Species · genus Dendrobium · Orchidaceae

Rock-lily

Dendrobium speciosum Sm.

Also known as: Wood-lily · Rock Orchid

Growth habit
pseudobulbous lithophyte or epiphyte
Native range
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Reference · D. speciosum

Cultivars of D. speciosum

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under D. speciosum yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Dendrobium speciosum is a pseudobulbous orchid that grows on rock and bark in eastern Australia, storing water in its thick pseudobulbs and relying on fast drainage and airflow at the roots. Grow it in a coarse, open orchid mix or mounted, in bright indirect light, and water only when the medium has dried and the pseudobulbs are firm but no longer plump. It tolerates dry spells far better than sitting wet, so err toward letting the roots approach dryness between waterings.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified
Light
ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water
ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d)
Humidity
ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil
ai:claude-fable-5
Care
ai:claude-fable-5
Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 14 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

8–30 °C

Soil mix

Coarse bark in a large, stable pot

Propagation

Division of large clumps

Fertilizing

Dilute orchid feed in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Arching sprays of fragrant cream flowers in spring

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Rock-lily yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.

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