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I’m not sure why my Dendrobium leaves are turning purple. Is it… | The Orchid Oasis | Plantaコミュニティ

Amy

I’m not sure why my Dendrobium leaves are turning purple. Is it getting too much light, too cold, winter blues?? I have a very hard time getting it to bloom and I’ve had these plants for many years. Does the plant look too immature to bloom? I’m trying to give it a cool (45-55F) and dry-ish winter to encourage it to bloom. It is under bright plant lights. The canes are small and I seem to get lots of tiny orchid baby plants, but no flowers. The moss is top dressing and the plants are in orchid bark. Can anyone help me figure out what I’m doing wrong?

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  1. Waspinator

    Turning purple indicates that the leaf is making a natural sunscreen. It means it's getting plenty of light; just make sure to keep it hydrated or it may sunburn. You could also just reduce light slightly until it only does a little purple flush at the leaf edges. Looking at photos for that species, it looks like the canes get fairly tall before they flower. Yours looks healthy, but it may be a year or two before you see flowers

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    • Amy

      Thank you for the advice. I’ve moved the plants farther away from the light and will monitor them. Will the leaves turn back to green when the light is less intense?

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    • Waspinator

      I don't know if the leaves that are already purple will revert back to green, but new growth will come in green and not darken

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  2. Rhus

    What do you use to fertilize?

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    • Amy

      I haven’t given it fertilizer this winter as I read that you’re supposed to reduce fertilizer in the winter. It’s getting rainwater that I’m collecting. During the rest of the year I fertilize with Jacks all purpose fertilizer. I use a tiny amount of fertilizer. Maybe I’m not using enough?

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    • Rhus

      As Waspinator said, the purple pigment is a type of sunscreen the plant makes for itself. Sometimes plants do this in response to strong light, but sometimes they also do it in response to a deficiency. I think phosphorus is the most common deficiency that causes purpling on leaves. Inadequate P can also delay flowering. That said, if this is normal for the species and it looks otherwise healthy, it'd be surprising if that's the cause.

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    • Amy

      I didn’t know that a deficiency could cause these issues. I’ll give the plants a bit more fertilizer when I start seeing new growth and maybe try a different fertilizer brand.

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