Dendrobium nobile

Noble dendrobium

The classic cane dendrobium from the monsoon hills of the Himalaya, southern China and Indochina. It grows on tree trunks and mossy rocks in mid-elevation forest. The rainy summers are warm and very wet, and the winters are cool, bright and almost rainless. That cool, dry winter rest sets the flower buds along the canes, so skipping it is the main reason plants in homes stop blooming.

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte on tree trunks and a lithophyte on rocks, often mossy limestone, in lowland and montane forest. It grows in fairly open positions where the canes get strong light, especially in the leafless dry season. The canes are upright to arching, and leaves last about two years. Flowers appear in winter and spring, two to four per node, along the upper part of the older canes.

Measured records span 350–2134 m, median 1200 m, which matches the 500–1700 m given in the literature.

NepalBhutanIndia: Sikkim, Assam and north-eastBangladeshChina: South-Central, Southeast, Tibet, HainanMyanmarThailandLaosVietnam

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Dendrobium nobile? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Dendrobium

Dendrobium bigibbum Dendrobium phalaenopsis Dendrobium kingianum Dendrobium canaliculatum Dendrobium moniliforme Dendrobium bracteosum Dendrobium unicum Dendrobium regium Dendrobium taurinum Dendrobium speciosum Dendrobium tetragonum Dendrobium discolor All 1696 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.