Some of your plants do well with less light than Dendrobiums need. Phals &
Paphs are lovers of lower light. Oncidiums need more, as you found when the
addition of more light gave you spikes. Dends need considerable light in
order to bloom, and SOME Dends need a winter "rest", i.e. no water or
fertilizer from late November until new growth starts in late winter or so.
Please don't ask which Dends need the rest, but I can tell you this much:
Nobile types need it, and Den. discolor needs it. I grow a load of Dends,
and most don't get that rest and bloom all year.

You don't say if the Dends ever bloomed (when you bought them, were they
blooming?). If not, it's always possible that they are too young to flower,
but it doesn't sound like it. Try to get on a regular fertilization
schedule, and most important of all: light, light, light. Good luck!

Diana

how much direct sunlight outside? I'm still figuring out what is happy in
what spot on the patio. cymbidium and zygo are happy in the open while a
catt next to them needed to be moved quickly to a shadier spot. only about 4
hrs direct sun, the rest is filtered.

Diane


"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
thlink.net...
Some of your plants do well with less light than Dendrobiums need. Phals &
Paphs are lovers of lower light. Oncidiums need more, as you found when
the
addition of more light gave you spikes. Dends need considerable light in
order to bloom, and SOME Dends need a winter "rest", i.e. no water or
fertilizer from late November until new growth starts in late winter or
so.
Please don't ask which Dends need the rest, but I can tell you this much:
Nobile types need it, and Den. discolor needs it. I grow a load of Dends,
and most don't get that rest and bloom all year.

You don't say if the Dends ever bloomed (when you bought them, were they
blooming?). If not, it's always possible that they are too young to
flower,
but it doesn't sound like it. Try to get on a regular fertilization
schedule, and most important of all: light, light, light. Good luck!

Diana

Diane,

Everything in moderation! If the Dendrobiums are given the light slowly
they can take light like the Catts. very near what the vandas will take.
Just remember they need to be eased into it, keep the air moving, and water
more often when they are growing in the bright light.

As with most all orchids they do need some break from the mid day sun so if
you can have some shade cloth over them from 11 am to 2 pm I think you'd be
good.

Good Growing,
Gene






"Diane Mancino" wrote in message
. net...
how much direct sunlight outside? I'm still figuring out what is happy in
what spot on the patio. cymbidium and zygo are happy in the open while a
catt next to them needed to be moved quickly to a shadier spot. only about
4
hrs direct sun, the rest is filtered.

Diane


"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
thlink.net...
Some of your plants do well with less light than Dendrobiums need. Phals
&
Paphs are lovers of lower light. Oncidiums need more, as you found when
the
addition of more light gave you spikes. Dends need considerable light
in
order to bloom, and SOME Dends need a winter "rest", i.e. no water or
fertilizer from late November until new growth starts in late winter or
so.
Please don't ask which Dends need the rest, but I can tell you this
much:
Nobile types need it, and Den. discolor needs it. I grow a load of
Dends,
and most don't get that rest and bloom all year.

You don't say if the Dends ever bloomed (when you bought them, were they
blooming?). If not, it's always possible that they are too young to
flower,
but it doesn't sound like it. Try to get on a regular fertilization
schedule, and most important of all: light, light, light. Good luck!

Diana

In the home gazebo in North Palm Beach [50% south Florida sun -- a LOT more
intense than what you northern types get], I've had them grow themselves out
through the openings and into full sun.

I speak from experience when I talk about sun intensity -- I now live in
northern Palm Beach County, Florida, grew up in Ft. Lauderdale [about 50
miles south], spent several years in Gainesville [about 240 miles north]
for school, and have spent lesser amounts of time in Milwaukee, the Florida
keys, and Belize. In Milwaukee, I could spend a full day in the summer sun
[no sunscreen] without even darkening a noticeable shade of tan, never mind
burning. In Gainesville, that would result in a light, warm pink which
would turn into a tan in a day or 2. Around here, I'd have a very
uncomfortable sunburn that would probably peel, more so in Ft. Lauderdale.
In the keys, I'd be thoroughly "lobstered," and if I tried that in Belize,
it would probably leave permanent scars, assuming I survived [I wore tons of
max-strength sunscreen and stayed out of the midday sun down there, and
still came home very dark].

Just something to keep in mind when considering percentages of shade. The
other thing to remember is gradual acclimation when moving plants to
brighter light.
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Diane Mancino" wrote in message
. net...
how much direct sunlight outside? I'm still figuring out what is happy in
what spot on the patio. cymbidium and zygo are happy in the open while a
catt next to them needed to be moved quickly to a shadier spot. only about
4
hrs direct sun, the rest is filtered.

Diane


"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
thlink.net...
Some of your plants do well with less light than Dendrobiums need. Phals
&
Paphs are lovers of lower light. Oncidiums need more, as you found when
the
addition of more light gave you spikes. Dends need considerable light
in
order to bloom, and SOME Dends need a winter "rest", i.e. no water or
fertilizer from late November until new growth starts in late winter or
so.
Please don't ask which Dends need the rest, but I can tell you this
much:
Nobile types need it, and Den. discolor needs it. I grow a load of
Dends,
and most don't get that rest and bloom all year.

You don't say if the Dends ever bloomed (when you bought them, were they
blooming?). If not, it's always possible that they are too young to
flower,
but it doesn't sound like it. Try to get on a regular fertilization
schedule, and most important of all: light, light, light. Good luck!

Diana

In article nk.net,
"Gene Schurg" wrote:

TS,

Simply....More light.

Most of the hybrid Dendrobiums are higher light plants. Frankly I'm
surprized you are able to flower Oncidiums under florescents.

You biggest problem will be the distance from the light to the plant. With
Phals you can put the plant 6 inches from the bulbs and they leaves get all
the light they need. With taller plants like Dendrobium your lights tend to
be further away from all but the topmost leaves. While the leaf on top
remains happy the other 20 or so leaves are not getting enough light to make
a flower.

You could try the smaller denrobiums species and keep them close to the
light. You could switch to Metal Halide lights which make a world of
difference. Or the best thing, move the dendrobiums outdoors in the summer
and grow them in the sunniest window during the winter.

Some of the large hybrids seem to be more forgiving of lower light than
others but its a big guess as to which ones will tolerate the lower light.
I was able to flower Bankok Flare by keeping it outdoors all summer and
under Metal Halide in the winter months. Others just grew leaves.

Good Growing,
Gene




"TS" wrote in message
...
Hi all...I grow Phals, and some Oncidiums, a couple of Lady Slippers.
Anyway, after they bloom I move them from their window (where they all
do GREAT) to my basement where I have banks of floresents and 2 of those
Lights Of America lights. The Phals all spike again with no problem, and
I recently got the Oncidiums to spike (ater I added the 2 new lights).
The Dendrobiums do well with new growth- but no spikes. I water ever
other week, soemtimes with a weak fert. Do I need to do something
different for the Dendrobiums to flower??

--
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile...



Thanks for all the advice! Funny thing was, I went down to the grow room
this morning before work, and there was one of my Dens- with a nice
spike of about 4 inches! I couldnt believe it, since I just looked at
them a few days ago.
All my plants had flowers last year, and all the Phals spiked, then one
Oncididium when I added the 2 extra lights.
I know I would be better off with a MH light, but since I had all the
flors, I decided to try the Lights Of America compact Flor. First I
added one, then another since they went on sale at Home Depot. I really
think these 2 light made a HUGE difference. So, what I have now in the
basement, is 4 double 4-foot florescent fixtures with a mixture of
cool/warm bulbs above the plants. In front of the plant table are the 2
60 watt Lights Of America lights- pointing at the table. I guess the
higher-light type plants should go directly in front of the 2 compact
flors, and the rest behind on the table.
Another thing I was thinking, I have 2 Catts that are outside on my
deck. The deck gets real hot and direct sun from around 11:00 till 6:00.
These plants can take the hot sun (I am in Southern New England). Do you
think my Denrobiums and Oncidiums would be OK on the deck until they
spike?
Oh, yea- when my plants are in bloom I have them in my living room. They
are in a bow window that has western exposure. They do GREAT there- the
sun-loving ones nearer the glass, the others more toward the room. I
also have a dried flower arrangement in the very front of the window
that diffuses the direct sunlight. They get direct light from about 2PM
on...

Again, thanks for all the suggestions...sorry to ramble, but I am
excited to get the Dens and Onc's blooming again!

--
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile...

Another thing I was thinking, I have 2 Catts that are outside on my
deck. The deck gets real hot and direct sun from around 11:00 till 6:00.
These plants can take the hot sun (I am in Southern New England). Do you
think my Denrobiums and Oncidiums would be OK on the deck until they
spike?
Oh, yea- when my plants are in bloom I have them in my living room. They
are in a bow window that has western exposure. They do GREAT there- the
sun-loving ones nearer the glass, the others more toward the room. I
also have a dried flower arrangement in the very front of the window
that diffuses the direct sunlight. They get direct light from about 2PM
on...




Sorry I meant to say I had Cymbidiums on the deck!!
TS

I was going to say TS, not Catts! get them out of that New England sun- I
just made that mistake and now have 2 black spots on a Catt Cymbidiums,
zygos and dends are doing fine with a few hours sun

"TShnnn" wrote in message
...

Another thing I was thinking, I have 2 Catts that are outside on my
deck. The deck gets real hot and direct sun from around 11:00 till 6:00.
These plants can take the hot sun (I am in Southern New England). Do you
think my Denrobiums and Oncidiums would be OK on the deck until they
spike?
Oh, yea- when my plants are in bloom I have them in my living room. They
are in a bow window that has western exposure. They do GREAT there- the
sun-loving ones nearer the glass, the others more toward the room. I
also have a dried flower arrangement in the very front of the window
that diffuses the direct sunlight. They get direct light from about 2PM
on...




Sorry I meant to say I had Cymbidiums on the deck!!
TS

In article ,
"Diane Mancino" wrote:

I was going to say TS, not Catts! get them out of that New England sun- I
just made that mistake and now have 2 black spots on a Catt Cymbidiums,
zygos and dends are doing fine with a few hours sun

"TShnnn" wrote in message
...

Another thing I was thinking, I have 2 Catts that are outside on my
deck. The deck gets real hot and direct sun from around 11:00 till 6:00.
These plants can take the hot sun (I am in Southern New England). Do you
think my Denrobiums and Oncidiums would be OK on the deck until they
spike?
Oh, yea- when my plants are in bloom I have them in my living room. They
are in a bow window that has western exposure. They do GREAT there- the
sun-loving ones nearer the glass, the others more toward the room. I
also have a dried flower arrangement in the very front of the window
that diffuses the direct sunlight. They get direct light from about 2PM
on...




Sorry I meant to say I had Cymbidiums on the deck!!
TS



Yea, I know, The Cymbidiums are built like tanks, though. I have a
commercial grower here that I buy from, and he told me to leave them out
until it gets cold. Still wondering if I should move the Dens and the
Oncidiums out there...

--
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile...

The Dend seemed ok first day out ( use your cheap one to experiment with)
oncidiums are temperamental to me and I'm leaving them under the eave of the
house where they see the sun rise and that is it.

I'm more scared of the killer squirrels and what ever ran off with my bird
feeders and suet cage!

Diane
"TS" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Diane Mancino" wrote:

I was going to say TS, not Catts! get them out of that New England sun-
I
just made that mistake and now have 2 black spots on a Catt Cymbidiums,
zygos and dends are doing fine with a few hours sun

"TShnnn" wrote in message
...

Another thing I was thinking, I have 2 Catts that are outside on my
deck. The deck gets real hot and direct sun from around 11:00 till
6:00.
These plants can take the hot sun (I am in Southern New England). Do
you
think my Denrobiums and Oncidiums would be OK on the deck until they
spike?
Oh, yea- when my plants are in bloom I have them in my living room.
They
are in a bow window that has western exposure. They do GREAT there-
the
sun-loving ones nearer the glass, the others more toward the room. I
also have a dried flower arrangement in the very front of the window
that diffuses the direct sunlight. They get direct light from about
2PM
on...




Sorry I meant to say I had Cymbidiums on the deck!!
TS



Yea, I know, The Cymbidiums are built like tanks, though. I have a
commercial grower here that I buy from, and he told me to leave them out
until it gets cold. Still wondering if I should move the Dens and the
Oncidiums out there...

--
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile...

Hehe, yea those pesky squirels will do it every time! Same thing happens
to me =)



In article ,
"Diane Mancino" wrote:

The Dend seemed ok first day out ( use your cheap one to experiment with)
oncidiums are temperamental to me and I'm leaving them under the eave of the
house where they see the sun rise and that is it.

I'm more scared of the killer squirrels and what ever ran off with my bird
feeders and suet cage!

Diane
"TS" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Diane Mancino" wrote:

I was going to say TS, not Catts! get them out of that New England sun-
I
just made that mistake and now have 2 black spots on a Catt Cymbidiums,
zygos and dends are doing fine with a few hours sun

"TShnnn" wrote in message
...

Another thing I was thinking, I have 2 Catts that are outside on my
deck. The deck gets real hot and direct sun from around 11:00 till
6:00.
These plants can take the hot sun (I am in Southern New England). Do
you
think my Denrobiums and Oncidiums would be OK on the deck until they
spike?
Oh, yea- when my plants are in bloom I have them in my living room.
They
are in a bow window that has western exposure. They do GREAT there-
the
sun-loving ones nearer the glass, the others more toward the room. I
also have a dried flower arrangement in the very front of the window
that diffuses the direct sunlight. They get direct light from about
2PM
on...




Sorry I meant to say I had Cymbidiums on the deck!!
TS



Yea, I know, The Cymbidiums are built like tanks, though. I have a
commercial grower here that I buy from, and he told me to leave them out
until it gets cold. Still wondering if I should move the Dens and the
Oncidiums out there...

--
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile...



--
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile...

"Diane Mancino" wrote in message
. ..
I was going to say TS, not Catts! get them out of that New England sun- I
just made that mistake and now have 2 black spots on a Catt Cymbidiums,
zygos and dends are doing fine with a few hours sun

Is the New England sun all that much more intense than what we have in
southern Ontario? I thought we were about the same latitude. I ask
because, of the catts I have, the ones that are doing the best are located
(on the advice of local vendors) in south facing windows and east facing
windows. I thought catts and dends had similar light requirements.

Might it be that the damage you saw on your catts placed outside was due to
some pest, perhaps an insect or fungus? I would have thought that typical
sunburn damage on a catt would have been yellowing leaves, perhaps with a
red tinge.

I see, from another of your posts, that you have had trouble with tree rats.
I recently suffered considerable loss because some damned tree rats ate all
of my cypripediums, not to mention most of my dutch irises, hyacinths and
crocuses, half of my aliums, and a number of lilies and tuberous irises.
And here I liked squirrels until this year. They even trashed an amaryllis
I put out for the summer: the bulb is still there, but the leaves have been
shredded and there's no sign of new growth. I'm looking into traps to deal
with the little buggers. It's either that or give up on the idea of having
a nice flower garden.

Cheers,

Ted

Ted,

Hav-a-hart traps work great. One summer I caught over 100 tree rats. If
you feed the birds you will have more of them than you can control. I
stopped feeding the birds (I was disappointed) and now I have many fewer
squirrels.

This year I have caught a groundhog, a raccoon, and raised the fence to 7
feet so the deer will stop coming over.

A couple of squirrels, heh, no problem!

Good growing,
Gene

In article , TS
writes:

Do I need to do something
different for the Dendrobiums to flower??

hi TS,

I have had dendrobiums for 5 years and finaly this past year one of my 3 plants
favoroured me with beautiful purple blooms, and this year another bloomed and
i've got one plant with 2 flower spikes coming out of it.. I"M ecstatic to say
the least.

What I did, was fertlize a bit more these plants and move them so as they
received flitered light but a higher amount of light while still being somewhat
shaded so their leaves didn't burn.

I'm hoping they just continue blooming.. I take pictures with my digital time
stamp so I can keep track of how often they bloom. If all goes well I should be
receiving a new set of blooms from the one which bloomed last year here very
shortly.

lynn