Madeline, I would endorse everything that Diana has said - clipping the spike
won't work with dendrobes; your plant is apparently very happy if it's sending
out a new spike. Since these types of dendrobes bloom in Autumn, and since
winter in their native habitat is usually quite dry, I suggest tapering off the
watering now, to no more than once weekly in winter, and then only on warm days
(they typically hate cold wet roots).

Not being as wise as Diana (hey! I'm an impulsive male!) I'll have a go at the
id. From your file name, your orchid is presumably tagged Dendrobium
phalaenopsis? "Phalaenopsis" as a dendrobium species name is bit of a can of
worms. It has been applied to a group of very similar species at different
times. These include one known only from the Tanimbar group of islands SW of
Irian Jaya, which the taxonomists now call D. striaenopsis; and the species
group from northern Australia and southern New Guinea, now known as the
Dendrobium bigibbum complex.

If the flowers on your plant are larger than 2" (5 cm) across it's probably D.
striaenopsis. But if they are smaller, I'd opt for the D. bigibbum complex.
Without knowing the size, your photo looks very like a quite nice D. bigibbum
var. superbum. The bigibbum group is commonly known as the "Cooktown Orchid"
because they grew commonly in the area around Cooktown in NE Australia.

On Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:29:47 -0500, "Maddie"
wrote:

Hello All.....

I'm sort of a newbie at this so any help is appreciated.

I received a dendro (that I think I've identified
http://www.orchidphotos.org/images/o...psis1_192.html)
with blooms as a gift in Feb. (mail order) and the blooms on the original
spike are almost gone. A new spike has emerged with a bloom and more buds.
Question: Is there a way to clip the first spike to encourage a secondary
flowering as is sometimes done with phals?.......or am I just being too
greedy?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Madeline

Dave Gillingham
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