Some of the older canes on my den have been turning smaller and wrinkled, is this part of the regular aging process or am I not providing enough water? The growths from this year seem fine, and I think a flower spike is starting to grow, if that makes any difference
MeasnomerPi is really more of the dendrobium authority in the community, I would defer to her, but… A flower spike will always tend to drain the stored energy in older canes and pseudobulbs. Giving more water in this period is probably warranted. That being said, VERY old growths can shrivel and peter out on you. But these on your plant only look like they are 3 or 4 years old. I would suspect lack of water before I suspected another issue. Try that and see if it helps- keep us posted.
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👆💯 My dens are thirstier when flowering but I don’t typically increase watering. I’m very prone to overwatering. The most I’ll do is double the soak time. The canes will get wrinkly but not too severe. My goal is to make sure the new canes get enough to drink. They tend to look similar to yours. Canes will die in time. As long as it’s the older ones and not too many at one time, I wouldn’t worry too much. I think I see a spike forming but my old eyes aren’t completely sure. Don’t be afraid to get in there to take a look. You’ll know if it’s a spike. Looks way different from a leaf. Are you growing it in water? I can’t seem to wrap my head around water culture for orchids.
0 likesThis is the first time it’s blooming for me, so I’m pretty sure it’s a spike growing, but will have to wait another week or two to be sure. It’s only the old canes wrinkling (still firm and green), I’m not sure how old they are since they have been there since I bought it, but there are the remains of old bloom spikes on them, so I’m guessing between a year and a half to two years. Yep, it’s in water culture. I had a lot of success with my phal and cattleya, so this dendrobium became my first test subject for dendrobium type orchids 🫠 it seems to be do okay, the new canes continued growing and there are active roots
