Bloom Event - Dendrochilum glumaceum "Orchid Paradise"

So when I said the next post on Dendrochilum would be for species latifolium, I clearly lied. I had even put D. glumaceum "Orchid Paradise" at the front to remind me to take it into the sitting room to properly enjoy, and I still forgot it was in spike.

This variety of the species is rather later than my other plants (I have several plants), but that suits me more as I have a succession of flowers that way instead of them all being in bloom at the same time.

The flowers really don't look any different from any other variety of D. glumaceum that I've ever met, and the scent is the same also (very strong and spicy sweet; one of my favouries in fact). There are an awful lot of flowers per spike but they are very small, creating a bottle brush or pipe cleaner effect when they are all out.

The main difference between varieties (I don't think any of them are 'official' varieties, as such) seems to be in the colour of the sheaths that protect the new growth as it emerges. I often liken them to bloomers as they look rather like baggy trousers at the base of the new growths. On this particular variety they are a lovely pinkish colour and quite slender compared to some varieties.

There is an attractive green sheathed form, too (I have two plants so swapsies are possible), and one labelled 'Wisley'.

Dendrochilum glumaceum is a nice small sized orchid that reliably produces sprays of highly scented flowers. It is easy to grow and is one of the most trouble free orchids in my collection. My plants are still a bit young, but hopefully they will bulk up over the coming years. With many orchids I have found that they stubbornly produce one new growth per year for quite a while before suddenly hit what I call 'critical mass' and then lots of new growths start emerging at once. Each lead is capable of producing two shoots, so plants should bulk up really rather fast. Older pseudobulbs can be persuaded into growth also. Of course, getting the conditions right in which they grow is half the battle with them, and I am now getting larger pseudobulbs which in turn produce more new shoots and more flower spikes in turn.

One technique which is quite successful in getting plants of a certain size to bulk up is one that I usually employ on Cattleya and that is 'back cutting'. This simply refers to the practice of counting back three or four pseudobulbs from the lead growth and snapping the rhizome. An experienced grower might count back more or less pseudobulbs depending on what they think they can get away with. This bulks plants up and produces more lead growths more quickly but may result in the plant failing to bloom until it has built up some strength. Usually Dendrochilum are perfectly good at bulking up on their own and don't need any help other than patience.

At any rate, this species in all its various forms is a real favourite of mine, and I always look forward to the blooms. Quite often this species will produce new growths in autumn as well as spring, but these tend not to bloom for me.