Dendrobium parishii var. coerulea

This is the rare blue form of the species which is normally purple. The flower color is white with a lip that has two indigo blue eyes. These plants are often known as the hand orchid in Thailand, as when the growths are mature and start losing leaves the psedobulbs look like human fingers. The beautiful 1-1.5 inch flowers have white markings with blue eyes in the lip. The fragrance is great with a raspberries and cream scent. The plants offered are strong seedlings that could have their first flowers in 2018 or 2019. Grow in medium light and water/fertilize well in the summer. Cut back on fertilizer at the end of August and by Mid November start using only clear water. Once the leaves start yellowing and fall off, keep the plant decidely drier at the roots by only watering every 2-3 weeks or so. Some slight shriveling of the canes is normal. If they shrivel too much, increase the frequency of watering and they will start to plump back up. Sometime in late winter or early spring you will see buds starting to form on the sides of the finger like pseudobulbs. When this happens just use clear water and allow the mix to approach dryness between waterings. After flowering, when new growth begins at the base of the plant and roots begin to form, one can begin fertilizing the plant through the growing season.