Dendrobium species
 

I am not sure which dendrobiums I should not water during the winter rest period. I have "Kingianum" , "Lodigesii" , "Speciosium" and "Yellow Magic".

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks, Barry C

I didn't take the effort to look then up, but deciduous ones, as a rule, usually require a winter rest in order to go dormant and drop leaves. That's not 100%, but pretty close.

:clap: :clap: Good info Ross :biggrin:

Water for Den kingianum should be greatly reduced...just enough to keep the bulbs from shriveling.

Dendrobium loddigesii doesn't really get a full rest...the cooler the temps, the less water they should get.

Dendrobium speciosum should be allowed to get pretty dry between waterings but shouldn't stay dry for prolonged periods.

The Yellow Magic would get more of a tadional rest period...greatly reduce water during the cooler months. For me, that means barely any water from the first week of November until early March...just an occasional misting until new growth is visible.

Of course, with all of them, anytime water is reduced, so should the fertilizer.

Suzanne,

Thank you for your most helpful and prompt reply. I'll let you know the outcome when they flower.

Barry C

I am scared of "rest periods". . .I've got a few Dends that probably will need a little lullaby time here very shortly but how will we know if it's going poorly?

How do you know you're not killing them with neglect?

Getting adjusted to not caring for the 'chids ws one of the hardest things I've ever done! LOL :D but you get used to it ;)
When mine are "resting", they're in their own two separate areas so I'm not so tempted. Some of mine need a much cooler period and others still want it warm!
To stop the withdrawal feelings I still get, these areas get a V-E-R-Y light misting (wand held high above plants and moved very quickly) about once every three weeks during the time frame of early Nov to early Mar.
They barely get wet and yet I somehow feel better :coverlaugh:

Barry,
Susanne has the right idea. I am only familiar with the Australian Dendrobiums, the Kingiannum and the Speciosum. Rather than get too paranoid about rest periods simply make sure that you keep your orchid dry enough during the winter so that the roots are not in danger of rotting because they remain wet.

Dennis Kennedy

I think my senile is starting to lose its leaves, the leaves are yellowing for no apparent reason, hopefully I'll get to see flowers :)