Dendrobium anosmum
This species is quite amusing because its name literally means ‘no scent’, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is often described as smelling of raspberries, but I can’t say I could smell them. The scent is far sweeter than that and quite delightful.
I obtained this plant a few years ago in a trade as a keiki. It is still quite at home in a 9cm pot, though the canes are starting to grow longer now. For some time, I followed conventional advice and grew it in a terracotta pot, but this set it back quite a lot and that is why it is still so small now. Since I transferred it to a plastic pot a year or so ago, it has grown much better with longer canes. They have a way to go, as this species can grow canes up to a metre long! It is a deciduous species, shedding leaves and resting for a couple of months, at which time watering should be reduced. It can be difficult to tell when the plant is resting though, because it doesn’t tend to drop its leaves until the new growth has started. Perhaps this is just a response to my growing conditions, I don’t know for sure. It doesn’t seem to complain if it gets watered out of season though.
Under my conditions, flowers are produced in late spring or early summer. I only ever get two flowers, but on a plant as small as mine, that is good going! They are relatively large blooms, but unfortunately, quite short-lived. Hopefully, as the plant grows, I will be blessed with rather more flowers.
