Dendrochilum species
Growing tips & tricks
Dendrochilum Blume is a genus of about 285 described, mostly lithophytic or epiphytic species distributed from Myanmar through Indonesia to the Philippines. Papua New Guinea has one species D. longifolium and Australia none.
Habitat is typically lower to upper montane forest. Many of the species are small growing and are therefore easily accommodated in smaller collections. A few, such as D. longifolium and D. latifolium can grow to much larger sizes.
Morphology
Pseudobulb shape and size varies greatly between species many being very narrow and others being more lanceolate in shape. The arrangement of flowers in the raceme is distichous.
In some species the rachis twists to form a cylindrical spiral (e.g. Dendrochilum convallariiforme).
Cultivation
As noted earlier most species are from the montane regions of their natural habitats and are very suitable to our climates either on the coast or the hinterland. The most important factor is water. Copious watering in summer is mandatory.
The plants must not become dry at this time.
They will survive our winters with less water. Fertilize as you would the rest of your collection. Potting mix will vary with the owner. I have had success with fine mixes such as 90% perlite, 10% peat. This mix is excellent for the smaller growing species
Don 't be afraid to experiment! But remember that the roots of these species are often quite thin. Keep evenly moist at all times. I have also had good success with growing the smaller ones on ironbark mounts.
Some species that are readily available and easy to grow:
Dendrochilum arachnites
Dendrochilum cobbianum
Dendrochilum cootesii
Dendrochilum convallariiforme
Dendrochilum filiforme
Dendrochilum glumaceum
Dendrochilum latifolium
Dendrochilum niveum
Dendrochilum pulcherrimum
Dendrochilum pangasinanense
Dendrochilum stenophyllum
Dendrochilum tenellum
Dendrochilum uncatum
Dendrochilum wenzelii.
Dendrochilum yuccifolium
Please note: Since the publication of this article the Coelogne species has been expanded to include Dendrochilum. If you’d like to find out more about this change please refer to the article linked here.