Dendrobium Culture

Dendrobium Culture

The genusĀ DendrobiumĀ (Den-DRO-bee-um) was established by Schwartz in 1799 and currently numbers more than 1000 species, distributed throughout tropical and subtropical Asia, the islands of the South Pacific and into Australia. The nameĀ DendrobiumĀ comes from ancient GreekĀ dendros, meaning tree andĀ biosĀ meaning life in reference to the epiphytic nature of this genus.

Growth habit:Ā  The remarkable variation in growth habit and flower form notwithstanding, all species ofĀ DendrobiumĀ share the presence of a spur orĀ mentumĀ formed from the fusion of the base of the lateral sepals.

The cultural requirements of this large and complex genus depend on the native habitat of the species in question and the section of the genus to which it belongs. Please refer to the different sections of DendrobiumĀ for cultural information. The Sections are:

Amblyanthus, Aporum, Australorchis, Bolbidium, Breviflores, Calcarifera, Callista, Calyptrochilusm, Conostalix,Ā  Cuthbertsonia, Dendrobium, Dendrocoryne, Dichopus, Distichophyllum, Dolichocentrum, Eleutheroglossum, Eriopexis, Euphlebium, Formosae, Fytchianthe, Herpetophytum, Inobulbum, Kinetochilus, Latouria, Lichenastrum, Macrocladium, Microphytanthe, Monanthos, Oxyglossum, Oxystophyllum, Pedilonum, Phalaenanthe, Platycaulon, Pleianthe, Rhizobium, Rhopalanthe, SpatulataĀ (syn. sect. Ceratobium), Stachyobium, Strongyle, Tetrodon, Trachyrhizum

Your Sonoma County Orchid Society will continue to upload articles and cultural information on dendrobiums. This website will always be a work-in-progress.

The information provided above is with the permission of The American Orchid Society