I am originally from the Philippines, where orchid plants grow easy.
I grew up and saw the ease of growing dendrobium anusmom. Actually, I ignored these plants because probably they were very common in the place and they looked ordinary to me at that time.
What I like about these plants when I was in the Philippines were their flowers. They were fragrant and very attractive when in bloom. They have that sweet scent that captivated me. And if one was lucky, one cane can have lots of blooms. I used to envy my neighbors when their plants had so many blooms. Their flowers also reminded me of graduations in April. They were made into corsages.
I remembered about them when I started growing phalaenopsis. I checked online where I can find and buy them here in the United States. The memories of my childhood came back. These are the only orchids we had because my family cant afford to buy the other kinds. Immediately, after few searches in the internet, I found a seller online. I ordered two pots. They were so tiny and the canes were skinny when my orders arrived. I was not so sure how to grow them here in Texas but I tried. At first, I was scared I might kill them in this Texas weather.
I decided to removed them from their pots and attached them to a branch of a tree that I picked up from the neighborhood. Left them outside my apartment patio.
After few months of having them, the original canes have no signs of growing longer but new growth immerged. Texas weather was not so good for the plants, the orchids were very slow in growing. However last year, one of the canes bore a pair of purple flowers. I was very happy.
I left my orchids outside during the cold months and they survived.
Summer came and my plants seemed not liking it clinging on a dead branch. Their growth was very slow.
I decided to repot them using cow manure, barks, charcoal, and perlite. Whew, after a month, the canes started to grow longer with larger leaves, fatter canes, and more plantlets immerged from the old cane. They like to be potted and watered everyday.
I separated five little plants growing from the old canes and potted them. They were growing nice until the cold season came. I left them outside the apartment. The cold weather caused my plantlets to lose their leaves. The plantlets are leafless now but my two original pots are looking okay. Hopefully, I will get them to bloom again, this year. More blooms hopefully. I can't wait to see blooms because it is almost blooming time for them.
Oh, well, I am glad I repotted them. I think repotting them was a sucess instead of attaching them to the branch because the canes are longer this year. I am not in tropical Philippines but I feel good because now I know how to grow them here in southernmost part of Texas.
