dendrobium-unicum

If you order specimens of D. unicum by mail,what you receive may be quite a disappointment :its long ,thin , reddish ,dry, sticklike pseudobulbs might make you think that there is nothing remarkable about this orchid. How wrong you would be ! After the resting period is over , the individual knots of the jointed pseudobulbs reaching lengths of 6 in /15 cm give rise to ravishing orange -and -red flowers resembling the species D. lanyiae. The backward -twisted tepals are well counter balanced by a whitish lip that is markedly protruding forward and is decorated with a delicate purple -and- red venation. In order to form new shoots ,the plant needs a lot of sunshine , water and nutrients , and a substantial period of rest in winter. When offered by Asian orchid farms ,the species tends to be listed as D. arachnites (which is a related but rarer species). The plant blooms between March and May and the species comes from Thailand and Laos.