An intersting inter-sectional Dendrobium htybrid - D. Berry "Oda"

[Dorsetman]

All the big orchid genera are divided into sections, and a lot of hybridising is done inside a single section ( example ; in Paph, rothschildianum is crossed with other multi-flowered paphs in the same section and produces good hybrids- when crossed with other sections like with niveum for instance, it produces plants which most people think are dogs to look at, and sometimes pigs to grow too). Dendrobium has- in some views - 1000 species, so naturally it is divided into about a dozen sections, and the same kind of considerations usually apply. In particular Section Phalaenanthe - the "phalaenopsis type" grown in their millions for the cut flower trade - get one on your pillow every night, when you stay in the posher hotels in Penang for example - doesn't seem to cross with anything else. Likewise the Antelope types - Section Spatula.
And I don't think I have ever seen - not to recognise anyway - a hybrid between one of the Kingianums ( Sect Dendrocoryne) and anything else.
But on a stand at a show yesterday ( my own Society . Bournemouth) a trader had this one plant of an interesting looking small orchid. Canes 4 inches high, loads of flowers or at least buds . Dend Berry Oda it was named. The Oda bit seems to be a clone, and the correct name Berry.
And it turns out to be a cross between three species - D. kingianum x ( D.bigibbum x D.canaliculatum).
Don't know how to grow it yet - but maybe it will be easy-peasy. We'll see,
Flowers by the way about an inch across. Should be really good when all these buds open - I'll add a pic when that happens.

[coeruleo]

wow, does it carry the kingianaum scent? i walked into a shop last spring, and smelled something so sweet i just had to follow my nose and nearly flipped when i found it coming from a little overgrown pot of dendrobiums. i asked what it was and they said oncidium, but i bought it anyway, and have tracked it online to being some kingianum hybrid, but i'm happy to have a NOID if it smells like that! tiny pale pink/white flowers can be acceptable even to me (a true avoider of all things pink) when they scent the whole neighborhood! although i found it did need direct sun to produce the scent at all. if a cloud passed over the sun, the scent stopped until the cloud was out of the way again. i found that very odd but kind of cool. i am told that you CANNOT WATER IN FALL on kingianums, or they produce only keikeis and no flowers at all. so here, i am told last week of october, no water until second week of december or no flowers... not sure how that would affect yours. and it can take temps down to freezing, if dry.

[Michael Saar]

Geoff, I think you overstate the inability of Dendrobiums to form intersectional hybrids. Your plant is (kingidium x Mini-Pearl), and Mini Pearl is (canaliculatum x bigibbum) an intersectional hybrid itself, so you have (dendocoryne x (spatulata x phalaenanthe)). Berry was registered in 1983 and Mini Pearl in 1974. (phalaenanthe x spatulata) hybrids have been in commerce for longer than I have been growing orchids (40+ years). There are also numerous intersectional hybrids using plants from section latouria.
That being said, I find your plant very attractive, and I hope it proves easy to grow.

[Halloamey]

Interesting info and very pleasing flowers on this one. Looking forward to the photo with all the blooms open.

[Dorsetman]

Ii am told that you CANNOT WATER IN FALL on kingianums, or they produce only keikeis and no flowers at all. so here, i am told last week of october, no water until second week of december or no flowers... not sure how that would affect yours. and it can take temps down to freezing, if dry.

Not sure about scent . It has not been in sunshine since I bought it but that was only yesterday !
Interesting that the scent stopped when the sun went in. Suggests to me that the natural pollinator only fles in sunshine . A butterfly, perhaps ?
As to watering kingianums - I have to stop for much longer than you to see flowers - something like 4 months I reckon, but if they moved somewhere away from the other orchids that is not difficult.

[Dorsetman]

Geoff, I think you overstate the inability of Dendrobiums to form intersectional hybrids..

Yes, I was aware of mini-pearl, and perhaps I over -egged the pudding a bit ! But the fact that not two but three different sections are involved seemed quite interesting.
I must also own up that I find Dend species in general, more interesting than their hybrids, and perhaps I have looked the other way too often when a Dend hybrid appeared so that I have missed the frequency of inter-sectional hybrids.

[orchidsal]

Geoff the blooms/buds are many and I very much like the form and color. Good luck with this Dendrobium. AL

[pavel]

Nice color, nice form, and nice overall plant size. That should be a show stopper when in full bloom. I like it!

[Cjcorner]

That is a mini? Too cool! My dendrobium section out back is beginning to spike out. I just finished taking pics of a couple plants next to each other. I cannot get over how large some of my dendrobiums are gettting. I can't quite picture a plant with that many buds being that small. lol

[cakedaddy]

Lovely Dendrobium! I am looking foward to pics of it fully bloomed!
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