How to Grow Dendrobium? A Detailed Guide to Dendrobium Cultivation Techniques

Flowers & Gardening Jan 1, 1970 0 views

[Dendrobium Cultivation Techniques] How to Grow Dendrobium

Dendrobium officinale often grows epiphytically on trees or rocks. It prefers a warm, humid and semi-shaded environment and is not cold-tolerant. The optimum growth temperature is 18-30°C, and during the growing period 16-21°C is even more suitable. The key cultivation techniques for Dendrobium officinale before planting in greenhouses are introduced below for everyone's reference.

Dendrobium Cultivation Techniques

1. Preparation of the Growing Substrate

A suitable substrate should be selected when transplanting tissue-cultured seedlings of Dendrobium officinale. The roots of Dendrobium officinale are aerial roots with an obvious aerobic nature and shallow-rooted habit. Therefore, the substrate should be loose, breathable, well-draining, and not prone to harboring pathogenic fungi and pests. A single substrate can hardly meet the requirements of both water retention and breathability at the same time. You can choose a mix of sphagnum moss, limestone, crushed brick, sawdust, tree bark, wood shavings, fern roots, edge boards, mushroom bran, wood bran, etc. as the transplanting substrate. (Because organic substrates with a high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio such as sawdust take a very long time to ferment, you can use the Jinbaobei substrate nutrient soil fermentation agent to ferment the mixed material. This not only shortens the fermentation time, but also converts the nutrients in the material through high-temperature fermentation, thereby reducing the amount of fertilizer applied later. Moreover, the fermented material also contains many beneficial microorganisms, which can form a protective layer around the root system of Dendrobium officinale and effectively prevent root diseases. In addition, microbial metabolites such as cytokinins, gibberellins and indoleacetic acid can also stimulate root growth.) In actual production, the best substrate ratio is peat : tree bark : fine wood shavings = 2:4:4. Fine sawdust, however, has particles that are too fine, poor permeability, and tends to become compacted, which limits the growth of the Dendrobium officinale root system.

2. Transplant at the Right Time

(1) The best season for transplanting should be when the daily average temperature is 15-30°C. When the temperature is too low or too high, it is not suitable to take the seedlings out of the bottles for transplanting. Generally speaking, in the main production areas of Dendrobium officinale, planting can be done in any season except the coldest one. When growing Dendrobium officinale in greenhouses, transplanting from the Spring Equinox to Qingming, as well as at the Autumn Equinox, gives the highest survival rate.

(2) Carefully take out the tissue-cultured seedlings without damaging or breaking the root system. After the seedlings are taken out of the bottles, gently rinse the culture medium off the roots. If transplanted with the culture medium still attached, the nutrients in the medium can easily promote fungal growth and cause root rot, reducing the survival rate. After washing the tissue-cultured seedlings, soak the small seedlings in a 500-800 times dilution of 500 ml of Jinbaobei Genmiaozhuang for 15 minutes. (Jinbaobei Genmiaozhuang contains active rooting agents, virus inhibitors and BYM microbial fermentation liquid. Dipping the roots can reduce root diseases of the small seedlings, promote the growth of fibrous roots and improve root absorption capacity, making the seedlings grow robustly.) After soaking, place the seedlings on something highly absorbent and let them dry naturally in diffused light for 5-7 hours.

Dendrobium Propagation Techniques

Dendrobium propagation methods are divided into two major categories: sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. At present, asexual reproduction methods are mainly used in production.

1. Sexual reproduction: that is, seed propagation. Dendrobium seeds are extremely small, with about 20,000 seeds per capsule, in the form of yellow powder. They usually do not germinate, and can only germinate and grow under conditions of sufficient nutrients, suitable humidity and moderate light. Generally, they need to be cultured in a tissue culture room. However, although the propagation coefficient of Dendrobium is extremely high, the success rate of its sexual reproduction is extremely low.

2. Asexual reproduction

(1) Division propagation: carried out in spring or autumn, preferably before Dendrobium sprouts at the end of March or the beginning of April. Select 1-2 year old plants with good growth, no pests or diseases, well-developed roots and many sprouts as stock plants. Pull them up with the roots, remove dead branches and broken branches, cut off excessively long fibrous roots, keep the old roots at about 3 cm, and divide them into several clumps according to the number of stems. Each clump must have 4-5 stems and can be used as seed stems.

(2) Cutting propagation: carried out in spring or summer, preferably in May-June. Select robust three-year-old plants and take plump, rounded stem segments. Each segment should retain 4-5 nodes and be about 15-25 cm long. Insert them into vermiculite or river sand, with the depth just enough to keep the stem from falling over. Wait until the axillary buds on the stems sprout and white aerial roots grow, then they can be transplanted. Generally, when selecting material, the upper stem segments are mainly used because they have apical dominance, a high survival rate, more sprouts, and fast growth and development.

(3) Keiki propagation: mostly carried out in spring or summer, mainly in summer. On Dendrobium plants more than three years old, axillary buds, also called keikis, sprout on the stems every year and grow aerial roots to become small plantlets. When they grow to 5-7 cm, they can be cut off and transplanted.

(4) In vitro tissue culture propagation: Dendrobium nobile can be rapidly propagated into test-tube plantlets by tissue culture using the following method. After routine disinfection, the leaves, tender stems and roots of Dendrobium nobile are cut into 0.5-1 cm explants. MS and B5 are used as the basic media, with various media supplemented with different hormone combinations such as NAA (0.05-1.5 mg/L), IAA (0.2-1.0 mg/L), and 6-BA (1.0-5.0 mg/L). The medium pH is 5.6-6.0, the culture temperature is 25°C-28°C, the daily light period is 9-10 hours, and the light intensity is 1800-1900 lx for tissue culture. After 19 days, small bud points appear on the stems and leaves. After about 1 month, the small buds elongate and fork at the tips. After 2 months, the small buds grow into test-tube plantlets about 2.0-2.7 cm tall with 4-8 leaves. The leaf and root segments show no changes. It was also found that among different formula combinations of media, MS has a clear advantage over B5 basic medium in growth rate.

Precautions for Growing Dendrobium

Moderate Temperature

Growing Dendrobium officinale generally requires an indoor temperature of 0-30°C and a growth temperature of 15-30°C. In summer, pay attention to shading and ventilation indoors, and water or mist frequently to maintain moisture and lower the temperature; in winter, pay attention to the indoor temperature and keep the plants warm.

Appropriate Humidity

The cultivation of Dendrobium officinale requires appropriate humidity, and humidity adjustment changes according to the temperature: high temperatures require high humidity, and low temperatures require low humidity. During the peak growing period, the indoor air humidity should be kept at 60%-90%.

Moderate Water Quality

When cultivating Dendrobium officinale, weakly acidic water or neutral water is required, and the substrate used in cultivation should be easy to aerate, easy to drain, and full of gaps.

Suitable Site

The cultivation site for Dendrobium officinale requires good ventilation facilities. Indoors, it requires warmth, humidity, weak light and ventilation.

The above points are the techniques for growing Dendrobium officinale. Have you learned them? If you have, why not try growing them at home yourself, because Dendrobium officinale is a precious plant and can be very helpful to your health.

After about 1 month, the small buds elongate and fork at the tips. After 2 months, the small buds grow into test-tube plantlets about 2.0-2.7 cm tall with 4-8 leaves. The leaf and root segments show no changes. It was also found that among different formula combinations of media, MS has a clear advantage over B5 basic medium in growth rate.