Unknown Den, possible species orchid

[Aussie42]

Hi folks.

Another unknown, this one seems quite common as I saw some specimens of this being sold in flower at the markets on Sunday. No tag though, and the grower didn't have a name for it.

It grows very tall and rangy. And this one is in need of a re-pot and having the keikis removed.

Any ideas?

Cheers,
Aus.

[nancy]

The flowers look a lot like Den. moschatum. Though I think there are other species with similar flowers.
Cheers - Nancy

[RenéeS]

They look alot like Den. friedericksianum to me I found some different varieties of it online, some without the red markings, but then checked my encyclopedia and the flower in there looks quite the same as yours.

[nancy]

Or even pulchellum...or gibsonii. Ah, all so lovely!

[Aussie42]

Many thanks. Of the two, I'd go with moschatum or pulchellum so far.

The flowers on my plants come on pronounced spikes like the moschatum/pulchellum, but the spikes are smaller and less pendulous than the pics I've seen of the gibsonii. On my plants and the ones I saw at the markets, the spikes are short and horizontal with 8 or less flowers.

Two plants have canes about 4 1/2 to 5 feet long. It's a little hard to control. I was thinking about repeatedly smacking it's new canes with a ruler and shouting "SHORT! STAY SHORT, OR IT'S THROUGH THE ROOF AND SUNBURN FOR YOU!!!" Kind of Pavlovian conditioning but without the reward.

Has a technique like this worked for anyone else?

Cheers,
Aus.

[nancy]

Hi Aus -
I think what pulchellum and moschatum have in common with your flower is the kind of cupped/curled inward edge on the lip.
The way you describe the canes sounds like moschatum, too. I was given a piece, and I was *positive* I was told it was superbum (or one of the pendant types), so put it on a cork mount the size of a biscuit. It is quite a sight 7-8 years later - looks like a tumbleweed, though you can still (kind of) find the cork at the center. Very inelegant to display.
Re: whipping - when her tomatoes were not producing fruit to her satisfaction, my grandma would get a switch and whip them (now, that was quite a sight, too!). My theory: the savage beating excites production of some kind of "survival" hormone.
Sooooo - administering a whipping might be a mistake! You might wake up to a giant honking monster.
Cheers - Nancy

[RenéeS]

Re: whipping - when her tomatoes were not producing fruit to her satisfaction, my grandma would get a switch and whip them (now, that was quite a sight, too!). My theory: the savage beating excites production of some kind of "survival" hormone.
Sooooo - administering a whipping might be a mistake! You might wake up to a giant honking monster.

Wow! That really makes sense, good theory!

Aussie: Looks like you're getting close to ID-ing the plant, great It really is a beauty.

[fotofashion]

Slightly OT but re. the whipping. When we lived in Mexico we had an avocado tree that would not set fruit. One spring my DH took a chain to the trunk and voila, it set fruit. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the fruit was ripe so someone else got to eat it.
Beverly A.

[Aussie42]

I saw a documentary that showed the Chinese lychee farmers dressing up in ceremonial robes and going out to beat all the lychee trees with switches. Apparently beating them at exactly the right time of year helps them set more fruit.

And that would be the survival mechanism setting in with the trees trying harder to reproduce. Right. The last thing I'd want is an even BIGGER plant.

I'll have to try and use psychology on it instead. Maybe a continuous play recording saying "a small plant is a good plant" or something.

And I'd love to see that little cork mount Nancy - if you could see it at all after 2 years or so ;-)

Cheers,
Aus.

[nancy]

Okay, don't laugh!
When I realized this was not a pendulous dendrobium, I turned the mount upside down, thinking that they would then grow straight up.
Now, as you see, some grows up, some down, etc.
When it flowers, all is good.