DexterWard wrote:
A friend bought me (unknowingly) a Lowes Dendrobium Orchid. It didn't have
a sticker and it hasn't bloomed, so I have no specific info. Despite the
fact it was a Lowes orchid I decided to try and raise it, rather than pitch
it.
After I examined it's roots I was pretty sure I had made a mistake
(Euphemism). ALL of the roots were brownish-white and dry. I thought it
was just a matter of time. But it's been four or five months now and it has
just started to lose leaves. I've heard that Dendros are deciduous and it
is autumn. Aside from that, I know less than nothing about Dendo's. Is it
normal that it's losing leaves or is just the state of this particular
plant? If it is normal, what else can I expec
You wouldn't be the first, and unfortunately not the last, to fail
to rescue a plant from one of those big box stores. They are sold as
'pot plants', which means the grower and seller have both decided that
the business model is that the customer will throw the plant away after
it is done blooming, and they will sell them cheaply enough that the
customer comes back and buys a replacement. Cheap does not always equal
good, but you can find some pretty nice stuff at these stores. If you
get to the plants before the worker robots have 'nurtured' them too
long, you can often get healthy plants that will live for many years.
If it is from Lowes, it is probably not a deciduous type
dendrobium. I haven't seen many of those for sale at any big box
store. There are a wide variety of types of dendrobium, but you are
likely to have a 'phalaenopsis type' dendrobium. They aren't
deciduous. They bloom near the top of the cane, on one (or sometimes a
few) fairly long inflorescences. A deciduous (or 'nobile type')
dendrobium would tend to bloom on very short inflorescences, with many
of these up and down the cane. Perhaps you can tell what kind you have
if you can find any evidence of old bloom spikes... Phalaenopsis type
dendrobiums are one of the most common types of orchid sold at the big
box store, usually white, purple, or some combination of both.
Anyway, it isn't that unusual to lose a few leaves, but you would
expect a new growth (or several) to come up to replace the older ones.
If that isn't happening, then probably something is wrong. Roots firm
and dry is not a bad thing. Roots soft and mushy is very bad. You may
have seen the very dry roots, and started throwing too much water at
it. This would be a 'mistake' to use your euphemism... If it isn't
drying out between waterings, you are watering too much. You can
indeed water too little, but it is substantially harder to do.
In general, a phalaenopsis type dendrobium would appreciate fairly
bright light (but not much direct sun), relatively warm temperatures,
and water and fertilizer throughout the year. They do really well in
Hawaii, if that helps. If you do indeed have a nobile type dendrobium,
then stop watering it, let it lose all its leaves, and don't start
watering again until after the flower buds are fully developed. You can
mist it a little if you feel sorry for it...Dendrobiums in generally are
incredibly tolerant of poor culture, and often will rebound quite nicely
after extended periods of neglect.
--
Rob's Rules:
http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
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