do. I'll worry about blooms in a month or two when it is time for hardening off. Anyway, thanks for all the help and encouragement.

George, there is a lot of good information in the thread down the page a bit titled Nobile Den Growth. Maybe it is something in your conditions or an abnormal weather event that caused the out of season flowering. There were Nil plants benched July in the Nobile Hybrid section at a local orchid society meeting. I expect a few next Monday and lots in September/October at the local orchid society meetings and orchid shows. (Southern Hemisphere) Why so early there and as for this Yamamoto stuff, it is a marketing triumph. Are they the only hybridisers of Soft-canes in the USA? They produced Den. Yukidaruma in the early 1970 and it is an early bloomer but in all other ways it is an old fashioned type. We have two specialist Soft-Cane growers in the local orchid society who wouldn't have a clue whether their orchids were bred by Yamamoto or Fred down the road.