Dockrillia Orchids were originally classified as dendrobiums and are still classified as dendrobiums by the RHS however the genus Dockrillia is widely excepted in Australia.

They are a subset of terete leaved dendrobiums (many with long cylindrical leaves but some have peculiar succulent leaves)

Dockrillias have a very wide range from the very Cold tasmania right up into tropical queensland and even papua new guinea so it is important when growing species to understand where they grow naturally and even with hybrids you need to be careful as many of the more colourful modern hybrids have PNG species in the background so are warmer growing (generally fine but you do need to be careful to keep small plants dry in cold weather)

For those of you looking at growing these for the first time or just trying to improve your success here are a few pointers based on our experience.

• We grow our dockrillias as bright as aussie dendrobiums or cymbidiums
• We grow them in good air circulation but still with reasonable humidity (eg no hot dry winds)
• We grow ours in pots happily although with a chunkier mix than the same size dendrobium
• We also grow them on mounts, for the most part they seem to prefer to be mounted and i think a mount is better long term.

Dockrillias are relatively quick to flower (18-36 months from flask) but take time to make up into large specimens, when large they are most spectacular both in flower and just the beauty and peculiarity of the plants themselves.

Overall Dockrillias are for the most part very easy to grow so give a few a go!

A few of the two hundred or so seedling Docs we are flowering for the first time this year: Note they are all growing in 80mm squat pots and this batch are hanging above a bench of Dendrobium Speciosums.