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mojavelove

Scored a $5 Den, not an expert with these give it a once over pls

MojaveLove
13 years ago

I scored a $5 Den today, pretty excited. It has one bloom left that I will share, it might be the last time I ever see one lol - I bought this to see if I could take care of it and get it to rebloom. I have yet to kill any house plants that I have and have been able to get many to bloom so I THINK I can find a nice spot for it. Anyway it's called a Den. Salaya green and find that really means nothing but though I would share it anyway.

Questions before I share pics

- can a cane bloom more than once?

- It looks like the potting medium is good, it is a mix of bark and some black light rock - it is from a grower in HI so it might be lava rock. Anyway, should I give it some fresh medium now or wait until next year?

- The info I have read on Dens is pretty confusing. I believe this is a hard cane Den - does it need the dry period in winter? Is it thirstier and hungrier than, say, a Phal? Is it evergreen and what does that mean if it is.

The bloom - proof to all that this plant is capable of flowering, though I may deny this one day! Bloom is light green with purple lip and striping. Sorry, the pics are a little dark but the flash changed the color.

{{gwi:161816}}

Full plant

{{gwi:161817}}

This is the only thing that concerns me, there are dark spots and yellow spots (you can't see the yellow ones here)on the leaves of the two tallest canes. The plant is hard, the leaves feel fine and they are all a light greenish yellow. The roots that are exposed seem fine. There are a few sneaking out of the pot at the bottom and they don't look rotten but I haven't taken it out to take a good look. Anyway I'm hoping it is just bruising or something. No bugs that I can see, and no evidence.

{{gwi:161819}}

Thanks all

Comments (9)

  • arthurm
    13 years ago

    The plant is fine, do not fiddle with it in any way. It is a warm growing hard-cane dendrobium that needs warmth, moderate humidity and good light throughout the year to do well. It is also capable of reblooming from the older pseudobulbs/canes at the appropriate season. Reduce watering a little as your growing conditions cool down a little in late autumn/winter.

    Find some complete culture notes on the net that relate to your climate zone.

    There seem to many orchids with names such as Salaya this is or that that are not the RHS registerof orchid names.

  • MojaveLove
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Excellent. It's always a bit more humid than the norm in here because my FI prefers that. I also like it warm (around 70) and it will be in a South window. Just have to find a spot that will be bright enough without burning it somehow. I can also take it to work, I have fluorescent lighting under my cabinets at my desk.

  • MojaveLove
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    By the way what do you think about those spots?

  • arthurm
    13 years ago

    ! wouldn't worry about them, they are scar tissue from a fungus infection which will not increase provided you can provide good growing conditions for the plant.

    Maybe a squirt or two of fungicide might assist...hopefully you will get better advice from the locals.

    The big problem with those hard- canes here is that homes are not centrally heated and if the plants get cold and wet they drop buds especially so since peak blooming is late autumn/winter.

    Similar problems with them in one of my glass=houses, High humidity at night together with cool temperatures will cause bud drop. I have some in bloom to on-sell for the local orchid society at the autumn show, they are inside on the kitchen windowsill.

  • petite_orange
    13 years ago

    It appears to be potted in a plastic nursery pot (which drains) and set into a ceramic cachepot (which doesn't).
    Drainage and air = good
    Sitting in stale water = lethal
    Cheers - Nancy

  • ifraser25
    13 years ago

    That's a spectacular hybrid. It doesn't look like a typical Denphal to me. I think it has a lot of D.nobile in it, though the flower is not like nobile's. Make sure this gets plenty of sun in Illinois esp during the winter. Otherwise the rest of the advice is spot on. - Ian.

  • MojaveLove
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks everyone :)

    Nancy - you're right, the plastic nursery pot drains well, but that ceramic pot is an orchid pot I bought separately. I'm just having it sit in there like that until it needs to be repotted and then it will go into the green ceramic pot.

    Ian - I agree after looking at Den phal pictures and descriptions, the flower on mine didn't quite match. It is smaller than they tend to be for example. I'll have to look into the nobile types to see!

  • terpguy
    13 years ago

    NOT a nobile type. Those bloom up and down the cane. Also not a phal type. Those have multiple leaves per pbulb, and this consistently only has two. From what I can find, it's most likely a combination of Phal type and Latouria type. The widened lateral petals give it away.

    See the following.
    http://orchidforum.org/data/PDF/Dendrobium_sections_guide.pdf

  • arthurm
    13 years ago

    "Phalaenopsis" type with a Latouria ancestor
    {{gwi:161821}}

    "intermediate" type with "antelope" breeding
    {{gwi:161823}}

    Nobile type
    {{gwi:161824}}

    Do not worry about it, just give it Phal Type/Hard Cane Den care appropriate to zone 5 (hopefully you can find some decent complete culture notes).

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