Cutting Dendrobium Anosmum canes - Orchid Board

Florida_guy_26 · #1 03-25-2010, 04:41 PM

Ok- Two questions on my mind for the advanced people I would like to ask have been bothering me for some time. First of all, doesn anyone have an anosmum that has rebloomed on the old canes? I mean canes that are not currently blooming, but the canes that have bloomed in the past, have they ever rebloomed a second time for anyone? I also would rather start new keikis and try having more canes to trade or swap or just to have and grow on. I think the easiest way to do this is to cut the old canes which are blooming now, as they will not reflower again and are only good to me for starting new growths. The canes are getting way too long and it is cumbersome to move the plant around, especially when it is flowering and/or starting new growths. I am thinking about chopping the canes down to about 2-2.5 feet from the 48" they got to this last year after the leaves all fall off and new growths are underway. Let me know what you think

sadiejoy08 · #2 03-25-2010, 06:37 PM

How many canes do you have in one pot?

isurus79 · #3 03-25-2010, 07:18 PM

Remember that old canes are food reserves for the plant. While it may not seem like it, a high number of old, flowerless canes will certainly have a positive effect on your blooming. The more food that the plant has at its disposal, the better the flower show. Try cutting off one old, old cane. Each node will produce a keiki, so you could even just cut a small portion of a cane off and get a few keiki while leaving the canes relatively intact.

Florida_guy_26 · #4 03-26-2010, 04:20 PM

I do not want to butcher the plant but i just hate that the canes are so long and barely fit into a 4 foot long aquarium unless i bend and wrap and wind them around or through other plants. I just want to make sure that they never get that long again. Next time, I am spraying the roots with alcohol to make sure they do not get overly long again. I read that alcohol dries the roots and stops them from growing which in turn ensures the plant does not get overly large. I do not want to cut the food stores, but these canes do not have very thick stems. I do not think that cutting off a foot or 18" would be that tough for them as they do not flower abundantly no matter what I do. I might just cut segments of 3" and gradually let them get used to less and less area to store nutrients. I just have these thin canes that are bending on their own weight and I do not want them to break further down near the base. The plants are bending right around the middle section and are still ok, but they are just too long for me to really keep in good shape. I will make sure they do not get this long again.

isurus79 · #5 03-26-2010, 04:54 PM

I would just cut any roots that are too long or try to tuck them back into the media so they don't dangle. As for the long canes, you can also stake them so they grow upwards and not bending downwards. Lastly, there is a hybrid called Dendrobium Nestor that is a cross between anosmum and parishii. The canes max out at about a foot and a half and are almost identical to the anosmum. The parishii parent is also and almost identical copy of the anosmum that is more 'space friendly' too. Maybe you can trade your anosmum for the parishii or Nestor with a friend or at a meeting? That way you never have to battle with your huge plant in an aquarium! I know those anosmums can get HUGE and I have heard of people having plants with 8' canes!!

sadiejoy08 · #6 03-26-2010, 05:28 PM

I sell for IncredibleOrchids on Ebay and we just got some nice Dendrobium parishii in that are in spike. Let me know if you are interested!

~Sadie

Florida_guy_26 · #7 03-26-2010, 06:09 PM

I actually have anosmum and pierardii and Parishii. The worst problem is anosmum as my canes are almost 4 feet long and literally bending even when i have them draped over shelves I made in the aquarium. I have 3 older canes 1 is 9-10" 2 that it grew that are 19-23" and 2 new canes that are 46 and 48" that are in flower. The smallest cane still alive in the pot has a new growth on it and one of the canes it produced has a growth coming from it. I expect the 2 canes coming up now will get to about 20-25" which is fine- maybe even 30" but that is about the line for me. I will not have any more canes getting past 30" and to ensure that, I would rather spray alcohol on the roots - it will not damage them as pruning will and allow infections into the plant, but just stop them from growing so the plant does not continue to grow. I think I will have roughly 4 new canes this year so 5 older canes and 4 new ones- could possibly be 9 all together. I will have to see as the flowers fade- I am going to take some more pictures and then cut the rest except the 2 i pollinated.