how to get my dendrobium to bloom?

[Yanglik67]

I read of giving my plant loads of sunlight and i did. I stay in the tropics!!
I read of fertilizing my plant and i did.

But all my plants did was have more spikes. How can i get my plant to bloom?

[coeruleo]

looks like you have given a little too much sun, the leaves are turning red. some can handle that pretty well, some get stressed out by it. most i think do well with morning sun, but some shading from direct sun during the hottest part of the day. i'm not an expert on dendrobiums, but the ones i have only bloom at certain times of year, like spring mostly. you can determine their blooming season if you know what species it is, or what makes up its parentage. you may just need to wait until the right season. usually dendrobiums are not blooming due to lack of light, but i don't think that is a problem for you. some (australian ones) also need a rest period, like a cooler, dryer winter to initiate bloom spikes. that might be the problem?

[catttan]

Since you live in Singapore our climate would not be dissimilar. I would not say that your plant has too much sunlight since there are no sun burn signs on the leaves. The reddish tinge on your leaves are normal for dendrobiums in our region that receive adequate sunlight. Your dendrobium looks like a hard-cane type belonging to the phalaenopsis or antelope types or a hybrid of the 2. How big is your plant ? It may just not be mature enough to bloom. 'Spike' refer to flower spikes in orchid lingo and these are the flower stalks that bear the flower buds/flowers. I don't see any 'spikes' on the plant in the picture and I presume you mean the new canes or pseudobulbs.

[Ron-NY]

when the new cane matures it may still spike

[Yanglik67]

Oops sorry used wrong terminology. Yes, my plants has 7 new bulbs but no flower spike. Ok will wait for the bulbs to mature andfor the flower spikes to appear.

My plant is those "dwarf" kind.

Question: how long does it take for the bulb to mature?

[cucubirds]

I think you underwater your dendrobium. Look like a bit dehydrated & in stress probably caused by afternoon strong sunlight. You need to keep humidity high too. This type of dendrobium are ever green plants & can bloom any time of the year in tropics. Don't let it dry out too much.

Did you expose it to afternoon direct sunlight or keep it in west area of your apartment? I find that mini-dendrobium do best in morning sunlight or shaded/dipped afternoon sunlight.

When the sunlight is too strong, this will somehow shock & stress(moisture stress) the plant. If you still want to keep in the same place, more watering couple with keeping humidity high will make the plant happy & bloom.

My mini-dendrobium bulb will mature in three to 4 months time. If they are pot bounded, you can expect faster growth.

Hope this help.

[Yanglik67]

I placed my plant in my balcony which is east facing ie there is the morning and strong afternoon sun. I tried soaking it in a pail of water every morning for 1/2 hour but the older canes still look shrivelled

Hi Cucubirds, thanks - let me move my plant away from the afternoon sun and see how it will respond.

[zainal abidin]

Your plant still very small unlikely they will yield any spike as a hard cane Dendrobium for species at least after reaching certain high more than one foot usually can see sign of flowering just wait at least another a year.

[Yanglik67]

Oh .... now i truly understand the many comments on having loads of patience when dealing with orchids. Looks like i need to go out there to get myself another plant that's in bloom to enjoy the beauty of an orchid flower

Your plant still very small unlikely they will yield any spike as a hard cane Dendrobium for species at least after reaching certain high more than one foot usually can see sign of flowering just wait at least another a year.

[Katherine]

I placed my plant in my balcony which is east facing ie there is the morning and strong afternoon sun. I tried soaking it in a pail of water every morning for 1/2 hour but the older canes still look shrivelled

Hi Cucubirds, thanks - let me move my plant away from the afternoon sun and see how it will respond.

Dendro canes very well may look dry and old, not bright like other p-bulbs. Unless they are trul shriveled I don't think you need to worry.