cymbidium pbubs

[mattryan]

fellow orchid lovers. My question is how big should cymbidum pbulbs be by this time in the growing season? I live in Ontario Can. so my question is reginally specific. We are into aug. here and I think I am wayyy behind. Mine are still very small only a quarter in size. Will they take off or are they slow growing? Also if they don't mature this season will they next and produce flowers? Thanks for the imput

[WhiteRabbit]

I have some small growths on my some of my cyms still - different cyms will bloom at different times, and so the growth cycle will also be different

the earliest I have had spikes on cyms is mid to late Oct - so that's still a few months of growing - but they can spike later than that too

[Cym Ladye]

Mattryan,

Rather than asking "how big a pbud should be at this time of season", it would be better to ask "how long are the longest leaves on the new growth(s)?" These growths will continue to grow and the pbulbs fill out, even after bloom is initiated and certainly will vary in size/length for many, many reasons. The pbulbs often take a year to fully swell and mature.

If I recall, an old time grower once said that a Cymbidium needed 10 leaves on its new growth to initiate a bloom spike. That pertained to the big, old time standards and I am not sure if it still holds true today.

I have some growths from this season measuring 30" and still going strong and I have some at 3" and everything in between. There is no rule, only what your plant genetics want to do under the conditions you are giving it.

CL