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Dying Dendrobium Flower Spikes

missfourseasons

15 years ago

My dendrobiums are shooting up flower spikes like crazy now, but a lot of them are drying up and dying while they are still tiny little things ... I live in Guam, so of course, lack of humidity is not the problem, and I think they get just the right amount of sun and shade in our tropical climate ... What is wrong?

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Comments (7)

arthurm
15 years ago
Should not be a problem, but there are some that need seasons.
Do your Dendrobiums have names?
orchid126
15 years ago
I found that fertilizing my plants when their in bud contributed to bud blast, among other things.
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howard_a
15 years ago
"I live in Guam, so of course, lack of humidity is not the problem, and I think they get just the right amount of sun and shade in our tropical climate ... "

Can you give more details of where and how they are being grown? Indoors/Out? Does full sun ever linger on the spikes? Is there adequate rainfall/watering? Etc.

H
missfourseasons
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi ~ Here are some responses to the questions:

For authurm: I don't have names for a couple because they were given to me by my mother, but the ones I do have are:
- D. MME. Viray Bangkok Green
- D. Savaya Red; and
- D. Burana Sunshine
Now, you have made me remember that I bought these from a guy who told me they were Thailand orchids. Would that make a difference?

For howard_a : I grow all of my orchids outdoors. Some are tied to trees, but all of these are in pots. They get morning sun and then when the sun gets to the right spot, they are in bright shade. I believe Dendrobiums like a lot of sun and others that I grow in this spot don't seem to have a problem. We are in rainy season now, so I let Mother Nature do the watering ... since rainy season began, that is when almost all of the dendrobiums started shooting out flower spikes.

Orchid126: As soon as I started to see the flower spikes, I did give them a dose of food. Do you think I over did it?

Thanks all ...
arthurm
15 years ago
Forget those terms Thailand, Singapore orchids. They just confuse! For example the General Public here will tell you that Oncidiums are Singapore Orchids.

Should be Salaya Red. All are warm growing Hard Cane Dendrobiums that should be as happy as pigs in mud in Guam.

All have various species ancestors that came various places in South East Asia and most try to bloom in winter in my glasshouse after an autumn cool down initiates flower spiking.

Sorry, I have no idea why your flower spikes are aborting. Perhaps bugs?
orchid126
15 years ago
A couple of years ago a friend in Missouri and I were both having problems with bud blast and we compared notes. We both had fertilized the day before and the buds blasted overnight. Since then I don't fertilize anything with buds. I was afraid that my water might even be high in total dissolved solids, so I started to water any plant in bud with purified water. That didn't seem to make as much difference as not fertilizing did. I truly don't know if that's the cause, but I do get more buds to open now.
highjack
15 years ago
I often see orchid126 and sweetcicely say they never fertilize after buds appear but I never stop my fertilizer when I have buds or blooms. I keep the same routine regardless of the season and never lose a bud.

During the summer I use 1/2 t. per gallon and during the winter 1/4 t. per gallon, always with a couple of drops of Superthrive. Now I use rain or RO water but I also did this when I watered with municipal water. I now grow in a g/h but I also had the same routine when I grew under lights.

Is it the conditions in the grow area? Water supply? Fertilizer?

Brooke

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