This has been the runaway success of the orchids I have planted in trees here. Dendrobium nobile takes care of itself high in the fork of a tree above our house, and is making a lovely show on the driveway for Spring.
Growing Dendrobium nobile in a tree
This one was simply placed firmly in the first fork of a black kurrajong tree above our house, along the driveway. The original pot had broken and the plant was quite root bound, but I just forced the bare root ball into the fork and left it to its own devices.
In the year since, it has started to run new roots along the bark, so it seems that it’s well established and won’t fall out due to wind or from a possum climbing over it.
Dendrobium nobile seems to be suited to our particular climate of dry Springs and wet Summers. It has a particular growth habit that is important to understand if you want to get flowers. It makes its new leafy shoots through the Summer, and these stay through the first Winter, but after their second Summer the leaves fall off them. It is these bare shoots that bear the flowers, one bunch where each leaf axil was. The flower spikes grow through the second Winter and provide the big Spring display.
This semi-deciduous habit means that the plant is less stressed through our dry Spring weather.
It is important to choose the right tree for hosting orchids. The brown kurrajong tree that it’s in does have great bark for hosting orchids. It is rough, persistent, and hosts a thick coat of lichen, which you might make out in the picture. Trees with bark that is shed each year (often smooth barked) are likely to shed the orchids too, and hold less water from mist and rain.
Growing Dendrobium nobile in a pot
I bought my plant so many years ago that I can’t even remember the circumstances. It grew well on a balcony in Sydney, and after a few years I learned the secret of keeping it flowering in a pot. It has a very active growth habit, and every year sends up a new set of shoots. This means that it soon outgrows the original pot, and the whole plant needs dividing and re-setting down in new bark every couple of years.
Also, as the flowers come on the bare stems which have lost their leaves, it is of course important not to remove them as spent growth.
The plant shown here is growing in standard orchid bark mix.