How to care for Dendrobium speciosum; the amazing native Australian orchid. 

Mathew I absolutely love your video's. I live in the Western Cape where our conditions are more or less te same. I learn so much from you! Thank you so much!

I live in a desert in the US. Your recommendations remind me of caring for a cactus outdoors. Full sun, water when it looks a bit shriveled and just let it go. Very few non- native plants make think they could live outside in my harsh environment.

I think you have now become a expert, well done its gorgeous.

Woooooow! What a splendid bloom!

My first Dendrobium speciosum cost me $90. An absolute steal, it’s almost criminal. My second was a little more at $120 but her 13 flower spikes of 2022 again make me feel like I got away with highway robbery 😂 I also have three other speciosum hybrids but they are much smaller. Good for the table when in bloom 👌🏼💚 With both of my large specimens, the spikes came in earlier than yours (I think) because it was in full bloom in late September and the blooms are going over now. I’m about to cut the flower spikes so they can focus on vegetative growth. Maybe put them into a show next year. Last week I bought a seedling of Dendrobium Speciosum hillii - one of the 13 natural occurring variants. When in bloom, hillii has all white blooms. It’s SO tiny it’ll be a while before she blooms but I’m 44, totally into foliage and while I don’t have much patience at the best of times, I’ll be so pleased to have grown her from bub size, provided nothing bad happens to her 🤞🏼 Great to see yours doing so well! 😊 - the only thing that I would not do just personally, is allow the dead leaves in the pot. In my humble opinion, you are begging for pests there. So keep a close watch.

I splurged on one of these for $100 in Autumn this year, it had only four spent canines but lavished love on it with new potting medium placed it in a fabulous morning to midday lit spot and…it has recently produced six new robust canines with massive glossy leaves. I’m just so pleased with myself 👏

Two spikes is better than zero and those blooms are a nice rich yellow, simply gorgeous. There are two subtypes (well, more than that but generally divided into two). The larger, taller plants as you have and those with shorter, fatter pseudobulbs. There is an orchid nursery just a bit north of me (25 km or so) that has a specimen that is upwards of forty years old and the canes on it are probably half again as tall as yours. Absolutely massive plant, with multiple cultural awards, that he occasionally takes divisions from for sale. Depending on where it originated, speciosum can vary in fragrance intensity, some of them will bowl you over the fragrance is so strong. The one drawback, as with kingianum and delicatum, is the blooms are generally short lived. Here in South Florida, you get a week/ten days out of them and that is all. But what a glorious week it is.

What a beautiful orchid! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about cultivation of these beauties. Always look forward to watching your videos.

Great talk, I enjoy your knowledge. Have a great week.

Wow! Wow! It’s like a Jurassic age remnant, massive proportions for an orchid! Well done for blooming it. Could just about see you behind the yellow froth of blooms😅.

Thank you for your delightful videos. I am growing this plant in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. I keep it outside in bright shade, because this plant is like a vampire. If a ray of sunlight touches it, it shrivels up and turns black. Right now, mine has three spectacular bloom spikes, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m growing some of this plant’s keikis, which is kind of an absurd endeavor, considering how long it will take for them to mature. Maybe I’ll stick some of them in my fruit trees, to see what happens…

Oi amigo vc também é amante das orquideas linda não conheço está especi d dendrobim estou apaixonada muito linda. Vc está d parabéns 🎊

Your lucky to have plants that size available even though they are expensive. At the annual orchid show and sale in Edmonton a couple weeks ago tiny 3 cane seedlings were $35. At 2-3 inches tall they are as you describe 15 years away from flowering. Very impressive specimen. If I ever find a division I'll know what it likes!

It's amazing how well Aussie Dendrobiums do here in Buenos Aires Argentina being pretty much the same latitude as south Australia, I have a hybrid named Dendrobium Australian Artist (Speciosum - Kingianum - Tegragonum) from SVO, which is amazing too. Cheers

Lovely blooms! How rewarding they are. The speciosums have well and truly finished here in the West but so nice to see they are still going down in Melbourne for you to enjoy! My Grandiflorum and var. Curvicaule speciosums outperformed themselves this year with 5 spikes each. Looking forward to your next video, hopefully more online shopping orchid hauls??? 😄

I have a huge speciosum that was given to me for free it was spectacular this year I don't do anything with it, it gets morning sun then shaded by fence from afternoon sun. I had seven spikes on it.

Amazing plant! Your video is motivating me to out and buy one! Let’s see how I do with it in Ecuador! Thanks for your tips!

Thank you so much for this informative post. Oh I am so glad I decided to buy one at a recent orchid show. What a lucky find, I had no idea being a complete novice ( I won’t be vulgar and talk money, but it was a lot cheaper here in Adelaide 🤭). I’ve shifted it several times already and now I am armed with better information, think I can settle on its final spot. Your posts are always a delight to view over breakfast 😊.

Gorgeous !

Thanks so much for this well-crafted video. I just found Dendrobium Pegasus 'Wedding White' which is about 62% D. speciosum. Also, your grand book looks wonderful; I too am a book lover and might have to request what they call "Inter-Library Loan" where my local library puts out a request to other libraries for such treasures as this; takes about a month.

Magnificent! May I ask how is this plant doing this year?

Hello, from Melbourne

Hello Matthew, she is absolutely breathtaking!!😍😍🤩🤩😘😘

Great info, thank you

Hi Matthew I can’t believe you posted this video just as my first speciosum is on its way in the mail. I’m relieved to learn I “splurged” for a more established plant for good reason. No one has time to wait 10-15 yrs. Do you think they benefit from year round sun, or more sun in a particular season? Thank you!

Sooo beautiful Matthew 😍 you are such an expert now- love your videos & commentary - you must sell me a division when you decide to divide I am in NZ 👍

Love this Australia golden arch so much. Thanks for sharing

Mathew, I hope all is well with you and yours. We r hearing of flooding in Melbourne

found a plant in germany so soon i got one in my home

Hi Matthew so glad I listened and learned what species of orchid I was given as had no idea until I saw your video. You are so informative and now I have a question. My Dendrobium is just finished flowering with one spike. Do I cut that spike off at the bottom or do I leave the spike on. Thank you in advance from here in Queensland.

Hi again Matthew, another really informative video although I don't think it would like our normally wet and windy weather in Wales UK 😀. Can I pick your brains about the winter rest for Kingianums please? We're well into autumn now and I bought a few this year and I don't know how to introduce them to the rest so I don't shock them. At the moment they're in a sunroom and temps are 19-28.5C Outside in a cold greenhouse it's 10.5-17.5C They were last watered a couple of days ago. Should I let them dry out and just put them straight out? Another option is an unheated room in the house at 16.5-20-5C so should they go in there first and then outside? How low can they go and still be happy because in the garden it can freeze in midwinter. Would the intermediate temperature be low enough for a proper winter rest? Sorry to be so longwinded 😄

Very informative video and gorgeous blooms, thanks for sharing. I bought a seedlings three years ago and it's growing so fast but its other yet big enough to bloom! When I heard you say it might take up to 15 yes to bloom, I sighed 😕! I live in UK so even if I wanted to buy a big plant I couldn't, however I'm optimistic it will bloom in few years for me. I decided to keep it I the sun in garden in late spring with my cymbidiums to encourage her to bloom. Does it need a bit of a cold like cymbidiums to initiate the spikes too?

Thank you Mathew, a very good video that i learn a lot and now know why my never flower, not enough Sun and never take care of them. May i ask how often you need to repot them as mine never get repot 😅

Hello! I am Jose Luis from Barcelona, ​​Spain. Could you tell me when it is better to transplant or repot the Dendrobium speciosum? Congratulations on that spectacular bloom. And thank you very much for sharing your experience. Take care of yourself

It's like a tree❤😂🎉

Thank you

Beautiful orchid. How is your Phaius doing? Just got a hybrid this fall. I live in Indiana, USA. US zone 5. So I grow indoors.

I have two in large pots , I saw one mounted at a nursery . I was wondering if this is a good idea - it looked terrific . I have a large tree fern backing board I could use - just wanted some advice

I get a lot of sunlight I’m in Southern California…but how much water does it need?

Hi my mum and dad have a huge orchid of this kind in their front yard. Its massive so I grabbed a few and potted them. Now they have bud sand some flowers already but the buds started out green and now some are turning dark yellow to brown and the other ones in the pot the buds went dark brown to black and started falling off and eventually died. I water once a week but just the top of the soil i dont soak it. One pot is in the full morning sun the other is in the shade. Is it too much water or not enough. Im worried they will all die :(

i use rice water ore akvaruim water when waterchange and it seems like that all orchids i got

Where I can buy this Australia golden arch? Please Thanks

My big plant was exposed to Canberra frost. 😥

Does sane cane rebloom?