Dendrobium peguanum not doing well

[moniluhum]

I have had this one since 9/14 and have not seen much growth. In fact, now it appears to be going downhill. Can anyone tell me the best way to grow this? I live in humid warm environment and have tried growing both under lights indoors or in a greenhouse.

[moniluhum]

No one has had a similar problems?

[joyzoggia]

Why exactly would you say it is going downhill? I'm not an expert but when it comes down to orchids with pseudo bulbs they could tell you a lot about the health of the orchid. And yours looks fine to me, they are full if anything not too shriveled. Can you spot how the roots are?

Sometimes plants take a lot to adapt to their environment, and keep in mind that orchids with pseudo bulbs have a rest period where they pretty much do nothing until a new growth appears and sometimes that period takes months. Which in my opinion yours is still in the process of growing that newest pseudo bulb you have there(the one with the nice leaves), do you remember when that one started to grow?

New growths could take up to 6-9 months to fully mature.. its a pretty long process. I say that because that's what I experience with my catasetums and oncidiums.

When orchids with pseudo bulbs are in their resting period you usually don't even water it, not until a new growth appears and starts shooting out roots, and yes the plant may loose all its roots but that will not affect it because of the fact that the pseudo bulbs have stored all the energy they needed in order to start a new growth when their resting period is done.

Hope this helps

[moniluhum]

Thanks for responding. The reason I say downhill is that the plant had leaves and the one you see on the side with the yellow leaf was a new growth. I currently have it under lights where some of my dens are growing new stems so I figured it was the right environment. Are you saying I should leave it alone and wait and see assuming it is in the resting period during spring?

[mazlani]

I do not have this but from the pics that I googled, most of them are without leaves. IMO as long as the pbulb is healthy it should be ok. Just continue monitoring.

[joyzoggia]

They eventually loose their leaves when they are about to get into their resting period. So it happens like this:

let's assume that your new growth which now has matured, blooms and now is loosing its leaves. That means it will be getting into its resting period, during that cycle they are pretty much like big potatoes just hanging around hahahha. During that stage you will water it maybe once a month, sometimes not at all, however it is good to still keep them in high humidity. Then after a few months of resting period you will see a new growth, that indicates your plant is about to leave its resting period. When that new growth starts growing new roots and these new roots reach at least 3-4 inches you should start watering and fertilizing as usual. That new growth will take several months to reach maturity, and during that stage it is important to feed it well and water it normally so that new growth could get to a good size and store enough energy to be able to go through the next resting period. usually they like to stay with their media moist most of the time but it is good to let it dry in between waterings. So now your new growth is mature, you are still watering, it's produces its spike and the leaves start to fall. When the leaves and the spike dies out, the plant went back into its resting period and you gradually stop watering.

Right now, if it has roots I would say keep watering it normally as you are doing until all leaves are gone, then you gradually stop watering. So it is pretty much getting ready to rest. Has it spiked before? Maybe it will now If it is a blooming size, they usually spike right before entering their resting period. Keep it under the lights but let them sleep at night.
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The lights are also good to induce them to spike btw, so keep doing what you are doing and watering and fertilizing. Again, after all the leaves and (if any shows up) spike dies out, your plant is entering resting period and then yes you stop gradually to water. Hope this helps
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[moniluhum]

The plant has never flowered. I originally had it in a greenhouse where it seemed ok but never really did anything. Then I saw it starting to look less healthy. So, I decided to change it to growing under lights where my other dens seemed to be starting to grow. Because it is mounted I have been watering every day. Now with the information provided (thanks so much ) I monitor it more and perhaps water it less until I see growth. The plant is not very big so it is difficult to see root growth. Thanks again so much for your help. That's why I love this board.

[kspalding]

Joy is right as I learned recently upon purchasing a Dend. Maui Sunshine. I did the same thing you did I freaked lol when the leaves started yellowing and falling off. I learned this was normal.They drop all their leaves during dormancy and can take a long time to readapt. Its only been 7 months for you thats not too long considering they just came out of dormancy season plus they have been moved out of their comfort zone and into a new home. Just give it time. Mine just started growing new leaves about 2-4 weeks ago and I have had it for some time now myself As long as the bulbs are still green it can produce new growth. Just wait and see

[ksriramkumar]

I have peguanum and has a 3-4 month winter dormancy where you would have to withhold watering and fertilization and usually wakes up by april.

[moniluhum]

Why would it go to dormancy in the spring? It is mounted so it gets dry quickly. I am growing under lights where my other dens have begun to wake up. I am guessing I should reduce the watering but I do not want to stop to only once a month because I think it will get too dry>