PO Box 24425 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33307 US
Dendrocoryne section
Cultural Information
SPECIES:
This section tends to typically be lithophytic growers with a few of its species being epiphytes.
Potting or Mounting: Some of the smaller members of this group will do mounted, but others grow so big that mounting is not the best option. I know a few people who have sat the root ball on a cinder block, but the plants grew so large that between the weight f the cinderblock and the weight of the plant, it was virtually impossible to move. Personally, I pot my speciosum , in a plastic pot, and I use a mix of Aliflor, sponge rock with a little bit of sphagnum moss mixed in. Clay pots would also be fine. In nature, many of these species grow in the cracks of boulders where leaf litter collects, so using something comparable tends to work well.
Light: So being mostly lithophytes, many of these plants tend to get an incredible amount of sunlight at some point during the day. Many can be acclimated to full sun very easily. I grow mine in almost all day full sun and have grown divisions of the same in varying amounts of sun. The plants grown in about 6 hours of direct sun grow and bloom just as well as the plants grown in all day full sun. Very bright light or dappled sun with no direct sun do well, they just don't tend to bloom as well.
Water: As with most Dendrobiums, they love a very good amount of water during their active growth in the summer. As with every orchid, the amount of water is directly dependent upon the amount of light or sun that they get and what they are potted in, as well as the amount of air circulation. A plant grown in sphagnum moss in the correct sized plastic pot in direct sunlight can probably get watered if not daily, every other day. Place that same plant in a shady location with very little air flow and lessen the water to twice per week, you will probably rot it
Fertilizer: for most of the year stopping in thee winter months.
Section Descriptions
Pictured above - Dendrobium speciosum.
The Dendrocoryne section is characterized by pseudobulbs with several nodes which, near their apex, carry 2 to 6 leaves that have no leaf sheathing bases. The inflorescences are terminal to subapical, racemose and have a distinct peduncle with many flowers. A few rarely have one or 2, fleshy flowers. The lip is trilobed with sidelobes that are more or less erect and are attached to the column. The disc and the lip keels are not close to the column as the lip is not strongly hinged. The disc has one to 3 lower keels.
Commonly grown species from this group are: jonesii, kingianum, speciosum, tetragonum