Hi - My orchids need a bit of help - they're not flowering!!!!

[Nelly4]

Hi all

I first discovered orchids a few years ago when I purchased two from an Orchid show here in my local town in Victoria, Australia. They were dendrobiums and since then, they haven't flowered. I think I've done everything wrong but they are still here.

I since received another dendrobium from my father in law (its flowering now) and I am determined to keep it and try to help my other ones get better - that's why I'm here for help.

The weather in Australia is coming into summer so I have moved the orchids under my decking out of direct sunlight and heat. I am feeding them a fertiliser for growth as I assume that's what they need. Over winter, they suffered a bit in the frost and I think they were also damaged by the sun. Some of the leaves have black spots and I'm not sure what that is. My really big dendrobium had black patches on many leaves so I have cut those leaves off (is that the right thing to do?)

My question is - how do I take care of them over these summer months - how often to water or feed etc?

I have posted some pictures of my orchids so you can see what I have and I'd love to know how to care for them better. Thanks in advance - I don't know what the first tall orchid is but I think its probably dead?
Janelle

[Charmkp]

Hi Janelle,
you seem to have several issues here. I am not an expert, but I have some experience and will attempt to address one or two of your concerns. The plant you refer to as the tall orchid (a dendrobium) is not dead, but it needs some TLC. It seems to me that it lacked watering. I would place it in a semi shaded area and water 2-3 times per week using a high nitrogen fertilizer once per week. This will help to revive the roots and bring back the plant. Not sure about the medium it's in though, river stones would be nice.
Plant # 7 needs re-potting as it is pot bound and also seems under watered. I would divide and repot, then water and fertilize similar to the dendrobium. Once the rooting system is established, increase lighting and change the fetilizer to a high phosphate one, as this will promote blooming.
You mentioned using a fertilizer, what's the constitution? N-P-K that is, and how often do you normally feed them?
I am sure other members will assist you as well and will also address the other issues too.

[RenéeS]

Hey Janelle,
first of all, welcome to the board .
As for the black spots on leaves, I wouldn't cut them off if I were you. Even when they grow in nature leaves can get a little damage and I always feel that if you cut them off you do more damage. Dunno what fellow posters think of that though .
Your 2nd plant looks like a Cymbidium (the leafy one) and if the spikey den still has some green tips on the roots it's still alive. The first poster already recommended how you can get that one back to life .
The other ones look like dendrobium kingianum to me. I keep mine dry, cool and light (it's winter here now tho). They're native to Australia, so I assume they would be able to take the light there, just watch out for burns.
For the rest, I think your plants look pretty healthy! Just because they don't bloom doesn't mean something is wrong with the plant, they just need a little change in their conditions.
In summer you might want to increase watering. With my kingianum I check how heavy the pot is and if the bark still feels damp I don't water it, I water mine when it's more or less dried out.
Hope this helps and I'm sure you'll get more replies!
Good luck & happy growing!

[Nelly4]

Thanks Charmaine
I have 2 fertilisers - one is 30-4-8 (it says its for growth) and the other one is 11-13-16 (for use during flowering) so I'm guessing I use the first one, once a week.

I really thought that the dendrobium in the small pot was crowded but I read that they liked to be crowded - I guess it isn't that happy where it is. So, how do I divide it - just in half and put in larger pots?
The tall dendrobium orchid I just repotted yesterday in some new orchid mix I bought. It does look a little to coarse so maybe I should use a different one for when I divide the other?

Another question - does my cymbidium look like its got a disease at the base?

[Charmkp]

Yes Janelle, use the 30-4-8 fert. at quarter strength once per week until the plants est. nice healthy roots.
As for the Cym. it looks fine to me, probably bruising, doesn't look diseased to me. Nevertheless, lets see what other members thinks.

By the way, to OB, you will like it. It's fun and educational, I'm learning so much.
Happy growing

[Undergrounder]

Hi Janelle if its any consolation i have difficulty flowering my dens as well, in fact this year the kingianums were particularly bad. Although the speciosums were spectacular (?) figure that out.

The native dens flower on last year's new growth, so if last year's new growth wasn't any good, this year's flowers aren't going to be good. I'm not 100% sure this is the case with the kingis but i know its the case with my closely related speciosums.

So try and concentrate on getting big, thick, happy, new canes to grow from now until next autumn and you'll get paid for it in great flowers the year after.

Anyway all i can suggest is give them as much light as they can possibly take without burning (which can be tricky in summer, but underneath a deck sounds a bit of overkill... do you have a tall tree that gives light shade?). Keep the watering up from now well through summer. Give them some of that fert now, then stop next autumn. Drop the watering and fertilising off over next autumn and that should do it.

P.S. the tall spindly one, is that a Den. pierardii? Does it have light pink/purple flowers and does it lose it leaves every winter?

[Nelly4]

Thanks undergrounder - so you think underneath my deck is not the best place for them over summer? By overkill do you mean too hot or too sunny for them? The deck does have the shadecloth that we put down in summer so I was thinking that would help.

I'm really not sure what that big tall spindly one was and since I've had it, it had leaves and then they all came off so I was thinking that I killed it. Maybe its the kind of plant it is?

Another question - when do orchids normally flower? I can see that one of the dendrobiums I have is in flower now and the cymbidium looks like it has a spike so is Spring the time for flowers?

[Vulpes Velox]

living in Denmark, my conditions probably vary quite a lot from yours (cooler and less sun). but for my Dendrobium i make sure that they get plenty of sun during the summer, with some extra waterings (right away when the soil isn't moist anymore). i never fertilize that much. during summer maybe once every other week.
when it gets colder i water them much less and rarely add fertilizer.
this seem to do the trick to make them bloom
plus they grow like crazy, sprouting lots of keiki's.

so like Undergrounder, i suggest a period after summer where you water and fertilize less often.


i wouldnt remove any leaves either, if they need to, most often they will fall off themselves i think.

[Undergrounder]

Oh i thought you meant underneath your deck as in underneath the timber floorboards or something. No, shadecloth would be perfect on those hot days, but they won't really need to go under the shade cloth until its getting 30+.

Nelly where were the leaves on the spindly one? Were they bunched up at the ends of the canes? (in which case Den. gracilicaule) or were they evenly spaced along the length of the canes? (in which case Den. pierardii/parishii).

There's a big difference between the two in terms of culture

[Nelly4]

Hi Undergrounder - thanks for your reply

Just looked up both of those orchids you think it might be and it actually looks like a Den pierardii - the leaves were evenly spaced on the canes. I've had a closer look at it tonight and I can see two tiny new growths on the bottom of one of the stems and I can see a bright green root shooting into the medium so I think its still alive and kicking on!!

The pictures I was looking at on google mostly had this species on its side or upside down because of the long canes. Is thatr what I should do? Previously I had tied them up against the stake with pantyhose??