Dendrobium Green Elf is a very attractive Dendrobium section Latouria hybrid between D. convolutum and D. alexandrae. I acquired this plant from a German nursery about a year ago. I have always liked Dendrobium sect. Latouria, but had assumed from what I had read that they were difficult to grow. How wrong I was. They seem to like more water than many Dendrobium cultivars and don’t seem to have a strict rest period. I get the best results from potting them in a mix of medium bark chips and sphagnum moss. I let them dry out thoroughly between waterings and then water them thoroughly again. This method seems to suit all Latouria types that I have in my care.
In common with many of its cousins, D. Green Elf flowers from old canes, seemingly at random. This is the second blooming of this plant for me, both times from a single spike off an old cane, with three flowers. The flowers are not large, compared with some of the D. rhodostictum and D. atroviolaceum hybrids, but they are still quite striking. I particularly like the burgundy veining on the lip set against the apple green of the remaining tepals. I have not detected a scent, although I don’t particularly expect one from this cross.
Dendrobium Green Elf is supposedly a compact hybrid, but my plant is still producing canes larger than the previous ones and these are getting fairly tall and need staking, not because they are likely to break, but because they have a tendency to grow out at an angle from the rhizome. Hopefully it will produce more flowers on more spikes as it matures.
