Botanical name: Dendrobium lineale
Description: An antelope orchid native to the low-lying areas around Madang and the Sepik River of Papua New Guinea, but other forms are found on smaller islands off the coast of New Guinea. The term antelope is used because of the orchid's erect, twisted petals, like antelope horns.
This evergreen species develops robust canes often many feet tall. Ours has canes about 4 ½ feet tall. This spring, the plant had 47 spikes that produced hundreds of small, one-inch flowers. New Guinea is the center of Dendrobium diversity, with about 500 species. Den. lineale and the other antelope dendrobiums are grouped in a section called Spathulata.
Height: 6 feet
Light: full sun to light shade
Culture: Den. lineale is an epiphyte that grows on Calophyllum trees as well as coastal flowering leguminous trees called rain trees. We grow ours in charcoal in a large terra-cotta pot outside. We use a lot of ballast -- chunks of broken pots -- in the bottom to keep the large plant upright. The charcoal allows for free drainage, and I water it with a hose about every other day.
Use 15-5-15 water soluble fertilizer weekly in the summer at full strength, every other week in cooler winters.
