Scientific Name
Dendrobium loddigesii Rolfe
Common Name(s)
Loddiges' Dendrobium
Synonym(s)
Callista loddigesii, Dendrobium loddigesii var. album, Dendrobium pulchellum
Scientific Classification
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Dendrobieae
Genus: Dendrobium
Flower
Color: White, pink and purple
Bloom Time: Winter and spring
Description
Dendrobium loddigesii is a small, warm to cold growing epiphyte, lithophyte, or terrestrial orchid with tufted, pendant, and subterete, striated several-noded white-sheathed stems carrying alternate fleshy oblong acute leaves. The fragrant, long-lasting flowers are found from winter to spring on short up to 3 inches [7.5 cm], single-flowered inflorescence that arises from the nodes of leafless canes. Flowers are up to 2 inches (5 cm) across. The petals are lilac in color, the sepals are purple, and the lips are reddish-orange.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 11a to 12b: from 40 °F (+4.4 °C) to 60 °F (15.6 °C).
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 are likely to 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 Laos, Vietnam, and China.
Links
- Back to genus Dendrobium
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
Photo Gallery
Click on a photo to see a larger version.
