Bloom Event - Dendrobium Ise 'Yayoi'

I never thought I'd get excited about a nobile type Dendrobium. Nobile type Dendrobium are they sort that need cool but not cold temperatures to bloom well. They have soft canes and a semi-deciduous habit. They are mostly hybrids of Dendrobium nobile and a few other species. Dendrobium Ise 'yayoi' has the dubious privilege of being a nobile type Dendrobium with no Dendrobium nobile actually in it.  This particular one is a hybrid between Dendrobium moniliforme and Dendrobium catanatum. Most nobile types have the reputation of being hard to flower if you don't get the watering exactly right at the end of the rest period, and you end up with lots of plantlets (keikis) where the flowers are supposed to be. This is great if you plan on propagating your plants, but if you want blooms it is very frustrating indeed. Of course, keikis on the stems can also be a sign of poor roots, so it is always worth keeping an eye on the root zone.

This plant does produce the odd keiki. In fact I have one potted up and growing away nicely. I might offer it up for sale if I can bear the monstrous eBay again in the future. The crucial fact I like about this plant, though, is that you can grow it warm and you don't need to be careful about watering and it still blooms. Flowers are produced usually in pairs from the uppermost nodes of the new canes. They seem to bloom compariatively later in their growth cycle than most D. nobile hybrids do. You can just about make out a new cane in the top left corner of the photo that is already a little taller than the cane that is blooming now.

The blooms are a lovely delicate white and I just love the green centre to the flower.  I have seen some photos of this hybrid that have a pinkish colour to them, but I can't imagine where it comes from as neither of the parents are pink at all. There is a scent, pleasant but not strong. This plant looks most like D. moniliforme in fact both in habit and flower form. Dendrobium nobile hybrids as a rule have very thick canes that look rather like green bamboo. This hybrid has very slender canes, and could, at first glance, almost be mistaken for some Epidendrum, at least until it blooms.

I know I could tie all the canes up to tidy the plant up, I don't particularly want to, I prefer to let it do what it wants. Its not as if it looks particularly untidy, is it? I got it at a show from Ratcliffe Orchids before they closed down and I guess I've had it for three years now. It is not a fast grower by any means (no Dendrobium really is), but it does appear to be a very easy and forgiving grower which counts for far more in my book.

As is often the case with these sort of less common hybrids, there is relatively little information out there on how to actually grow it, and most of the horror stories about a plant not being warmth tolerant or sensitive to overwatering are simply due to nobody trying to grow them warmer or without a dry rest period. If you don't try, how can you possibly know?