Laurie Skov Promotes Nobile Dendrobiums at February Meeting
Laurie Skov listed the seven sections of Dendrobiums and focused his presentation on the Nobile Dendrobiums, which flower on the canes. The species is native to Southeast Asia where they grow epiphytically on trees. They experience two seasons, rainy and dry, and will grow and flourish in our area’s hot, humid summers in high heat if kept moist and shaded.
The main hybridizer of Nobile Dendrobiums is Jiro Yamamoto, a Japanese grower, who has registered nearly 900 Nobile Dendrobium hybrids since 1968. The closing of the Hawaii nursery, however, means that most of the hybrids are difficult to come by in the United States.
Laurie said that Nobile Dendrobiums are fairly disease free. During the growing season, they need bright dappled light, lots of fertilizer, air movement, and daily watering. In winter, the ideal temperature is around 40°F, when they will lose their leaves and start the budlets for flowering. They bloom in December, January, and February.
Nobile Dendrobiums mature in three to four years. They have dense root growth and sometimes produce keikis that can be used to propagate new plants. Laurie recommended not repotting in a pot that is too large. He wraps his plants’ roots in sphagnum or coir fiber, uses a well-draining potting mix, and top dresses with a mix of Canadian peat and sponge rock.
Companion plants, due to similar watering and temperature requirements, are Tolumnias and plants in the Catasetum family.
Laurie uses a mixed selection of well-draining media for potting Nobile Dendrobiums.
Den. Pure Heart ‘Snow Love’ AM/AOS 82, March 31, 2017. Thirty-eight full, flat, striking flowers on two 34-cm and 47-cm canes; sepals symmetric, oval, white; lip round, margins ruffled, central disc rich plum, halo pale yellow; column white; mentum blunt; substance heavy; texture satiny.