Dying Dendrobium

[kiwiorchids]

It def sounds to me like you need to water this little guy snowghost! Is yours kingianum or a hybrid of it? Most people who are just into the hobby usually find Dendrobium kingianum in their collections....

[snowghost45]

It looks just like the one in the picture here. It's to complicated for me to crop and resize a pic . I did see some green at the top of stalk today, just hope it makes it through the winter. I have a moth orchid and the leafs turned mushy, I went to transplant it and it barely has any roots. What can I do to encourage root growth?

[kiwiorchids]

Just keep it moist, remember to wter when the media looks dry

[snowghost45]

With this bark type material it always looks dry to me.

[snowghost45]

Lordy, 6 hours later I got it to work. The pic labeled smaller den is today's pic 11/25/11.

Any suggestions on how to keep it alive?

I see a little green tip on the taller spike, maybe there is hope.

Terri

Wow for a cheap camera it took a pretty good pic.

Terri

[cdayinflorida]

It is way over-potted. Dens really like to be snug in a pot.

[snowghost45]

Over potted? How much smaller could it get? It's 5 inches in diameter and less then 3 inches deep. Please define snug?

[kiwiorchids]

They like a tight fitting around the roots, maybe pot it into something that it JUST fits into. Put it into a pot maybe 1/3rd the size or 1/2 the size of that one it is in currently. Btw, yours looks like a soft cane dendrobium, not like the one above which is a hard cane type. These are deciduous, so they lose their leaves. Yours should have by now, so dont fret, and stop watering until JUST before spring, when it should send up one or two new growths and a few buds

[mysbhvn]

Good luck Marissa. I, too, have a Den. I am trying to nurse along. Hopefully it will make it but geez it seems to want a lot of attention lol I'm thinking maybe Dendrobiums aren't for me

[kiwiorchids]

Good luck Marissa. I, too, have a Den. I am trying to nurse along. Hopefully it will make it but geez it seems to want a lot of attention lol I'm thinking maybe Dendrobiums aren't for me

It all depends really, on the species you keep. I find the best ones are the hardcane aussie types, like kingianum and speciosum. They are very versatile orchids, and can adapt to a wide range of conditions-whereas i find the SE asian softcane types, like the nobile and its hybrids, are a bit tougher to care for and dont adapt as readily. Try a few different species from a few different climates, remember there are over 1000 species in the Dendrobium genus-one is sure to fit you