One of the most beautiful representatives of the Orchid family is rightfully considered the dendrobium nobile. Translated from Latin, the name of the plant means "living on a tree", "noble" (or "excellent", "noble"), which capaciously reflects its epiphytic lifestyle, coupled with incredible beauty.
If you want to become the proud owner of this gorgeous orchid and learn how to care for it, this article is for you. In it, we will tell you in detail how to properly grow dendrobium nobile. Caring for her at home is not as complicated and burdensome as it might seem at first glance. Modern hybrid forms are perfectly adapted for keeping in an ordinary city apartment, unlike their wild counterparts. Therefore, using our recommendations and creating environmental conditions close to optimal, youyou will definitely be able to grow a beautiful, he althy, abundantly flowering plant. We hope you find our tips useful!
Characteristic features of the dendrobium nobile orchid
You can recognize this perennial herbaceous plant by some distinctive features. Its stems are fleshy, straight, can reach 90 cm in height. They necessarily have pseudobulbs - thickened near-earth parts necessary to store a supply of fluid and nutrients. The leaves of the noble orchid have a rich green color and an oblong shape. They are arranged alternately along the stem. In the axils of the leaf plates, flower buds are formed, from which either young shoots or flower stalks subsequently appear. Large orchid flowers reach 9-10 cm in diameter and emit a delicate, pleasant aroma. Their color can vary greatly: on sale there are hybrids with white, white-pink, purple, raspberry and even multi-color petals. Dendrobium nobile orchid blooms for a long time, from January to May, luxuriantly and very beautifully.
The root system of a plant is a combination of main and adventitious "aerial" roots. The former are involved in photosynthesis and allow the plant to firmly attach to the bark of trees, while the latter serve as an additional tool for extracting nutrients. Often adventitious roots reach large sizes and hang down like a lacy cobweb.
The most famoushybrid varieties
The tropical zones of Japan, Australia, China, as well as Indonesia and the Himalayas are considered to be the birthplace of the Dendrobium nobile orchid. It was first brought to Europe from India in 1836, and, having amazed flower growers with its lush and incredibly spectacular flowering, it began to be cultivated in greenhouses. Since then, the Dendrobium nobile orchid has been very popular: it is actively grown and new hybrid varieties are being obtained.
Compact (40 to 50 cm tall), multi-colored hybrids by Japanese breeder Yiro Yamamoto are the most commonly found on sale these days. The flowering of Yamamoto's dendrobiums is chic - long and plentiful, often there are so many flowers that they completely cover the stems of the plant. Flower growers love these hybrids for unpretentiousness and stability. The most popular varieties of Yamamoto Dendrobium are:
- Yellow Song.
- Fancy Angel.
- New Century.
- Himezakura.
- Red Emperor.
Another fairly popular hybrid called Dendrobium Stardust (dendrobium stardust) is directly related to the orchid dendrobium nobile. It stands out for its yellow or orange flowers with dark streaks on the lip.
In fact, it is not so important which hybrid variety of dendrobium nobile you get. Home care for any of its subspecies should be based on several fundamental principles. We will talk about them further.
Correct location and optimal lighting
For a newly acquired plant, first of all, you need to choose a well-lit place. Dendrobium nobile orchids are photophilous, they need 12 hours of daylight, but at the same time they do not tolerate direct sunlight. Their delicate leaves and flowers scorch quickly.
Therefore, when choosing a place, it is advisable to give preference to eastern, southwestern or northeastern window sills, as well as provide shade from direct strong sun. In the autumn and winter periods, the orchid, on the contrary, often suffers from a lack of light, so it must be illuminated with fluorescent or LED lamps. In the summer, frequent ventilation and fresh air are extremely beneficial for white dendrobium nobile. Care at home in warm weather can be carried out on the balcony or loggia. An orchid in the fresh air will become hardened and feel good.
If there is any doubt about whether you have chosen the right place for a plant, carefully inspect its leaves. They act as indicators:
- if the lighting is sufficient - have a rich light green color;
- with a lack of light - darken;
- with excess and direct exposure to the rays of the sun - excessively brighten.
If you find an abnormality, adjust the lighting. At the same time, remember: a flowering plant is not recommended to be turned in different directions or transferred to another place. Major regime changecan cause the Dendrobium nobile to drop buds.
Home care involves not only choosing the right lighting, but also maintaining good humidity and temperature. The principles of "weather in the house" useful for epiphytes will be considered further.
Favorable air humidity
Hybrid forms of the dendrobium nobile orchid are well adapted to ordinary home conditions. They do not need high humidity and feel great with an average of 45-55%.
Nevertheless, experienced flower growers recommend periodically spraying the plant from a spray bottle on hot days (preferably in the morning), and in winter, during the central heating period, place the pot in a tray with wet gravel. These simple measures will prevent the adverse effects of excessively dry air on the plant.
Not knowing what is the humidity in your apartment, make a periodic inspection of the orchid. If you notice that young leaves grow wrinkled and crooked, then the plant is suffering from a lack of water vapor. In this case, it is recommended to increase the humidity in the room by any means available.
Spots on pseudobulbs, affected growth points and mold on peduncles, on the contrary, indicate excessive moisture. Stop spraying immediately and ensure good circulation of fresh air.
Optimal temperature conditions
Natural growing conditions, namely softsubtropical climate, determine the temperature preferences of the dendrobium nobile flower. Care at home for the plant involves the creation of temperatures close to natural. The ideal range for an orchid is within + 20 … + 25 ° С. High temperatures (more than +29 °C) lead to growth retardation and adequate development. In extreme heat, the plant sheds flowers and may die. Low values (less than +7 °С) are also detrimental to the dendrobium nobile orchid.
Home care and growing in the autumn involves the organization of mild daily temperature fluctuations. This is done so that the plant stops growing and actively prepares for future flowering. Fluctuations in daytime temperatures in the range of +16…+20 °С and night temperatures in the range of +7…+12 °С in October and November allow you to get a huge number of buds.
Proper watering is the key to success in growing epiphytes
Timely, sufficient and appropriate for the life stages of the plant - this is exactly how watering a dendrobium nobile flower should be. Home care during the period of active growth (spring and summer) implies frequent and abundant wetting of the plant with warm settled water. In this case, the substrate between watering should have time to dry completely. It is not recommended to focus on specific time intervals between waterings. The drying rate of the soil mixture can vary greatly due to environmental factors - lighting, temperature, air humidity. Sometimes dendrobiumNobile can dry out in 4 days and sometimes stay wet for 10 days.
To avoid waterlogging the substrate, novice growers are advised to place a wooden stick in the pot and water the plant only when it is completely dry. Experienced flower growers determine the degree of drying of the substrate by the weight of the pot. As soon as it becomes half the weight of a freshly moistened orchid, the plant is watered.
Irrigation itself is desirable to carry out by immersion. The pot with the plant is placed in a basin with warm settled water for 30 or more minutes, then it is taken out, the excess water is allowed to drain and sent to its place. This watering regimen must be observed throughout the entire growth period. At the onset of a dormant period, watering is reduced, and then, when vertical young leaves appear, it stops altogether. It is resumed only with the appearance of flower buds.
Orchid bloom and pruning after: is it needed?
Dendrobium nobile orchid blooms in winter and spring, from January to April. Flowers appear after the plant completes its development cycle and exits the dormant stage. The duration of flowering in the orchid dendrobium nobile is 3, maximum 4 weeks. After the flowers fall off, novice flower growers often have a question: "What should be the care for the dendrobium nobile at home after flowering? Is pruning necessary or not?"
In fact, the faded pseudobulb should not be removed, it will still serve the plant, retaining nutrients and additional moisture. It will be possible to trim it only if it becomes dry, and all the leaves fall from it. Then you can take sharp scissors, treat them with a disinfectant solution and carefully remove the dendrobium nobile pseudobulb.
Home care after flowering is simple: it is recommended to temporarily stop watering, leave the plant alone in a cool place and calmly wait for new shoots to appear. When they grow up to 3-4 cm, it will be possible to resume moistening the substrate. Do not worry if your orchid suddenly turns yellow and leaves fall after flowering, this means that it begins to prepare for a new life cycle.
Proper plant transplant. We select a pot and soil
After the end of the flowering period, the plant is transplanted if it has grown excessively or feels uncomfortable being in the same substrate for a long time. Before the transshipment procedure, soil, drainage, a convenient pot, crushed activated carbon, and scissors are prepared. The substrate should be bought special, for orchids. It should consist only of pine bark without additional additives. It is not recommended to use mixed substrates with peat, sphagnum, because of them, with improper watering, the risk of root rot increases.
Orchid pot should be chosen wisely. It should be special wooden, clay (no glaze, rough) or plastic with holes so that the roots can be well ventilated anddry out. In size, it should not exceed the rhizome by more than 3 cm. Before planting, the pot should be washed well in hot water with a cleaning agent.
Pebbles, large pieces of cork or foam are used as drainage. Expanded clay for orchids is not suitable, as it tends to accumulate s alts, which have a bad effect on the root system of the dendrobium nobile orchid.
Home Care: Epiphyte Transplant
Transshipment of orchids is carried out as carefully and carefully as possible. The plant is removed from the old container and placed in warm water for two or three hours. This technique allows you to remove the old bark without damaging the roots.
After soaking, the roots are washed and carefully inspected. Sick, rotten, dark areas are removed. Sections are treated with crushed activated carbon. Then the plant is sent for 2 hours to dry, on a clean napkin.
A layer of drainage is laid on the bottom of the new pot. The treated plant is placed in the middle of the pot, the roots are carefully straightened and sprinkled with a substrate without compacting. Please note that you can deepen the orchid to the line of growth buds, which are located at the base of adult pseudobulbs.
Caring for the plant after transplantation
After transshipment, the dendrobium nobile orchid is left alone. It is not watered for the first few days. After the prescribed time (from 2 to 4 days), she is examined, her condition is assessed and moistened.
Pot with transplanted orchid first 7-10 daysdo not expose to the bright sun, carefully shade from direct rays, minimizing stress. In the future, the plant is looked after as usual, moistened in a timely manner, sprayed, and maintained favorable climatic conditions.
Fertilization
Another important home care procedure for dendobium nobile is top dressing. Fertilization begins in the spring, when the plant enters the phase of active growth. For feeding use special fertilizers for epiphytes. They are introduced at every third watering, but the rate is halved (from that indicated in the instructions). Foliar top dressing is also periodically produced (the dose of fertilizer is reduced five times) to improve the condition of the plant.
Now you know what care should be for Dendrobium Nobile at home. Tips and tricks for transplanting, watering, spraying, fertilizing, we hope you will find it useful and allow you to grow a he althy, constantly blooming orchid. Now let's discuss how to propagate the epiphyte.
How to reproduce dendrobium nobile when caring for at home?
There are three simple methods for breeding epiphytic plants:
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush;
- shoots with baby roots.
The first method involves obtaining cuttings from former flower stalks. After flowering, the arrow is cut into segments about 10 cm long. The sections are treated with activated charcoal. The resulting seedlings are rooted in a greenhouse, laying themhorizontally on wet sphagnum moss. The greenhouse is ventilated periodically. After 2-3 weeks, the seedlings will have roots. When they reach 5 cm in length, the cuttings can be transplanted into pots with pine bark and coconut fiber.
The second method involves the division of a large mother plant with 3 or more pseudobulbs. As a rule, it is used for periodic planned transplantation. The plant is pulled out of the pot, cleaned of the remnants of the substrate and cut into pieces with a sharp knife so that each of them has two pseudobulbs with a part of the roots. After separation, the resulting material is left to dry for a day in a shaded place, and then planted in pots.
Reproduction of orchids by children
The third method involves the use of shoots that periodically form on the mother plant. Shoots with roots longer than 8 cm are separated, which increases the likelihood of their survival. The children are planted in new pots and they are cared for the same way as for the adult dendrobium nobile orchid, at home. Propagation by any means is not too difficult and time consuming, you can use any of the three most convenient methods.
We hope, using our advice and recommendations, you will be able to grow a he althy and beautiful plant that will delight you for a long time with its magnificent flowers. Good luck!
