Dendrobium Question

[Maddie]

Hello All.....

I'm sort of a newbie at this so any help is appreciated.

I received a dendro (that I think I've identified

with blooms as a gift in Feb. (mail order) and the blooms on the original spike are almost gone. A new spike has emerged with a bloom and more buds. Question: Is there a way to clip the first spike to encourage a secondary flowering as is sometimes done with phals?.......or am I just being too greedy?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Madeline

[Dave Gillingham]

Madeline, I would endorse everything that Diana has said - clipping the spike won't work with dendrobes; your plant is apparently very happy if it's sending out a new spike. Since these types of dendrobes bloom in Autumn, and since winter in their native habitat is usually quite dry, I suggest tapering off the watering now, to no more than once weekly in winter, and then only on warm days (they typically hate cold wet roots).

Not being as wise as Diana (hey! I'm an impulsive male!) I'll have a go at the id. From your file name, your orchid is presumably tagged Dendrobium phalaenopsis? "Phalaenopsis" as a dendrobium species name is bit of a can of worms. It has been applied to a group of very similar species at different times. These include one known only from the Tanimbar group of islands SW of Irian Jaya, which the taxonomists now call D. striaenopsis; and the species group from northern Australia and southern New Guinea, now known as the Dendrobium bigibbum complex.

If the flowers >Hello All.....

Dave Gillingham

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[Diana Kulaga]

And as Dave well knows, Diana is never impulsive! (Insert sarcasm emoticon here)

Diana