Makes large colonies when established. The form we sell is originally of north Korean stock, with large flowers in shades of reddish-pink. The variegated cultivars of Dendrobium moniliforme have been grown in Japan for hundreds of years, but are rarely seen in the West. They are horticultural selections of an epiphytic orchid common in warm-temperate East Asia, found in the wild growing on branches and trunks of trees, and on rock outcroppings. Dendrobiums are naturally dormant in winter, when they lose most or all their leaves, and if kept dry, will take frequent below-freezing temperatures.
Dendrobiums are easy to keep in a cold greenhouse or in a cool window.
In Zones 8 and 9 they can be grown outdoors if they are kept under cover in the winter to protect them from rain. If kept cold and dry in winter, they will produce their fragrant white flowers in summer. New growth occurs in mid- to late summer. Water and fertilize as you would for any orchid in summer. This is the wild type with green leaves and pink-blushed white flowers, easy and vigorous.