dendrobium nobile with a new growth?

[BD11]

So I stopped watering my Dendrobium Nobile around October 1st because it lost almost all its leaves so I figured time for its winter rest.

I took a good look at it yesterday and low and behold it has a new growth. I am confused because I would have thought it was going into dormancy. I went ahead and watered it again but I am not sure what it is doing at the moment.

Also it did have some spider mites on it a few months ago which I am pretty sure are all gone now but would that have any affect on its going into dormancy?

Thanks

[Roberta]

Spider mites can certainly cause leaf loss. I would suggest watering lightly during the winter - maybe once a week if humidity is low, every two weeks if higher. I have found these to be "light sleepers" - they don't need (or want) a severe drying, don't go totally dormant. Don't fertilize, though. Once buds start to appear, you can resume more regular watering. But there is no hard and fast rule for the timing. Let the plant tell you what it wants.

[BD11]

Thanks for your reply. Ok I will continue to water throughout the winter but no fertilizer.

When you say buds your talking about on the mature canes correct not the new growth.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by BD11

Thanks for your reply. Ok I will continue to water throughout the winter but no fertilizer.

When you say buds your talking about on the mature canes correct not the new growth.

Water less than you would during the growing season - it doesn't need or want a lot. One factor is night temperature... several people have noted that the night temperature drop is more important than drying out for blooming. If you can manage nights below 60 deg F (these can take a lot colder than that), would be ideal.

It does bloom on the mature canes (with or without leaves) So if you are seeing new growth from the base of the plant, it's not sleeping (maybe dozing) Usually, it does both (new growth and flowers) at the same time in the spring.

[BD11]

ok thanks for the tips. How long do you think it needs the cooler temps? I did put it outside for the entire month of October, first to give it a cool down and second to help get rid of the spider mites. It got pretty cool at night that entire month (I live close to Chicago). However I think it did get a little too wet because two of the older canes turned yellow and soft so I had to cut them. At that point I brought it back inside.

Should I give it another cool down? I can put it in my garage but it gets pretty cold in there. We are already getting below freezing temps at night.

Thanks again for your comments

[Roberta]

Time to bring it in. If there is a cooler spot in the house (like near a window) that would be ideal to get a bit more day-night differential. There isn't an ideal "cold" temperature to shoot for. Freezing is definitely not something that you want to happen to it! At this point, good light, as much night cooling as you can manage in the house, water every couple of weeks (not more unless humidity goes really low) and it should be fine.

(I can get away with the occasional frost because it's never more than a deg. F or two, never for more than a few hours, and the days are warmer. Not in the Midwest where it can suddenly become VERY cold and stay that way!)

[BD11]

Ok I pretty much figured at this point it was too cold to put it outside anymore. I think it got a pretty good cool down when it was outside in October.

I am not expecting too much from this plant in spring especially since it had the mites. Only time will tell but next summer I plan to put it outside this time so hopefully it wont get the mites again. I had it inside all year which probably contributed to the mite issue. The funny thing is I had it next to 2 oncidiums and neither of them were affected.

Also I am not sure what kind they were because I could actually see something moving and the webbing when I looked really close at the plant. From what I read you can't see spider mites with the naked eye. Either way I started spraying it like crazy with miticide, neem oil, and rubbed all the leaves down with alcohol then put it out on my deck to get air and rain on it. While it was outside is when almost all the leaves fell off.

Since I brought it back in I have been spraying it with plain water periodically and have not seen anymore mites. Although at this point it has very few leaves for them to feed on anyway.

thanks again for the info.

[Roberta]

It's amazing to watch these plants "come to life" in the spring. So don't worry about its looking ratty a this point. Those bare canes are where the flower action will be in the spring. For now, all the more reason to be stingy with the water... with few or no leaves, it can't do a lot of photosynthesis. In winter, it doesn't need more than what it can get from the chlorophyll in the green canes.