Dendrobium nobile

I’ve finally sussed this orchid, and it’s responded with a mass flowering, just coming on now with faintly hyacinth-scented blooms. It’s got an unusual growth habit and wanes slowly if it’s not maintained. The new stems shoot from the base in Spring, grow with handsome leaves for 18 months, then drop their leaves and are bare, but succulent, through their second Winter. They need a slight chill, then in late Winter the bare stems send out flower spikes. The secret to them seems to be that they need to be…

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Dendrobium kingianum, large form

Although very different in form to the little pink rock orchid, posted a few weeks ago, this seems to be just a different cultivar of Dendrobium kingianum. It has striking tall stems and is beautiful just as a foliage plant. The flowers are only a little bigger than the pink form, and they come a little later. It sends up a new set of stems after flowering. Very easy going. This year it will fill the pot, so I’ll see how it responds to crowding.

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Dockrillia

Dockrillia linguiformis, a.k.a. the tongue orchid, from the shape of the leaves. A local orchid with these lovely flowers at the break of spring. Happy with very little, it grows on a section of wood, just hanging on an East facing wall. Finding the right spot for it took a while, and it slowly declined in various sheltered spots until I found the current one. It probably needs rain exposure and a little shade to do best.

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Yellow dancing ladies

Apparently the Latin name is in dispute, but yellow dancing ladies probably describes this one better than Oncidium anyway. The main flowering for this is late October but this year it’s flowered well in August. It’s an odd cultivar, with a twisted mass of pseudo bulbs and twisted leaves, and like its purple relative it clambers away from its origin and needs frequent re-setting. Bright indirect light, plenty of water, go light on fertilizer, and cold tolerant to 5C.

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Dendrobium kingianum

One of the last flowers of Winter, this Dendrobium is sweet like snowdrops. It’s a rock orchid native to the Sydney area, but grows in sand or bark or whatever. Dropping shoots is its specialty, so you could multiply a plant to completely cover a balcony in a few years. Comes in whites and pinks. Give it plenty of morning or dappled sun.

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Epidendrum

The toughest of orchids, these don’t care about watering, feeding or potting mixture, and grow in full sun and heat against a North wall. They’re also good for sharing pots with deep rooted plants (I’ve got them with Strelitzias and Cordylines). What’s more they seem to flower continuously, especially noticeable in Winter. I picked these up as cuttings that had been left out to share in Paddington. They are a richer red than the photo possibly shows, and a few people have commented on the intense colour lately. The canes…

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Cymbidium

The cymbidium flowering again with plenty of winter colour, all ready for display inside the apartment. Cymbidiums are a tough and reliable pot plant for most Australian conditions. Possibly the commonest mistake in growing them is giving them too sheltered conditions. In Summer rainfall areas they do fine in their pots outside in bright light (morning sunlight is ideal). Dry conditions in Winter are best. You can bring them inside while they flower, and they make a bold show with their good size and strappy leaves.

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Phalaenopsis

Great orchids for Sydney, you can buy Phalaenopsis as a flowering display that will last for over a month, then keep them with an expectation that they will flower again. They are easy to keep as long as the basic conditions are right, and that means light and water. Phals are low light plants, naturally growing deep under the rainforest canopy. Their thick leaves easily overheat in sunlight, even morning sun in Summer. A south facing window or a spot inside a brightly lit room are good locations. If you…

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Easy orchids

Lots of orchids grow easily in Sydney, given the right spot. The native orchids are a good starting point. The big Dendrobium speciosum rock orchid is spectacular, and although ideal in a tree, will grow well on a board in a lightly shaded or East-facing spot. Little Dendrobium kingianum is sweet and super tough, will grow almost anywhere and even in soil. Dendrobium nobile grows easily in bark, and the Cooktown orchid, Dendrobium phalaenopsis grows and flowers with protection from winter cold. Cymbidiums grow easily and flower reliably when given…

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