I have cultivated this particular clone of Dendrobium anosmum var. huttonii for many years. It has several peculiar traits that make it distinct from other anosmum plants. But first let’s mention which trait defines var. huttonii as a distinct variety of Dendrobium anosmum. The defining trait of var. Huttonii is a pure white flower with purple color on the lip. If a plant has any color, no matter how pale, outside the lip, it is not Huttonii. There are many, many named varieties of anosmum, but only two have been scientifically described, var. dearei, the alba form and var. huttoni. The other variants, and there are probably dozens or even hundreds of them, get their names from commercial growers or from informal descriptions in popular literature. To mention just a few, anosmum from the Philippines sometimes are called superbum, also there is var. delacourii, var. velutina (both very hairy flowers with flowers that look squashed), “touch of class” and the “thai” type. Also, there are many hybrids of anosmum and parishii, cucullatum, primulinum and rhodopterygium that are sometimes sold as anosmum. Hybrids sometimes sold as anosmum are Nestor, Supernestor, and Little Sweetscent.
There are several traits that are characteristic of this huttoni clone. For example, my plants start producing flower buds and showing basal growths in the middle of January. A six to seven weeks before the type form of the species does the same in my locality. The clone I have is less vigorous than the type form of the species. It takes dedicated care to coax this plant to produce canes more than two feet long, and none of my plants have produced canes larger than three feet. It is common for anosmum to produce plantlets near the tip of old canes that have lost their roots. Huttonii produces plantlets near the tip of canes, but it also produces them, at the middle of the cane. Huttonii plantlets separated from the mother plant will tend to remain small unless they get fertilized regularly during the growing season with a fertilizer that has a high nitrogen number.
In December, I reduce considerably the water my plants get and they start shedding their leaves. By the end of January most of my plants are entirely leafless. My huttoni bloom from leafless canes.
Normally, anosmum plants produce their flowers along the length of the cane. If the only few flowers are produced they tend to cluster at the tip of the stem. In huttonii, the flowers can appear near the tip of the cane but also at random spots near the middle. Sometimes small plants will bloom if they have several canes. I have seen plants with canes that are less than eight inches long produce a single flower at the tip of the cane. The huttonii clone has never been as floriferous as the type form which can produce dozens of flowers if well cared for. I am happy if any of the canes produce eight flowers simultaneously. Sometimes a cane will only produce two to four flowers. And here is the most bizarre thing about this clone, sometimes a cane that bloomed early in the year will bloom again, weeks or months after it first flowered. No other anosmum variety I have has shown this peculiar trait. The flowers are highly fragrant.
When this plant shows the buds of the flowers and the new growth, I return to a normal watering and fertilizing schedule. I cultivate my plants in baskets because during the rainy season it can rain heavily, every day for months. This, and the heat and the insects tend to turn most organic potting media into slush in a bothersome short time if the media stays saturated all the time. Baskets allow for fast drainage and at bit of drying in between rain events. This also means that the media can get very dry during the dry season and will need several good soakings before it starts retaining water. These plants are heavy feeders and will not grow to a good size unless regularly fertilized.
At the beginning of the growing season, I remove the plantlets from the older canes. Sometimes I cut a sizeable section of the cane around the plantlets to them a better head start. The critical part is the time period when the plantlet is sending into the media the roots of its first cane produced after separation. If anything happens to the roots, this will be a considerable set back to the growth and will endanger the survival of the plantlet. A plantlet that is well cared for can start blooming as soon as two years after being separated from the mother plant.
There is more information on the culture of Dendrobium anosmum elsewhere in this blog.
