Scientific Name
Dendrobium bigibbum Lindl.
Common Name(s)
Cooktown Orchid
Synonym(s)
Callista bigibba, Callista phalaenopsis, Callista sumneri, Dendrobium lithocola, Dendrobium phalaenopsis, Dendrobium sumneri, Vappodes bigibba, Vappodes lithocola, Vappodes phalaenopsis
Scientific Classification
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Dendrobieae
Genus: Dendrobium
Origin
Dendrobium bigibbum is native to New Guinea and the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland. It is also reportedly naturalized in Hawaii.
Flower
Color: Pink or purple
Bloom Time: March to July
Description
Dendrobium bigibbum is a flowering plant that can grow up to 32 inches (80 cm) tall.
The flowers are pink or purple, sometimes almost white, and appear on up to 16-inch (40-cm) long canes. They bloom usually between March and July.
How to Grow and Care
Although there is a huge variety from which to choose, they all follow two important rules when it comes to learning how to grow Dendrobium orchids.
First, they like to live in little pots with their roots crowded into a tiny area. If you try to be nice and give them room to spread out, the roots will likely stay too moist and begin to rot. If you don't like the look of a large plant growing in a ridiculously small pot, camouflage it in a larger planter.
The other way to care for Dendrobium orchids is to give them as much bright light as possible. This doesn't mean sticking them in the desert sunlight, but a south-facing window in the house is the place where they will thrive. In almost all cases, when your Dendrobium orchid isn't flowering, it's a case of not enough sunlight.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Dendrobium Orchids.
Links
- Back to genus Dendrobium
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
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