Getting nobile dendrobium orchids to bloom
This is my first winter trying to induce blooms. I got them with buds on one cane last winter. Another leafy cane at the time had no buds. There were 3 older leafless canes. Since then the plant has grown 5 new canes, the last of which just stopped growing about a month back. My questions: which canes are likely to bloom this year? Do I have to really dehydrate the canes as much as possible by withholding water for the most part? The plant gets as much light as possible next to the glass in southwest window with additional grow lights beginning in fall. The temperatures right now are between 50 to 70, often in the 60s and humidity between 40 to 60%. It is in bark. It has been steadily loosing leaves as expected. The leafy cane that didn't bloom last year has lost all leaves and 2 of the 5 new canes (the oldest of the lot) have also lost most of their leaves. The canes are still plump and I haven't yet tried to deprive them of water in any major way.
Comments (8)
James _J
3 years agoDo you have Dendrobium nobile the species or a nobile type hybrid?
The hybrids are easier to flower and less picky about temperature and dry periods.
I have 2, I water them all year but I do stop fertilizing in the fall. They flower mostly in the spring from the new growth but also flower sporadically year round.
This one has 2 buds about to open and 2 others forming. You can see above the old spikes from last spring. There are also new growths that will give the main flowers in spring to early summer.
This is my other one currently with one flower and a few buds pushing out .
This is it in July
I’m also in NJ and grow them indoors over winter and outside in summer. Everything goes into the same room so they don’t get any special temperatures. They probably get less water just because I have trouble keeping up sometimes but nothing scheduled. They do produce more flowers and more often when they get bigger.getgoing100_7b_nj thanked James _Jgetgoing100_7b_nj
3 years agoThanks, James. Those are very nice and happy orchids. I have two, both hybrids. I guess that means I don't need to do any vodoo stuff and it will bloom on its own time. Here are a few picks from February when it was in bloom. The second one is miniature called Sakura Hime that is more prone to keikis, has never flowered and lost its roots under my obsessive care. It will probably take a season or two to recover. I have kept them indoors for now because they are rather small. my balcony gets very windy frequently and anything small is gone with the wind for good. :(
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Comments (13)Andrea, I'm able to get a cool temp. in the fall as the weather gets colder. I've done it two ways. The year before last I had them outside until it got to around 45 degrees. This year they stayed in the greenhouse all year and I start running my heater slowly to save money. In Sept I set the temp at 45 put most likely it never gets the cold. Then in Oct I put it at 50 degrees. Nov gets 55 degrees and when Dec. hits we put 60 at night and 68 during the day. Remember in a greenhouse just because I set a temp. at 50 degrees that means it's a min. but the sun may bring the temp up to 85 degrees. In my reading I think these nobile need at least a 58 to 55 degree temp for at least 2 to 3 hours per day for a months time. Just leaving them outside late into the fall usually meets those requirements. Even if you had to move it inside to a enclosed porch if you don't want to get it too cold. I find them easy to rebloom, and yes there are a few that don't even require a cool period to bloom. I also don't give them fertilizer from Sept until after they bloom. August might be an even better time to stop giving them fertilizer. Look up Yamamoto orchids in Hawaii for more instructions....See More
westoh Z6
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoMy 1 nobile type gets the same treatment year round, I do get a few keikis. It goes outside early and comes back in late and gets lots of light, a southwest window may be fine. It blooms off and on throughout year on new and old canes, and like James mine drops it's leaves after 2-3 seasons. I also get blooms off of leafless canes. I think the type of hybrid makes a big difference on treatment needed and # of times blooming. I seem to get more blooms when environmental things change, like bringing it in/out or big temp swings when outside.
Here is a shot of mine from this morning (Merry Christmas!) blooming off of new growth.
And an overall shot (a little tough, plant has about a 24" spread in 4" pot with little staked, good example of how dends. like tight shoes)
Good luck,Bob
getgoing100_7b_nj thanked westoh Z6getgoing100_7b_nj
3 years agogetgoing100_7b_nj
3 years ago
James _J