Orchid Post Mortem: Queen Victoria’s Dendrobium
Sadly, I lost this beautiful Dendrobium victoriae-reginae, or Queen Victoria’s Dendrobium, in a heat wave. I blogged about this plant a few years ago. Living outdoors, it’s been a tough orchid and a reliable bloomer, surviving numerous travails to flower again. But during a heat wave that went up to 95°F (35°C) over several days, I mistakenly didn’t water and mist it enough. Since it grew on a mount, not in a pot, it was extra susceptible to drying out, and it fried.
The same heat wave left some of my Masdevallias with sunburned leaves, too. Fortunately, those plants didn’t suffer as much and have survived. This Dendrobium wasn’t so lucky. Native to high elevations in the Philippines, some varieties of this species have striking blue flowers, but mine was more purple than blue. It was named in honor of Queen Victoria.
It’s another disturbing reminder that worsening climate change will make this happen more often. With our plentiful fog and mild temperatures, the Northern California coast has been a great place to grow cool and intermediate orchids outdoors. But our infrequent heat waves have become hotter and longer-lasting. San Francisco Bay Area residents often assume that Pacifica is so close to the chilly ocean that we’re immune, but that’s not the case. We can heat up just as badly.
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