Question
Dear Mr. King,

My Dendrobium was growing quite well this summer, until the latest set of leaves emerged.  For some reason, these two leaves at the top of the stem just flopped to one side, instead of growing up and outward.  They look healthy otherwise.  My orchid is growing in a orchid bark medium and I allow it to dry out between waterings.  This is the same routine I've been using for the past year.  Toward the beginning of the summer I started using a fertilizer made to the specifications of a mix that was used by the University of Minnesota (I think), in some well-known study.  The fertilizer is sold by a reputable vendor on the Internet.  Do you think the fertilizer is making the new leaves droop?  If not, do you happen to have any other ideas of what may be causing the problem?

Thank you for your help!

Answer
The plant food in question is probably that formulated at the University of Michigan.  It is unlikely that this plant food is the culprit.

Do you use the same watering and feeding schedule year around?  Dendrobiums require a rest period each year following a growth cycle.  If you continue to water and feed during the rest period, the plant will attempt to keep on growing.  The result is a plant that continues to use energy to grow when it should be resting. That may be what has been happening.  I hope you have given your dendrobium plenty of light as they are high light plants.

At this point, I would back off from the watering and stop the fertilizer until new growth starts-- probably next spring.  You want to prevent a lot of shrinkage of the canes during the rest period so I would mist the plant every couple of days but do not water.