How to Care for a Dendrobium Hollywood Orchid

Dendrobium is one of thousands of orchids and a native to warm regions, including the Pacific Islands. Commonly called bamboo or Singapore orchids, the stem of the Dendrobium orchid looks like a bamboo stalk, atop of which flowers bloom in different colors. Hollywood is a Dendrobium that produces purple blossoms. As orchids are famous for, this type requires specific care to thrive.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Pot
• Airy potting mix
• Humidifier
• Fan, as needed
• Urea-free orchid fertilizer
• Shears

1. Grow your Dendrobium Hollywood orchid in a pot filled with airy soil, such as coconut husk chips, bark and volcanic rock. Repot the plant only if organic growing medium decomposes or if the orchid outgrows the pot.
2. Place your orchid in bright indirect sunlight. Move it with the seasons so it’s always in the brightest location in the house. Set it by a south-facing window in the winter, for example, and in the west side of the house in the summer. In warm weather, this flower also thrives outdoors in the morning sun. Take the pot back inside the house before the first frost. This flower does best in 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
3. Irrigate your plant as soon as the soil dries until water runs through the pot’s drainage holes. Wait until the soil becomes dry again to give the orchid more water in the same manner. Don’t allow the roots to stay in a dry medium in the growing season. But decrease the watering frequency after your Dendrobium finishes flowering to allow it to rest. This orchid blooms in the fall, winter and spring.
4. Plug in a humidifier in the room, as your orchid also draws moisture from the air to survive, but open a window or run a fan on low to make the moist environment less prone to fungal development.
5. Select an orchid fertilizer without urea. Clemson Cooperative Extension recommends a high-nitrogen formula if you have your Dendrobium Hollywood growing in bark. It also suggests you switch to a high-phosphorous formulation in the fall to promote winter and spring blooming. Use the fertilizer every time the plant needs watering during the growing season. Follow the application rates listed on the product label. Reduce fertilization to once every three weeks when the plant is at rest. Drench the soil with plain water once a month to wash out salt buildup from the fertilizer.
6. Prune yellowed leaves near the base of the plant and dead flowers.