Dendrobium nobile - flower spikes or keikis?

[Pippa]

Hi everyone,

I have had this Den nobile for about 18 months - it arrived in flower, but hasn't rebloomed since. I've just noticed these little bumps - are they going to grow into flower spikes or keikis or is it too early to tell?

(I know if I wait long enough I'll find out, but I've tried SO hard to give it the right conditions to rebloom, so I'm impatient to know!)

Edit: Sorry the photo is upside down - it was the right way when I tried to upload, so not sure what I've done wrong!

[Clawhammer]

Flower spikes

[Pippa]

Woooohooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much! (Not that I'm getting overexcited about this or anything...)

[Orchidtinkerer]

Good luck Pippa, mine are coming along too.
I have 3 nobiles that are also 18 months and expecting my first rebloom in Spring.
I've only got a few nubbins and have decided nobiles might be easy to take care of but not the most interesting orchid and takes up so much space!
I can fit 30 neofinetis falcata in the space that 3 Dendrobium Nobiles take up, probably more since Nobiles are so tall too so I am most likely going to ditch my Nobiles or at least they will be getting a back spot where they might not flower next year.
I will let their flowering display either impress or underwhelm me and decide from there. Based on the amount of nubbins I think it will be the latter. Not enough light for an impressive display for my Nobiles I think. I don't have a south facing window either which is probably why.

[Pippa]

I only have two of the standard size nobiles so they don't take up too much space - I'm just excited that I managed to rebloom one because it's quite hard for me to get the light and temperatures right for them.

[Clawhammer]

Nobiles can put on a dramatic show and I love the look of the canes. I was advised to put my plant outside and let it get a couple weeks of low 50's temps overnight to really max out the bloom and it worked. I have 3 buds coming out of each node, I would be surprised if there were less than 125 flower buds on my 8 canes.

[jcec1]

Originally Posted by Pippa

I only have two of the standard size nobiles so they don't take up too much space - I'm just excited that I managed to rebloom one because it's quite hard for me to get the light and temperatures right for them.

I'd love to know how you did it. I got one in bloom earlier this year, it has three new canes.

I don't know when to give it, the cold dry treatment, I may have missed the opportunity if yours is starting to bud. But share your watering regime etc.

Thanks.

[estación seca]

jcec just put it outside in the winter, day and night, when it's above freezing. It doesn't need cool plus dry. Cool alone is fine. They're sold in flower with leaves on all the canes, indicating they're not dried out.

Yamamoto's former Web site said the commonest cause of failure to bloom is fertilizing too late in the year. They said stop all fertilizer around or just after midsummer to early autumn.

[Pippa]

@jcec1, I didn't put mine outside this time because I did that with my previous den and it got destroyed by slugs - munched so badly that I lost it.

This year, I've taken advice from a UK orchid nursery, and it seems to have worked! I've given mine as much light as possible indoors (it's taken a bit of juggling with position as I didn't want it to get sunburned) and fed weekly - I used Orchid Focus Grow from March-May and then the Bloom Formula from late May, tailing off toward early September. For the past 6 weeks or so, it's just had an occasional mist when the canes have started to shrink.

It's in an unheated, south/west facing room, so it is quite warm during the day but the temperature does drop right down at night.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Pippa

I did that with my previous den and it got destroyed by slugs - munched so badly that I lost it.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but if you have snail/slug issues, if you can find it, I use a product called Deadline liquid. A drop or two on the bark or other medium is all it takes. It attracts the pest with sex pheromones and they die quick. Also, the liquid won't attract any pets you may have. Just a thought.