dendrobium-senile

A spectacular ,highly sougtht -after curiosity -anyone who as much as looks at a specimen of D. senile ,even outside the flowering period,will understand why. Both the fact ,deciduous pseudobulbs and the vividly green belt-shaped leaves bear a thick layer of white hairs. Besides its ''senility'' the species prides itself on cultivation -frindly proportions(the length of the pseudobulbs does not exceed 8 in/20 cm ),as well as on its gorgeous yellow flowers with a red-and-green decoration on the lip. Unfortunately ,the plants sometimes stagnate in collections ,form dwarfed or deformed pseudobulbs, don' t bloom and even mold. This is probably caused by a lack of light coupled with excessive moisture and poor ventilation. Mount the plant on a bare slab of pime bark and reduce watering but not temperature in wiinter . Form early spring to the high spring season,1-2 flowets grow out of the apices of the pseudobulbs. The species , sometimes classified as a callista orchid ,can still be found in the wild in Burma,Laos and Thailand.