Dendrobium bigibbum (Cooktown Orchid)

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

Flower

Color: Pink or purple
Bloom Time: March to July

Description

Dendrobium bigibbum is a flowering plant that grows up to 32 inches (80 cm) tall. Flowers are pink or purple, sometimes almost white, and appear on up to 16 inches (40 cm) long canes. Flowering time is 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.

Origin

This species is native to New Guinea and the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland. It is also reportedly naturalized in Hawaii.

Photo Gallery

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