365 days of orchids – day 409 – Dendrobium teretifolium ‘aureum’
This is an unusual orchid because it has terete leaves which means that the leaves are thin and cylindrical. This is usually an adaptation to cope with dry conditions and for this Dendrobium, that comes from New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, the winters are cool and dry in its natural habitat so we grow the plant on a bare cork bark mount where it can stay nice and dry between waterings. This photo shows the lower part of a plant that now hangs 2m long.
The flowers are large and attractive. making this plant a rewarding one to grow though it has been slow to develop and is already 14 years out of flask. This is the ‘aureum’ variety which is a golden yellow colour rather than the more usual white,
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