Dendrobium vexillarius

Hi Jonathan, I did manage to get one from her although not the one listed. It was in good shape and had a bud which blasted, but I could tell that it should be fairly well colored. I think another growth has buds started!
Raven...still would like one of your seedlings as well to get more genetic diversity.

As a follow up to Pacome's comment earlier about long term success. I do think that the less moss or other material around the roots the better. Mine are watered nearly every sunny day, but are dry to the touch within a couple hours. They have visible roots growing up and down the bark on the mount, fully exposed. I spent two days at Andy's Orchids last week and he had fresh divisions of plants that he had grown for over twenty years. He has them mounted on "sticks", in very bright light with a lot of air movement. Attached is a red form in bud that may have had one of my plants as a parent as Andy originally got these as flasks from Mountain Orchids over 20 years ago.

 

I'm growing a recently deflasked of vexillarius (deep red/orange) myself and I have retroflexums coming on as well. What I find instead of just cool night temperatures, they really like a lot of movement of moist air around their roots. I actually fog them with ice water every night with fans blowing and they only have a very light and loose dressing of sphagnum around their roots. So far this is one of the results from a month back.

 

Before I forget , I find growing these things indoors in a stable micro climate (vivarium or a fridge) is much better than trying to grow these in a greenhouse...they're very sensitive to climate changes.

 

Hi Scott, I would agree with you regarding seedlings, but still like growing in a greenhouse for the mature plants. I find that a very bright drier midday with a lot of air movement promotes a very rugged plant. I still add some fog higher up over top if the humidity drops too much or if it gets up to about +30 C during the day.

While at Andy's Orchids last week in Southern California, I noted his vexillarius (many over 20 years old) were growing outside with marginal shading from the sun and he provides no additional cooling or humidification. While unusual, it was nearly 40 C one day with the dry air blowing in from the desert...and some of the brightest colored blooms I had seen on any vexillarius in the Northern Hemisphere. He appears to water during the afternoon and coupled with the moist sea air at night seems to provide a long period of higher humidity and coolness.

 

I have to agree on that, but here in Sydney we don't have a choice regarding our summers..we get really warm nights from December to jan (>20C) so for us growing these things indoors is a must during that period. I admit I won't quite dare to subject my seedlings to >30C during these times!

 

Hi Scott,
Agree on that...most that I know who grow them in greenhouses still have between 10-15 C night temps even in the Summer. I use terrariums for the seedlings in a darker corner of the greenhouse for a couple months to acclimatize. I used to just deflask and put the compots out on the shelf, but had more mortality that way.

 

Interesting Jonathan, I've been using the fiber a lot more for mounting plants, but haven't ever tried for potted. Will have to experiment a little.

 

Can't get coconut fibre here...but what I did is stuff the pot with styrofoam..take a single strand of long fibre sphagnum and wrap it around very loosely the roots and not touching the stems. I have 2 fans in my set up so that makes sure the sphagnum dries out in good time.

 

Sydney Australia. Strict quarantine laws and exorbitant cost...so yeah unless I'm a nursery that could afford the expense, they can't ship anything organic to me.

 

You'd probably do better smuggling a vexillarius or 2 LOL

 

I found out that mine grow best in tree fern fiber in small clay pots, being watered daily and surrounded with a constant humid cool air. For seedlings I use tiny clay pots with kanuma.