Keep it sopping wet?! Aack! (Now you know why I don't do dendrobiums!! There
are just too many variables!)
Well, that's what makes orchids so great. 'Whatever works for you works for
you' is the law of the land, *G*.
K Barrett
"Dave Sheehy" wrote in message
...
K Barrett ) wrote:
: In the 3rd link, top photo (taken by Eric Hunt) you can see the profile
for
: sulawesianse/crepidiferm on one of the flowers in the upper left. The
: nectary has a keel. The flower you mention is taken at an off-angle, and
: shows the 'ventral' side of the flower - if one can use an animal term
for a
: plant, *G* . The lip is rather like how it shows in all pictures. Andy's
pic
: does show the crystalline texture, which is a very fine feature of the
: plant.
: The flower does have a long nectary that extends back from the open
flower
: face, about 1-2 cm. Sounds like your petals and sepals are slowly
opening?
Yes, that seems to be the case.
: In my GH the flower has not trouble opening, not like Den
victoria-reginae
: (Purple and white) in which the blooms are all scrunched up together and
: each individual flower has no room to open fully and diplay its self.
Hey! I thought you didn't do Dendrobiums.
: So I
: prefer crepidiferum, plus the color is a knock out and the crystalline
: texture is to die for.
Those are the exact characteristics that I like in this plant!
: What to do in order to get the flowers to open better, I have no idea
but I
: can tell you how I grow mine. I have mine in a rather dry corner of the
GH.
That's probably equivalent to my indoor conditions.
: Its in sphagnum in a clay pot,
That's the way it came potted from Andy's and I've left it that way.
: it gets light as for cattleyas, if not
: brighter. When I got the award the judges commented that some of the
leaves
: were the same color as the flower from the high amount of light I give
the
: thing.
We differ here. Andy's cutlural info says it takes low light. So, I have
it
in a north window where it gets around 1000 foot candles of light (if I
hold
the light meter just right). Yet another reason I bought it was for it's
low light requirements.
: I water once a week. More if I have time. Rel humidity is 40-80%
: (yes! quite a fluctuation) and temps are 55-85F. So its tolerant of
abuse.
: (Not that it enjoys abuse, just that so far its putting up with me)
Another likely difference. Andy's culture info on the web says to keep it
moist. But, when I saw Andy at the SF show he said to keep it "sopping
wet". So, that's what I do now. I had problems with leaf tips browning and
accordian growth if I let it dry out at all.
: I've
: been keeping the canes staked upright, although they may look really
cool
: laying over, pendant. However the canes are about 2 1/2 feet tall so it
: would take up a lot of room if allowed to hang (IMHO)
Mine's still small. The largest canes are around 10". I've thought about
tying the canes up but I can hang it in such a way that I don't have to.
: I hope this helps, its a great plant
It is a great plant. So far, it's been pretty easy too.
Dave
: K Barrett
: "Dave Sheehy" wrote in message
: ...
: K Barrett ) wrote:
: : http://www.aospacificcentral.org/SF-050702-21.html
: : http://www.aospacificcentral.org/SFA...3/densula.html
: : http://www.aospacificcentral.org/SFJuly%202003/den.html
:
: : I hope these pics help you with the shape. Also please note that
: according
: : to Christensen the name now is Dendrobium crepidiferum (ick)
:
: Thanks Kay, they do help some. The top photo (that you took) in the
second
: URL illustrates my question about shape. In the top left corner you
see a
: flower in profile that is very trumpet, or cone shaped. That is what
my
: flowers are shaped like although they are gradually (very gradually I
: might
: add) flattening out. There is a bit of an illusion in the pictures
which
: are taken head on. That is, the lip looks very short and squat from
that
: perspective when in reality it is not. Again, looking at the flower in
the
: top left corner you can see the lip sticking out from the edge of the
: petals/sepals. Having bought this orchid from the picture at Andy's
: Orchids
: I didn't expect it to quite look the way it does. BTW, the picture at
: Andy's
: can be found at:
:
:
:
http://www.andysorchids.com/picturef...s/5168med.jpg&
: PicId=5168
:
: It looks very much like the photos you listed above (except for the
: silvery
: sparkles on Andy's photo).
:
: Dave
:
: : K Barrett
:
: : "Dave Sheehy" wrote in message
: : ...
: : Gene, I have a question for you. I have a Den sulawensience that
I
: got
: : from
: : Andy's Orchids. Andy's claims that the flowers are very flat when
they
: : open
: : but mine are more trumpet shaped. So, what shape are the flowers
for
: your
: : plant? I wonder if I'm doing something culture-wise or if it's
just
: the
: : nature of the beast (err... plant).
: :
: : TIA,
: :
: : Dave
: :
: :
:
: