Dendrochilum orchids do not have large, showy flowers, nor they have a fantastic aroma. Their flowers are tiny, star-shaped and arranged into two-row racemes, which can be as 20 inches long in some species. They do not have bright and fair leaves like Jewel Orchids, but nevertheless they are popular in orchid hobbyists and they’re good addition to every orchid collection. They are curious orchids, not very splendid or extremely beautiful, but as we said they are quite popular, and there are a big variety of different Dendrochilum species you can buy and grow.
Species
Dendrochilum orchids are related to Coelogyne genera and dwell in similar biomes – high elevations, humid tropical rainforests. They are Asian sympodial epiphytic, lithophytic or occasionally terrestrial orchids. There is a wide range of sizes in this genus – from tiny Dendrochilum alatum and Dendrochilum cobbianum to medium sized Dendrochilum magnum and a rather large Dendrochilum longifolium. They have conical to ovoid pseudobulbs and lanceolate leaves. Flowers are tiny or small, and usually whitish or yellowish with some exceptions – Dendrochilum alpinum has salmon-colored flowers, Dendrochilum aurantiacum has bright red sepals and petals, Dendrochilum auriculare has pink flowers, and Dendrochilum wenzelii has extremely lovely, bright-red flowers, Dendrochilum pangasinanense has intense green flowers. Dendrochilum tenellum is rather a beautiful species with extremely narrow, grass-shaped leaves and delicate, sylphlike inflorescences of snowy-white flowers.
Care
Tiny and miniature species, for example, Dendrochilum irigense, could be either potted or mounted on slabs. In general, dendrochilum orchid care is not very difficult. If mounted, they need humidity, watering, bright light without direct sunlight, intermediate to warm temperatures and occasional fertilizers. If grown potted, open mixture, containing bark, tree fern, some sphagnum moss could be used. Potted dendrochilum orchid growing is a little bit more difficult, comparing to mounted Dednrochilum orchids, considering the fact that it is hard to control root system when it’s growing in a pot. If you’re growing miniature Dedndrochilum species, it is a good opportunity to collect rather representative and big collection of curious orchids – they are small, so a large amount of these curiosities could be grown on relatively small area, they are rather easy in cultivation, do not need extreme high light levels or cool climate, and there are a lot of species with different pseudobulbs, leaves, flowers, growth habit, so Dednrochilum orchids are perfect for sophisticated orchid enthusiasts.
Dendrochilum Orchids For Sale On eBay
