Orchid Care

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii

Light: Bright, filtered light (1000-1500 foot candles) with good air circulation. Leaves should have a slight reddish tinge.

Temperature: 70-80F during the day, 45-55F during the night.

Water: Roots should be moist at all times. Pure water with very low salt is essential.

Media: We recommend shallow pots with New Zealand long-fiber sphagnum moss or fine fir bark. These plants can also be mounted on cork or redwood slabs.

Fertilization: Use a 20-20-20 fertilizer at half-strength every 2 weeks. Never fertilize when roots are dry.

Repotting: Repot annually, taking care not to disturb the roots too much. For mounted plants, they should be remounted every 3-4 years. 

Cleaning: Take care to remove old flowers and leaves during the winter. If a plant has already been blooming for more than 8 months, it is advisable to remove all flowers in the winter to give the plant a rest, so that it will produce more flowers in the late spring.

Pests: Spider mites are the most common and destructive pest affecting Dendrobium cuthbertsonii. They will appear on the underside of the leaves and will create a silvery color to the underside of the leaves, where the insects are sucking on the plant juices. When heavily infected, the leaves will curl slightly from the edges and eventually fall off. Spider mites are most common during the warmer months of the summer and fall, and thrive in conditions with little or no air circulation. Slugs can also be a problem, particularly when the plants are planted in pots. They will eat both the roots and new growth, as well as flowers and buds.

The most important factor in growing Dendrobium cuthbertsonii is to have a healthy root system. Once a plant loses its roots, from either overwatering, under watering, or over-fertilizing, the plant will quickly go into decline. Care should be taken when repotting or remounting the plants. This should be done in early spring when the plants are making their new growths. When using sphagnum moss, it is best to use premium grade moss, that will stay fresh in the pot. Once the moss starts to deteriorate or decompose, it should be replaced with fresh moss. The same holds true with fine bark.

 

MASDEVALLIAS

       Light: Masdevallias prefer bright, filtered light (1200-1500 footcandles).

       Temperature: 70-80 degrees during the day; 45-55 degrees at night.

       Water: Roots should be moist at all times, but not soggy.

       Media: Masdevallias grow well in either New Zealand sphagnum moss or               fine Orchiata bark. 

       Repotting: Masdevallias should be repotted every 1-2 years when the media         starts to deteriorate. The ideal time to repot Masdevallias  is after the plants           have finished flowering in the spring or fall. It is best to avoid repotting during         the heat of the summer months.

       Pests:  The most common pests affecting Masdevallias are slugs, aphids,             and occasionally mealy bugs and scale. Slugs will chew on the developing             roots, as well as buds and flowers. Aphids will attack the buds and                         developing new growths, causing yellowing of the new growth. Mealy bug             will attack the leaves as well as the flowers, and quite often hide in the                   sheathing leaves at the base of the plants. 

       Masdevallias will grow best in an environment with good air movement. It is           also important that the foliage is dry by nightfall. Water will collect in the                 sheathing leaves at the base of the plant, where the flower spikes develop. If         the water is not dry by nightfall, the immature flower spikes will damp off and         not develop.