Hi Alex in redland, who either didn't read the whole article or failed to understand what I said regarding fertilizer. The first bit of the article, "How to Grow Hardcane Dendrobiums The Easy Way" is a bit tongue in cheek and intended to show that Hardcanes can be grown with almost total neglect. I have seen it done this way and they do grow and flower. Not well but the still manage to survive.
Point 3. "There is no need to fertilize. They will grow quite well without fertilizer. (They do in the wild)" could probably be reworded as " They grow quite well with almost no fertilizer"
If you they read further down under the heading "How To Grow Hardcane Dendrobiums So they Flower Better"
you will see that fertilizer is mentioned again.
"If you fertilize in the growing season, (the end of winter, spring and into summer) they will grow GOOD. A fertilizer high in nitrogen makes for strong healthy canes. After they mature, (around mid summer to mid autumn) change to a low nitrogen, high potassium fertilizer. This is not really difficult - just read the back of the packet where the ingredients are. There are plenty of fertilizers around, so pick and choose.
Fertilize once a week or once a fortnight, very weakly from the time new growth starts until flowering. After flowering there is often a dormant period until the new spring growth appears. No need to waste fertilizer when there is no growth."
And to Marka who asks me to name some of the species... The Phalaenanthe shape (that's the ones shaped something like a Phalaenopsis) are bred from Den. bigibbum, Den phalaenopsis and orchids of that kind. (The names seem to vary and change depending on who the taxonomist is) These have been crossed with Dens from some of the other Dendrobium sections which have more open flowers.
Most of the hybrids with the Phalaenanthe shape tend to flower once a year and require more warmth. The Intermediate Dens (which have a more open flower) can flower many times a year if they are grown well and are happy. The easiest to grow are the Intermediate hybrids as they are very forgiving. For a looong list of the species, see "Dendrobium and its Relatives" by Lavarack, Harris, & Stocker
Good growing
Tony
|