Dendrobium Canes Shrivelling

Originally Posted by Gurj

Good morning Matt, I'll take your suggestion and just leave it until there is a sign of growth. I haven't yet fertilised any of mine either, I rather wait a couple of months until spring arrives properly its like conjouring information literally as orchids' growths is so unique and unpredictable with their handlers. I am amazed but sometomes loose my patience and blame myself as I was harsh with it, I guess its all down to experience. Thank you so much for your input! Have a good day.

I was guilty at first as with most newbie growers of the illusion that if a plant shows pour signs of activity give it more sun, more water and more food! Its easy to see why this can look like an ideal approach at first for growers but turns out fatal. Simply a basic rule of thumb is more applicable when you question yourself that ' if a plant isnt progressing and appears frozen in time then why on earth do we think water is good if it doesnt/ dont want or need it ( not confusing with humidity), why more sun can be better when sunburn, increased transpiration due to heat and complete violation of its specific needs is apparent and why food will get eaten if the plant is temporarily aslleep. Each of these concepts are probable killers in their own right.

Gurg, have posted this reply on your thread as opposed to pm to give your thread some continuity. Someone may extract something useful from it.

Originally Posted by Gurj

Thank you Zain, I don't have a fungicide but i can place some moist moss at the bottom.

That also should be ok.Zain

Sitting back is the only option one can do good with, regarding the circumstances

Hi
I never suggest cutting and throwing them away as old canes are easy to bloom.
Now what can be done...
1.Orchids are also known as air plants as they require lots of free air flow right from its roots to the whole plant.Check if your pot has enough holes to help air enter into the potting media..
2.I always prefer 30% of the roots to be let uncovered with any potting media.Orchids breath moistures from air...this will also help you to keep an eye on roots...plus the chance of survival increases three folds in case of root rot in the bottom.
3.I use to water my orchids only once in month.Early morning is preferable...just drench your potting media with free water...a word of caution..again your pot should have lots of pores for free air flow.Next morning just spray some tea water or dry tea leaves on the 30% of the exposed roots..just a small fine spray.Orchids love them.
4.How do I stop yellowing of leaves...it's a trick..one thing you need to remember that to have a good bloom year round your plant root should be strong and healthy.Comming to stopping yellowing of leaves...I use to clean all the leaves with a cotton,water and a very mild disk washing liquids.Get a piece of cotton,moist it with water,add one drop of liquid soap...clean the leaves...don't be hard on them,just a gentle rub from the tip of a leaf once...don't go reverse as it will block the stomata of the leaves...next...take another peice of cotton,rinse it with water and clean it in the same way.Next take another cotton,rinse it with water,don't squeeze,add some coconut oil,just one or two drops in the cotton and wipe it from the bottom of the leaves to its tip.
This works wonders..if it balance,it will moisture the leaves if they are dehydrated or it will try to balance if there is too much water in the system...this I have learnt from the grand parents and using this for last 20 years...but some leaves at the bottom might turn yellow as per the rule of the nature...coconut oil is organic and will never harm your plant.
5.I never use fertilizers which Re inorganic or are available in stores...it might give a boost to your plant why you apply it to your plants...but has lots of side effects...the most of it is its long dormancy period before blooming...I stay in Bangalore India and enjoy blooming of my orchids year round using only organic home fertilizers....
6.Lights are most common factors for all plants and the same applies to orchids...I use fluorescent bulbs...I keep it on for only 6 hours per day..also most important that people forget,these orchids needs lots of sleeping time as well.6hours of articificial light I have seen enough for my orchids to grow and bloom.
7.Temperatures...Orchids prefer humidity more than any other plants,as I say, they breath moistures from their roots...you should alway grow orchids where the air is not too dry.If your air feel dry,you can create moistures around it but putting some pebbles around a tray and let your pot sit on those pebbles...there is another trick which I follow to get the plant grow faster during dry seasons...I use to put the pot into some transparent container and cover it with glass paper...never water during this time,moistures will build up inside the container which is enough for the plant growth...I open the container once in a week,spray the container a little and again cover them up.
Following this little things will help you love your orchids...
If you need any suggestion,I will be happy to help.Cant see any orchids suffer,I love them too much...my first love :-)

Sorry to hear your kingi's sulking a bit. Even tho they can be sulky when in a new home they are tough and are great come-back survivors.

I need to correct a popular mis-apprehension about Dendrobium kingianum's habitat, which has been repeated in this thread. I claim some expertise on this as a resident in Sydney which is part of their natural range.

They do NOT have a cool dry winter and hot wet summer, this is a false extrapolation from tropical dendrobiums to this intermediate/cool species. Rainfall in their home range is very variable, it mainly drops in storms with extended dry periods (often months) between showers. While it tends to wetter in summer, it is quite common to have a few years in a row when winter may be wetter than summer. They can cope well with droughts, shrivelling is common in the wild.

Get it into an open mix. If you have any good roots on it, it will revive, no special care needed.

If no live roots, it's a lottery. If no roots, dilute some rooting hormone in a little water and soak the plant for 24 hours (or sprinkle some around the base of the plant), keep it bone dry for the next 3-4 weeks, then do the moist (but not wet) moss thing.

Good luck!