A unique Australian Dendrobium, found on eastern Cape York into very southern New Guinea, with canes that are as interesting as the flowers. We grow this species in granite, and water daily in the summer, and bi-weekly to monthly in winter; similar in culture to Dendrobium jonesii, but with a bit less light. We have grown and flowered it well in a southern window in our house as well as in our LED grow light cool room (50F/10C minimum winter nights).
This plant flowers in late winter (February), though I have read that there are distinct populations that flower either in the autumn or in the spring, with autumn being more common. Uniquely, it is a fire-adapted orchid species, and I have seen in situ photographs of the canes regenerating on trees burned by the low-intensity bush fires common in its habitat. In the wild, Dendrobium johannis are not known to become particularly large, with only a few leafed canes at time. Dendrobium johannis is part of the Section Spatulata.
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