Dendrobium Aphyllum

I have at least two other posts about Dendrobium Aphyllum.  While I have been gone, my second Den. Aphyllum bloomed.  The first one has since faded.  The flowers only last about two or three weeks at most.  The photo to the left shows nearly the whole plant, giving one a much better idea of the length and growing nature of this plant.  The photos in my other post gives a much closer picture of the blooms themselves.

Den. Aphyllum is widespread in nature in Southeast Asia.  It grows in southern and eastern India, Burma, southwest China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaya, and South Andaman Island.  In the nothern hemisphere, they normally bloom anywhere between February - May, but have been known to be in bloom in nearly every other month.

These plants like light of about 2500 - 3500 footcandles.  In its natural habitat, average temperatures range from around 85 degrees during the day to around 70 degrees at night in the summer.  Winter days average around 70 degrees and average nights around 45 degrees.  Most people mount these plants on a plaque of tree fern fiber or cork.  Mine is on a plaque of tree fern fiber.  With a mount like this, the plant will need water nearly EVERY day during the summer months.

But this plant needs a long winter REST.  Once the leaves drop around October or November each year, I stop watering the plant.  Since I have it outside, it gets some moisture from dew and the occasional rain that we get during South Florida winters, but that is all.  This plant needs to be DRY during the winter in order for it to bloom the next spring.  This orchid also likes the cool winter weather we get here in South Florida and likes to get around 45 to 50 at night.  This past winter, the lowest temperature in my backyard was 34 degrees.  The plant stayed outside the whole time without any damage. 

This orchid blooms on ONLY the NEW canes each year.  Although, I have had keikis grow from some of the old canes and have some flowers on these keikis.  While they do not show in the photo, this plant already has 5 new canes starting to grow.  The blooms that are there now are on only three canes.  The more canes that grow each year, the greater the potential for an even greater display of blooms the next year.  The more mature the plant becomes, the more abundant and the beautiful the blooms.  The highest awarded plant of this species had 3,417 individual flower blooms.