How to bring a dendrobium out of winter rest

[mkallen81]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to orchids and have only 5. Two of which I just bought 3 weeks ago. I need help with my Dendrobium Nobile Comet King Atkatsuki.

I have had it 3 years and it has never reflowered for me. Until now, i hope. We just moved to mediteranean france. So the plant got intense morning light, shade in the P.M. and a nice cold winter rest. I quit watering all together since November. Now I see some buds coming on it. (had to kill off keiki's all summer long). so there are not many but there are like 3.

My questions are:

When do I start watering and how much?
Should I bring it inside?
When should I start fertilizing?

Thanks Bunches!!
melannie

[DirtyCoconuts]

I am confused. Why were you killing keikis?

I start to water my Nobiles when I see either new roots or the bud swells. Actually I water them all year but I reduce it a lot during the rest.

All of my nobiles are already in full bloom with one or two doing weird things with open flowers on one cane and tiny nubs on the next

[OrchidBro]

Originally Posted by mkallen81

I quit watering all together since November. Now I see some buds coming on it. (had to kill off keiki's all summer long). so there are not many but there are like 3.

Why are you killing keiki's?

Originally Posted by mkallen81

When do I start watering and how much?

I try and wait to start watering until after all of my flowers are open. However, if the canes appear too shriveled then I start to water more frequently again.

How much depends on how you are growing it. Is it potted, mounted, etc.? What is the media that you use?

I have mine potted in a hanging basket outside year round. It is potted in a mix of bark, charcoal, moss, and LECA (basically all my leftovers mixed together). I water my orchids with a pump sprayer and during the growing season I can easily water my nobile every day.

Originally Posted by mkallen81

Should I bring it inside?

What would the reason for bringing it inside be? If it has been growing outside this whole time and is now rewarding you with blooms for the first time in 3 years I would say leave it be.

Originally Posted by mkallen81

When should I start fertilizing?

When you start to water it again.

[mkallen81]

because the plant would make 6 or 7 at a time but do a crappy job on new growths and roots. so i took them off to try to force it to grow roots and decent sized new canes.

---------- Post added at 03:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------

it is growing in seramis and leca as i thought this would help it hold more water but still be airy. It is in a plastic pot with airholes that I put in myself. only the old canes are shriveled, the new growths are not. However in the three years i've had it, it has not grown a new cane anywhere close to the size of its original canes and root growth is not good. they are always small, nowhere near the original

[Ray]

Originally Posted by mkallen81

because the plant would make 6 or 7 at a time but do a crappy job on new growths and roots. so i took them off to try to force it to grow roots and decent sized new canes.

You're referring to keikies growing on the canes, not new growths connected by the rhizome, right?

If so, that suggests something is really awry with your culture. Too much nitrogen, perhaps?

[DirtyCoconuts]

i would only add from my experience with a few Nobiles, maybe 6 in total, some of them like to make keikis. My new century happiness has made two keikis for every one new rhizome growth over the last three years, while my oriental butterfly has never made a keiki and has like five rhizome growths right now.

while it might be indicative of the issue with culture, removing a keiki really stresses the mama plant out as it is losing a lot of cellular material and stored nutes

[rbarata]

I start to slightly increase watering frequency when I see buds developing. Full watering with fertilizer only when I see new growths.

To avoid keiki growths instead of blooms, stop fertilizing by the end of August to reduce nitrogen, as Ray sugested.

[mkallen81]

Originally Posted by Ray

You're referring to keikies growing on the canes, not new growths connected by the rhizome, right?

If so, that suggests something is really awry with your culture. Too much nitrogen, perhaps?

yes i am referring to keikis that grow at the tops of the canes where buds should be.

---------- Post added at 02:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 PM ----------

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

i would only add from my experience with a few Nobiles, maybe 6 in total, some of them like to make keikis. My new century happiness has made two keikis for every one new rhizome growth over the last three years, while my oriental butterfly has never made a keiki and has like five rhizome growths right now.

while it might be indicative of the issue with culture, removing a keiki really stresses the mama plant out as it is losing a lot of cellular material and stored nutes

that's an interesting perspective that I haven't heard before. Other growers I follow on youtube say they remove them if they feel a plant is weak or not doing what it needs to root wise in order to keep the plant from wasting resources and energy on a keiki. What are your thoughts on that?

---------- Post added at 02:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:10 PM ----------

Originally Posted by rbarata

I start to slightly increase watering frequency when I see buds developing. Full watering with fertilizer only when I see new growths.

To avoid keiki growths instead of blooms, stop fertilizing by the end of August to reduce nitrogen, as Ray sugested.

Hi, i didn't fertilize this plant at all last summer due to moving and all the craziness that went with it. The plant still made TONS of keiki's. I have heard online that this might be a genetic side affect of the hybridization. Have you all heard that before?

---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:12 PM ----------

in any case i think it is going to blast its buds, so not sure i am going to see it bloom ONCE AGAIN! gah!

and its my fault. Last night we had a HUGE wind storm thanks to the storm Ciara that is hitting europe right now and i forgot that i had moved my dendrobium into a more sunny location, which was also less protected from the wind, to dry after watering her. Well, she got blown over and out of her pot! found her this morning roots naked. So now i have to repot her and i am sure the stress will cause her to blast her buds! i am so mad at myself! sigh, better luck next year LOLS

[DirtyCoconuts]

okay i think we might be talking about two different things...
first a small caveat, i don't really cut anything off my plants unless i HAVE to because it is threatening the plant.

I think the advice you are referring to is when the keikis are just starting to form, in that case and with flower spikes, you might hear about growers cutting those to allow the plant to focus the energy on growing roots or a new lead.

I am referring to an established keiki.

[mkallen81]

Yes you are right, we are speaking of two different things. I never let the keikis establish; not even a single leaf. Once i see a root start to shoot out the side of a cane i take it off immediately. For me it is hard to see how this is threatening to a plant. My grandmother was an amazing grower of everything and sometimes this is how she saved weak plants, through pruning in order to force energy to the roots etc. Of course orchids are different. So who knows.

All i can say is that for the first time, i got buds from doing that and also keeping it outdoors in the winter here where it is more temperate and won't kill my plant. Hopefully next year it will make more than 3 buds!

Here's to next year! LOLs

Melannie