cymbidium breaking off the shoots

[Cach26]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Grow them first, then you can get down into the weeds if you run into an issue. If you have the right conditions (which may vary depending on the parentage of the plant) Cyms are just about the most straightforward orchid you can grow. I use bit of a top dressing of a generic time-release fertilizer (Osmocote, Nutricote, Dynamite where I live, whatever you can get at a garden store or big-box store will be fine) as a little extra boost, but fancy imported fertilizer? NOT. Don't overthink! Try actually growing the plants then you can refine after you have some experience under your belt to show you what is, and what is not, relevant.

Before you worry about "growing to perfection" try getting some to actually grow. survive, and thrive (and bloom) first. Fertilizer in general is probably about the last 20%, Fine tuning fertilizer strategy is maybe the final 1%. Won't make any difference at all if you don't get the other 80% of cultural factors right FIRST.

Pretty much anybody can GROW a Cymbidium - they are very forgiving. Blooming them is another story - THAT will tell you whether you have the conditions right, If it grows and doesn't bloom, there are things you can do to make adjustments. Fertilizer will make zero difference, other factors are much more important.

Thanks Mrs. Roberta, for the advice, thanks to the advice of this forum and your comments I have greatly improved my crop, now I just need to give flower, let's see what happens in this winter season....

[Roberta]

You can't "shape" it until you grow it. Also I see no mention from the OP about specifically the Asian-type Cymbidiums Some of the have different requirements than the bigger ones. Whatever type, first things first - actually successfully grow the plant.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Roberta

You can't "shape" it until you grow it. Also I see no mention from the OP about specifically the Asian-type Cymbidiums Some of the have different requirements than the bigger ones. Whatever type, first things first - actually successfully grow the plant.

My bad, then.

[Cach26]

Originally Posted by Jeff214

This is a case of a bad translation (please be careful when you post un-verified translations... you might spread false info).
!

Okey, Thanks for the advice, here is the textual quote, I want to know what it says, I'm curious XD

"""
芽カキ
シンビジウムをきれいに咲かせるためには、「芽カキ」という作業が必要です。せっかく出た新芽をカキ取るの はもったいない気がしますが、思い切って作業してみましょう。シンビジウムの開花に一歩近づき ます。


春の芽カキ
４～５月頃　花が終わると新しい葉芽がたくさん出て来ます。多いものでは10本以上出ることも あります。
その葉芽をそのまま全て育てると、葉ばかり茂って一芽一芽が太りきらず、花が付かなくなってしまいますので 、春に出た葉芽は太いものを２～３本残し、残りは全てカキ取ります。


秋の芽カキ
春に残した新芽が充実してくると花芽が付いてきます。
このとき、花芽と一緒に葉芽が出てくることがありますが、 この葉芽をそのままにしておくと下で控えている花芽が伸びてこないことがあるので、秋に出てきた葉芽は全て カキ取ります。"""

[Roberta]

This doesn't say what kind of Cymbidium... probably one of the Asian (Chinese) types, that is what is popular for display in Japan. It is a distinct aesthetic. It may also include very expensive pots, special medium. There are also less-expensive plastic pots, but they all have a distinctive tall shape (tall relative to the diameter) . Different species have different requirements - for instance, Cym. ensifolium is rather topical, likes to be fairly warm. But some of the others hate heat. So this is part of a "recipe" that is very incomplete.


Google Translate does a pretty good job (I don't read Japanese, but the end result does make sense in English:

Bud pruning
In order to make Cymbidiums bloom beautifully, a process called "bud pruning" is necessary. It seems a waste to prune off the new buds that have already sprouted, but let's go ahead and do it. It will bring Cymbidiums one step closer to blooming.

Spring bud pruning
Around April to May, after the flowers have finished blooming, many new leaf buds will appear. In some cases, there may be more than 10.
If you let all the leaf buds grow as they are, the leaves will grow thick and each bud will not grow, and flowers will not bloom, so leave 2-3 thick leaf buds that appeared in spring and prune off the rest.

Autumn bud pruning
When the new buds left in spring mature, flower buds will appear.
At this time, leaf buds may appear along with the flower buds, but if these leaf buds are left as they are, the flower buds waiting below may not grow, so prune off all the leaf buds that appeared in autumn.

If you truly are growing plants from this group of Cymbidiums, search the Forum for posts from Asian Cymbidium Empress.

[Cach26]

Originally Posted by Roberta

If you truly are growing plants from this group of Cymbidiums, search the Forum for posts from Asian Cymbidium Empress.

Wow... I guess cutting the later shoots is part of what is considered a good crop in that environment.
I wouldn't hurt my plants here. And since it's a big company maybe they just want better inflorescences.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Cach26

Wow... I guess cutting the later shoots is part of what is considered a good crop in that environment.
I wouldn't hurt my plants here. And since it's a big company maybe they just want better inflorescences.

Grooming plants for display in Japanese shows is a very complex process. Don't think of it as a "crop", rather more like an artist producing individual works of art. You can't create museum-quality works of art by searching the internet, you can't produce prize-winners at a Japanese orchid show that way either. The people who do it learn from experienced masters over a period of years.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Cach26

Wow... I guess cutting the later shoots is part of what is considered a good crop in that environment.
I wouldn't hurt my plants here. And since it's a big company maybe they just want better inflorescences.

Growing show plants is just a different game from being a regular hobbyist, and the Japanese are quite particular when it comes to cultivation, not just with orchids.

You don't see singular melon fruit going for well over 100 USD in Japan for no reason.

Yūbari King Melon
- Gastro Obscura

As Roberta mentioned, if you're growing the Jenosa type (goeringii, ensifolium, sinense, faberi, kanran, etc.) of Cymbidiums, you can watch the video I posted earlier and find posts from Asian Cymbidium Empress. I think there's also a Facebook group out there somewhere.

I grow Cym. goeringii, ensifolium and sinense. All the ones I have are doing fine, in fact they don't seem to mind the heat here, but they are a bit particular and I am by far not the most experienced.

A few of the general things I can say for certain are

• They don't like being shipped around and repotted.
  They will seem to not be growing for a hot minute once you get them from being shipped to you and pot them up. Mostly inorganic mixes help you from needing to repot them every year.
• They want really clean water. If you can give them 0-15 PPM water, they will like it.
• They don't like being fertilized a bunch. Japanese growers might fertilize them 3 times a year at most, if they don't use a slow releasing fertilizer.