How to Care for a Dendrobium Hybrid Hiang Beauty Orchid

The Hiang Beauty dendrobium orchid is a hybrid orchid bred in Thailand that has been licensed for cultivation since 1982. It has unusual coloration for a dendrobium orchid in that it is made up of shades of pale pink, deep cerise pink and barely pink-tinted white. Like all dendrobiums, Hiang Beauty it is an epiphytic orchid, using aerial roots to draw moisture from the air. It requires coarse, fast-draining planting medium, bright light and high humidity.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

• Water
• Spray mist bottle
• Distilled water (for misting only)
• Orchid food

1. Provide bright indirect light or filtered direct sunlight for a minimum of 8 hours per day. Shade protection from direct afternoon sun is warranted to prevent burn, drying out of the medium and heat damage.
2. Provide ambient temperatures for your dendrobium in keeping with the species preference for warmth and should be kept at 65-degrees Fahrenheit overnight and 75-degrees Fahrenheit during the day.
3. Water your dendrobium orchid every four to seven days to keep the medium lightly moist at all times. Never allow the medium to dry out entirely beyond the top few inches. Hold the plant under a tap running with tepid water until drenched and allow the excess water to run through the pot.
4. Feed your dendrobium with a water-soluble orchid food at 50 percent of the strength recommended on the label. Feed twice a month at watering time. Pour the diluted fertilizer solution over the roots and medium, allowing the excess to drain away.
5. Raise ambient humidity around your Hiang Beauty dendrobium with daily mistings from a spray bottle filled with distilled water at room temperature. Tap water also can be used, but it is more likely to spot the leaves. In arid climates or during the winter when the heater is running mist two to three times daily to compensate.
6. Prune only once the entire flower stalk has finished blooming, the flowers have dropped away and the green stem has turned brown, shriveled and become desiccated. At that point, cut the stem down to the top of the pseudobulb between the leaves and discard it.