Newbie here! would appreciate ANY advice~

[ohanahana]

probably a dumb question--i purchased a dendrobium anosmum in a 3.5" pot and it was nice. i thought then that one would be REALLY nice in a 6" pot. the roots are all over the place, but there were fewer canes compared to the smaller plants. my question is--what the heck? how should i order when i'm looking for the promise of lots of blooms??

[RosieC]

Hi ohanahana and welcome to Orchid Board

I think I would expect to get a bigger plant in a bigger pot as well and would be a bit fed up to find it was smaller.

Orchids are generally potted for the size of the root mass rather than the size of the leaves. It may mean that the one in the smaller pot does not have very good roots in comparison to the other, or it may mean that either one of them is over potted or that the other is under potted, or perhaps both.

It may help if you post some picks of them both. See this link if you need help posting them.

Tips for posting photos on Orchidboard

[ohanahana]

thank you SO MUCH

[ohanahana]

why would c. dowiana not do well in south louisiana?

i bought 3 plants (3.5") and lost two of them. the remaining one i managed to save from some black fungus amongus and it's looking real good now. but i'm told this species may do well for a couple of years and then not.

i'm sure i overwatered the two i lost in the first place and then cut back the roots to just about nothing, then overwatered again! thank you

[ohanahana]

how can i know which white cattleyas will do well in the gulf south??

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by ohanahana

why would c. dowiana not do well in south louisiana?

i bought 3 plants (3.5") and lost two of them. the remaining one i managed to save from some black fungus amongus and it's looking real good now. but i'm told this species may do well for a couple of years and then not.

i'm sure i overwatered the two i lost in the first place and then cut back the roots to just about nothing, then overwatered again! thank you

I think it's a cultural practice issue. From I've read, you should be fine growing C. dowiana if you're in Louisiana. They come from Panama and the Caribbean islands. And they appear to have a high range of temperature tolerance as they're from elevations of 250 m to 2500 m.

You should be able to grow them potted in bark with pretty minimal watering (once or twice a week maybe three times a week at the very most during warm weather). Or even better, you can grow them on your trees.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by ohanahana

how can i know which white cattleyas will do well in the gulf south??

You can use Jay Pfahl's Internet Encyclopedia as a resource. I wouldn't be completely hung up on the descriptions or cultural advice he has. Just use it to find things like elevation and specific habitat information.

Then you can cross reference it with other information on the web.

Such as from Charles and Margarette Baker's Orchid Culture Sheets.

Of course, there's also good old google image to find pics of the orchid in the wild.

Books are good resources too.

[ohanahana]

i surely do appreciate your help. thank you for encouraging me and i will look up the references you mentioned...as far as growing them on trees--directly on trees? i would be concerned re winter temps--

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Why does it snow where you are?

[ohanahana]

no! you mean i can mount them directly onto trees (crape myrtles, japanese blueberries) and they'll take a possible 35 degree temp. maybe for a day or two??