Dear Orchid Doc:

I must say, as a newbie, how informative and helpful your gardening column is, and I always look forward to reading the wonderful advice, especially as it is more befitting a Caribbean audience. I have two questions: Is it time to repot my dendrobium, and is the new pot shown an appropriate size? I don’t want to separate the plants.

Why won’t my cattleya bloom? It’s been two years now since I purchased it and all I have been getting are new leaves. Thanks for your response.

Neville

Dear Neville:

Thank you for your letter, and I’m glad to be of help.

Although dendrobiums tend to like it best when the container is tight, yours could do with some repotting . You mentioned that you don’t want to divide the plant, but you might find that it would bloom much more if you did.

It is a bit difficult to see if the pot is too big, but considering that your dendrobium has many divisions, you might want to go up about two sizes instead of the usual one.

And do remember to cut the roots of the dendrobiums before repotting. Once disturbed, those roots are of no value. You will need to encourage them into new growth by snipping them.

About your Cattleya…did you get it as a baby plant? You might want to move the plant to a slightly more filtered area.

Dear Orchid Doc:

I need to know why my orchids all die within a few weeks of purchasing.

I bring them home and put them inside, take good care of them, do as you say, water and feed them, but after a while the orchids start to look unhappy in the house, and in no time they are dropping leaves.

What am I doing wrong?

Elenor

Dear Elenor:

First, let us examine your house.

Is it airy? Does your house get filtered light?

You see, plants thrive outside. If you bring them indoors, you would have to create an outdoor setting to make them comfortable.

Don’t despair, but remember that plants cannot live indoors for too long. Usually what some people do is to have more than one and rotate them.

Betty Stephenson Ashley

Betty’s Farm Garden Supplies

161 Constant Spring Road,

Kingston 8, Jamaica .

Cell # 876-3224585, 8700191

876-931-8804, 876-755-2204

Fax 876-931-8805

bettystephensonashley@gmail.com