Dendrobium canaliculatum

Dendrobium canaliculatum is a variable species and has many forms but there are only 3 or 4 named varieties ,with all coming from Northern Queensland (north of Rockhamptom).
Please note that this orchid is subjected to annual bush fires.

Cultivation

All the forms require similar conditions and are cold sensitive, that is they hate cold drizzly weather. They also require a minimum night temp of 10C, a small pot of coarse mix or preferably slab culture. The plants need humidity and high light levels and must be kept dry over the winter months and fertilized with care..

Now for the second book which is Dendrobium Orchids of Australia .

They have three distinct seasons Growing , Resting , Flowering.

Growth……. Late spring to early autumn , copious water at the roots ,plenty of fresh air , high temp but not high humidity. In their natural habitat this is the wet season .Rain falls nearly every day , mainly in the late afternoon.


Resting ……Autumn to early winter , Keep dryer than most Dendrobiums .It does not hurt to let the pbulbs shrivel. If in a greenhouse have the plants up high near the glass in winter .If the green house is unheated, it is okay to keep the plants totally dry and near the top ventilators .
Note… If watering and shading are not reduced at this time a new growth will appear . The growth at this time is distend to fail.


Flowering……Late winter to spring , just a little water to keep the pbulbs from shrivelling to much and to keep the flowers firm.
Water temp should be not less than 13C or 55F .

Slab culture suits best but if grown in a pot ,a very open mix and the smallest possible pot .
When crossed with large pbulbed plants it reduces the plant size considerably with good upright spikes and numerous flowers.

A note for the vegetarians amongst us ???????????????????????????????

The pbulbs are edible when stripped of the old leaves and baked..



http://www.orchidspecies.com/dencanniculatum.htm

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Growing orchids is not an addiction
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