Dendrobium losing leaves

[Shiffdaddy]

So i have a few dendrobiums that i had bought from recent orchid shows and they were doing very good. They are the kind that send a flower stalk from the top and are sold at home depot and such too.

I put them out in the rain one day a week ago and then let them sit in the sun for two days and when i brought them in the leaves had obvious sunburn on them so i got kinda worried. Then the worst thing happened. Alllll of the leaves from my 3 dendrobiums fell off leaving just bare stalks.

Do these types of dendrobiums lose their leaves in the winter and the damage just helped to shed them? Or did i just kill my only three dendrobiums lol?

They are this type of dendrobium:

http://www.fairylandscape.net/wp-con...ium-Orchid.jpg

Thanks
Ben

[keithrs]

The leaves on this Den don't normally fall off for several years and not normally all at once but that not to say that you may have a cross that may loose its leaves.

As to why the leave all dropped, its hard to say.

The pic is a phal. type Den. I believe.

[NYCorchidman]

I agree with the above reply.
So something is not right. You can wait for a couple of months to see if they will grow new growth.
I would water occasionally and observe what will happen.
I have many of those dens and they normally keep all of the leaves for years, then lose one at a time, not all at once.

By the way, are you sure they were sunburned? They like strong sun, although you can shock them and even burn if you had them indoor and then moved them to sun suddenly.

how do the canes look? wrinkly or fleshy?

[Bud]

if it was out on a cold rain for a whole day, then you let them out in direct sunlight for a couple of days(was it chilly days?)...it might have gotten black roots bacteria from the cold rain and is just dying...check for black mushy roots and dark mushy leaves...check if the canes are soft and mushy...if it is then just thrash it and make sure it doesnt contaminate the other plants...

[Junebug]

Sunburn can cause leaf drop and I learned about it the hard way. Generally a sunburnt dendrobium will recover but it may take some time. The leaves that dropped will not be replaced with new ones. The bare canes should not be removed because they serve as energy reserves for new growth. Try keeping your plants comfortable over the next few months with no sudden changes. Try not to overcompensate for the damage already done, by fertilizing and overwatering, and do shield them from direct sunlight. It's unlikely that you'll see any changes for the next few months, but new growths at the base of your plant will probably start popping out as the weather warms. Stressed-out dendrobiums also have the habit of producing a keiki (a baby plant) from a node of a leafless cane. Good luck with your babies.

[Shiffdaddy]

Alright, thanks for all the replies. I'll just keep caring for them as I always have. No to the Rot. The roots look fine, the canes are firm and green (if scratched). It looks very much still alive but without leaves lol. Ya I had them inside and for sure got sunburned. They went through the whole color change and charring

[Junebug]

The prognosis should be good with the healthy roots and green canes. If the temperatures are right you could see new growth very soon.

[NYCorchidman]

Roots are fine and the canes are green and alive.
Then, whatever happened, just keep it alive and it may start growing new pbs. most likely in the spring when the weather warms up.
Good luck!

[Shiffdaddy]

Ok, Thanks you guys. So basically those bare canes will now just be there as support for the new canes that will be coming up with leaves but those old ones will never bloom or produce more leaves?

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by Shiffdaddy

Ok, Thanks you guys. So basically those bare canes will now just be there as support for the new canes that will be coming up with leaves but those old ones will never bloom or produce more leaves?

No problem! You are correct in that the old canes on your den will no longer produce leaves. Since your den has fine roots and green canes, it will most likely produce baby plantlets on the cane(s) or start a new plant from the bottom of the cane as one member mentioned above.

Regarding the possibility of bloom on old canes, well, they say never say never.
These dendrobiums usually send out spike off new and old canes. I have some that send multiple spikes per cane although most send up one or two per cane at a time.

Yours lost all the leaves due to stress, so I'm not sure if the old canes on your den will produce flowers or not. Let's hope it will in the future when it recovers.