How to grow Cym. Encifolium (KuanYinSuSin) in San Francisco

[ArdenCymEnci]

Hello!

Can someone please offer caring guidelines on a 2-year-old Cym. Encifolium (KuanYinSuSin) in San Francisco:
(i) How to grow it better?
(ii) How to make it blossom?

It's the kind of Cym. Encifolium w/ pale green, nicely scented.

Current Condition & Problems:
1. It hasn't blossomed;
2. Some brown tips - perhaps from not enough watering?
3. About 5 grown leaves & 1 new sprout of 2" long.

Current Environment:
Fairly shaded, outdoor garden in a 6"-diameter terra cota pot.

Thank you very much!!

Arden

[Ray]

Arden,

I find that Cymbidium ensifolium v. Kuan Yin Susin is an excellent candidate for semi-hydroponics. I used to import the Chinese cymbs by the ton, and my supplier in Taiwan grew them that way in a mixture of pumice and coarse tree fern. Tall pots with lots of water and air flow seems to be the combination.

If you're in San Francisco proper, I would think that it would be a great outdoor plant. They can tolerate heat (into the upper 90°'s) if kept very shaded, and can handle full sun if grown cool (they can even tolerate snow...).

I feed mine at every watering (several times a week in the summer) with 125 ppm N (divide 10 by the %N on the label). Do not use a particularly high nitrogen fertilizer like a 30-10-10.

[kavanaru]

bringing back this thread...


I have the same Cymbidium... everywhere I read it need same growing conditions as Phalaenopsis. However, from time to time, I find a website saying that they do not bloom if kept as Phalaenopsis... I also read somewhere that big day/night temp differences could inhibit the flowering and growth of this species...

Ray, as you said you have a lot of experience with this species... Do you give them a Nitrogen rest in winter? How cool/cold do you keep them in winter? Furthermore, when would be the best time for moving into S/H? I know it is when new growths are active, but it seems that my plant is growing right now in the fall.... is that normal for this species?

[Ray]

Ramon,

I do not give anything a rest. Everything gets the same feeding regimen year 'round. Same on the cool down in winter - nope, nothing outside of the normal fluctuations associated wioth cloudiness and winter temps (my GH is set to a 60°F minimum, but their corner is cooler).

I find they can be repotted pretty much at any time, as they do very little resting. I used to import them 500 at a time (along with other oriental species) from Taiwan, and they would often come in in-spike or even in-bloom, so I potted them up, and they never missed a beat.

[kavanaru]

Ray, thanks a lot for your reply... this plant will be going nto S/H asap...

[Royal]

I grow ensifolium here in Texas. Summers are HOT. It gets a lot of sun. It stays right next to a rose that blooms well, so it's getting a ton of light. Mine is in a CHC mix, but s/h will probably work well. I bring it inside if it gets significantly below 40, but it has handled light frosts just fine.

Pheli grows many of these and gave me a little advice to bloom it. In late summer (maybe too late this year), withhold water for a while. After a few weeks of dryness new spikes come up.