Can you ID this type of Orchid?

[kirstenaline]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the forum, and over the last few years have developed quite a love of orchids. I currently have four at home and one at work. Three are Phals and this fourth one, I am unsure. It was given to me a few years back and I have never seen it flower, and would love to bring it to life!

It appears to have a few issues going on.l First there tips of some leaves are dry. Second, there appears to be some spotting on some of the leaves.

Any and all suggestions of how to make it happy and healthy would be appreciated!

Here are some pics:








Thanks so much in advance!

Kirsten

[espranch]

Hi Kirsten, and WELCOME to Orchid Talk! The orchid in the pictures is a dendrobium. It looks like it could use re-potting to me. I do not know "what" the spots are, however. Maybe one of the other members could help you out, as I am rather unfamiliar with this particular kind orchid. Have fun on the forum...Betty :-)

[629miller]

Hi Kirsten, your dendrobium looks like it needs to be watered a little more often. It shouldn't be quite so shriveled. They (dendros) also need much more sun than the Phals to bloom. There is probably a page in here somewhere that will give you the specs for dendrobiums. They are pretty simple to grow, they just get too tall for my limited space.
Good luck and welcome to Orchid Talk.

[madphrag]

I see you saved the label and you should always do so. Just curious, what does it say?

[rich63]

Kirsten, You need to un-pot this plant and take a look at the roots. You could have root rot, which is causing the canes to shrink up. It is a common mistake to see a plant that looks like it needs to be watered. So you water some more. Later to find out the roots are rotten, thus reducing the water intake of the plant. Thats what I would look at. I don't know what the spots are either. Sorry, Rich

[kirstenaline]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for the help. I would imagine that it probably does need to be re-potted and since it has been passed around a lot and has survived very long times without water. Now that I have all these other orchids blooming, I am on a mission to get this guy happy.

The label says Den Aridang No. 205. I guess the Den stands for Dendrobium duh!

As for the roots, they are definitely almost all dried out. I have never re-potted an orchid before, so I want to make sure I do it the right way. (Especially with the bark.)

One thing I have noticed when I do water it, is that it tends to just drain out the water very quickly. It sits just in a plastic bot beneath the clay pot (the common green ones we find many plants in when we buy them). This is a bit different than my Phals that are all sitting in a plastic-wrap type of pot within a greater pot to allow the water to soak in a bit easier (I would assume?).

Thanks again for all your help! Also - I don't fertilize my orchids ever, but I did pick up some orchid fertilizer. Is this something you recommend for all orchids regularly?

Thanks!

Kirsten

[629miller]

Kirsten- Rich is right. Your roots look rotted. It also looks like you have this orchid double potted? You need to make sure your orchid can drain well and quickly when it does get watered.

[kirstenaline]

Yes, it is inside a plastic pot and then within the larger clay pot (the way it was given to me). I definitely believe it has plenty of room to drain well as it won't hold any water whatsoever. It just drains straight through. In fact, all of the roots when I pull it out are just about dried up and brown.

At this point, it definitely sounds like a re-potting is the consensus. Any suggestions as to the best way to go about it? Thanks!

[rich63]

Kirsten, This dendrobium link should be of help. You should soak the bark mix over night before using.
If you could like us know how the roots look after triming out the rotten ones. A photo would be very helpful. Take Care,Rich

Repotting a dendrobium - Orchid Article Library

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...ss-plants.html

[espranch]

Rich is giving you very good advise! Betty :-)