Dendrobium nobile
30th July 2017
Well, not exactly Dendrobium nobile but one of an uncountable multitude of hybrids that end up looking and behaving
more or less like D. nobile and which appear at low prices in supermarkets. In this case, very low prices because it
had passed its best and was shedding white flowers like gargoyle confetti all over the floor.
So why?
It's a good question and based on the entirely erronious assumption that if I try to grow enough tender orchids
eventually one of the will take pity on me and not die in the first winter (quoi?).
Which is why it had to be very cheap indeed to attract me.
D. kingianum is hardy enough to do well here so why not try D. nobile again, what is there to lose
(about four quid). It is irrational and I know it. I assume it will be dead by January, alternatively I might take
pity on it in December and dry it off indoors, but I have killed so many before by doing that so what would be the point.
You haven't seen them here before of course, they are generally dead before I get around to it. Let this one stand for a host
of unrelated ancestors. As to its name, I may well discover it in time and then I will record it here.
9th June 2018
Just as I was getting used to the host of modern hybrids, a friend has given me a small plant of the
species. It will be interesting to see how it performs beside the hyybrids.