Repotting a Dendrobium spectabile

[Susan Moisey]

I purchased a large Dendrobium spectabile at the Orchid Society meeting yesterday. It has about 30 canes and is about 24"high. It's tightly potted in spaghum and needs repotting.

I was thinking of putting it in a mixture of medium bark (Orchiata), spaghum moss, and sponge rock. Does that sound reasonable?

Any advice would be much appreciated,

Susan

[JDT]

It would help to know your environment, where do you live etc. are you keeping this indoors or outdoors?

[Chris in Hamilton]

What Jack said and if you could provide a couple of pictures that would help Always keep in mind that Dendrobium want to be under potted. Most are lost when going into a pot that is too big.

[Susan Moisey]

I'm growing it indoors in a warm room with a south facing window. I live inEdmonton Alberta, so we have long days in the summer, and short days in the winter, although what light we have is pretty intense because it reflects off the snow. Humidity is a challenge. I have the plant located near the electronic humidifier going 24/7, and one or two fans going in the room, depending how hot it is. The room reaches about 85 degrees during the day, and 65 at night. I'm growing cattleyas and vandas on the shelf in front of the window (see photo).

The plant is currently in a 5" clear pot. I thought I'd move it to a 6" clear plastic pot. Am wondering if I should add drainage holes along the side? I keep my clear pots inside a clay pot to provide some weight and to help keep the roots cold.

I'll add a couple of photos later once I figure out how to resize them.

Susan

[Dorsetman]

Big plants are sometimes a bit difficult ; me, I'd hedge my bets, and divide into 2 or more plants, give them different treatment - like one in sphag, one in bark, etc. And yes - how right - the smallest pot you can get the roots into after trimming off dead ones l a good haircut all round is a good idea.

[ksriramkumar]

30 cane Dendrobium spectabile should be a interesting buy. I would repot when it is growing new roots and grow them to a bigger size (if I have the space to accommodate) or repot to 1-2 plants based on what I can accommodate.

[Susan Moisey]

Hello again,

Well I did it! It had three newish canes and a new growth and was starting roots, so I figured it was time. Besides it had been potted in mainly spaghum for nearly two years so I was really concerned about the media.

I split it and potted it in Orchidta mixed with sponge rock, with a good layer of lava rock at the bottom of the pot.

The root system was massive with surprisingly few dead roots. Will provide updates on how the two are doing.

Susan

[ksriramkumar]

Good. Add a dose of kelp once a week and we should have a good start

[Susan Moisey]

Thanks, I'll do that.

S.