Dendrobium hercoglossum Rchb. f. 1886, in a hand made wire basket

I got this plant as a small keiki.  The parent plant was a big specimen plant.   I made this wire basket five inches wide to accommodate the future growth of this orchid, which I expect will turn into a clump of stems.  The basket is only filled about halfway with media due to the exceedingly wet rainy season which means the plant can get all the water it needs from a comparatively small amount of media.  During the local dry season I only water this plant about once a month.

Dendrobium harveyanum in a handmade wire basket

When I got my plant of Dendrobium harveyanum it was a tiny seedling with canes barely two inches tall.  My main concern was that it would lose its roots to rot during the height of the rainy season, when it can rain every day for weeks or months.  On the other hand, during the dry season, not a drop falls from the sky for weeks and humidity can be low.  I decided to make a wire basket that would address the needs of the plant during both extremes of weather.   I made a wire basket four inches deep and four inches wide, for a miniature orchid, such as this Dendrobium, this is plenty of space to grow for years.  I filled the bottom two inches of the basket with bark,  then I put the plant on top of it.  The wire basket ensures that even at the wettest of the wet season the water drains away and the roots have access to oxygen.  In the driest part of the dry season I dunk the plant in water and the bark holds up just enough water to keep the orchid from shriveling too much.  This plant has been in this basket for eight years now and it seems it is good for at least two or three more.  When the canes reach the wall of the basket I will cut a hole in the basket to let the plant grow in the outside of the basket.  This plant has two inflorescences, one that is open and another on the way.  The tallest cane is seven inches tall, a pretty good size for this species.

Coelogyne Burfordiense, cultural note, growing it on a wire column

My plant of Coelogyne Burfordiense (Coe. asperata x Coe. pandurata) gives me very little problems except for the fact that it has a very vexing trait.  It will escape, sometimes in less than a year, from most pots.  Planting it in a large pot is a problem due to the large quantity of media that has to be used and the almost sureity that the big mass of media will become anoxic and kill the roots.  So I decided to grow this plant attached to a column of wire, this would allow me to train the growth ups and keep the plant tidy, or as tidy as it could be.  I made a 36 inches tall wire column, I used the sturdiest, strongest wire I could find.  Then I attached the column to the side of a 12" pot.  I attached the column using wires threaded through holes in the pot.  I made sure that the column was very firmly attached to the pot, this is essential as I often move the pot by pulling the column.  I started growing this plant this way in October 2007.  My plan was to keep adding media as the plant climbed up the column.

By May 2010, the plant was producing impressive bloomings with several inflorescences opening at the same time.  Most of the growths were close to the column, but some has grown out toward the sides, those were cut out when they had two pseudobulbs or more, only those pseudobulbs that kept close to the column were allowed to remain.  However it is important to keep a close watch when the plant is producing new growths so that they don't become tangled in the wire or try to grow into the column. 

This is the plant as it is now December 2013.  It has a considerable weight and had to be moved to a location where it gets full sun for part of the day because it had so many leaves it was self shading.  The growths have reached the top of the column.  The plant stands about four feet and a half tall at the tip of its top leaves.  Last year it produced nine inflorescences during a several months blooming season.  Next year I will probably have to cut the top growths which by then may be jutting out into space.  But I expect that by then I will have another pot and column ready for them, and who knows, I might even try to make an even larger one.

As you can see the plant can send inflorescences every which way, not ony toward the side that gets the strongest light.  To the left you ca  n see a string of pseudobulbs growing away from the column with their roots all exposed.  Note that the inflrescences are at several stages of development, from just emerging to losing their flowers.

Rainfall supplies the water needs of this plant, only at the height of the dry season is there a need to water it.  Here are approximate values for rainfall in the Rio Abajo area.

                             J       F      M       A       M       J       J       A       S      O      N      D

Rainfall (mm)      99    76     84      165    283    155   141   216    237   233  176   135

(inches)               3.9   3.0    3.3    6.5    11.1    6.1    5.5   8.5      9.3    9.1     6.9   5.3