Cycnoches Golden Showers

[Brenda Aarts]

Great job Bud. I think I could use a few lessons from you on this group of orchids!!!!

[Bud]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Fabulous!

Thank You, Sonya!

---------- Post added 09-20-2014 at 12:01 AM ---------- Previous post was 09-19-2014 at 11:56 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Brenda Aarts

Great job Bud. I think I could use a few lessons from you on this group of orchids!!!!

Thank You, Brenda!

I get my culture and infos on the SVO site:

Sunset Valley Orchids - Superior Hybrids for Orchid Enthusiasts

-then adjust and tweak it to fit my environment and my plants

[Brenda Aarts]

Originally Posted by Bud

Thank You, Sonya!

---------- Post added 09-20-2014 at 12:01 AM ---------- Previous post was 09-19-2014 at 11:56 PM ----------



Thank You, Brenda!

I get my culture and infos on the SVO site:

Sunset Valley Orchids - Superior Hybrids for Orchid Enthusiasts

-then adjust and tweak it to fit my environment and my plants

Thanks Bud, I try my best to follow, I seem to have trouble leaving them alone and not watering ....thus no blooms and mixed up plants. Will keep working in it though.

[NYCorchidman]

I miss this plant.
Mine rotted in the spring and I tossed it out.
Mine smelled more like banana rather than floral scent.

If I see this in stores again, I would definitely buy again.
The dark one (witchcraft magic or something I believe) was offered around October last year, and this year they were around during the summer.
not interested in that one though.

Either Cooperi or this beautiful yellow swan flowers!

[Bud]

Thank You for the visit and kind words.

I sometimes see Catasetinae sold in Chinatown. But I never looked to read the tags.

[catwalker808]

Bud. Very nice bloom. You must have gotten your plant a while back. We haven't made that cross in over 12 years.

Cycnoches blooming habit is very much like that of catasetum. From my observations, sex of the flowers is mostly dependent on light intensity … NOT AMBIENT light intensity necessarily, but specifically light intensity on the buds, at a certain developing size.

If ambient light is VERY strong (maybe 4000-5000+ foot candles, or 50% shade in very strong light) & the flower spike & buds are exposed throughout the blooming process, flowers are very likely to be all female (the not so beautiful flowers … sorry ladies). On the other hand, if the plant is in a much shadier place, the male flowers would occur.

If the plant in a shady location has some male flowers open (with some still unopened buds) and is moved into bright light, the buds, that are 1/4 or 1/3 mature, will develop into female flowers … on the same spike. Some of the buds, in the middle of the spike, which had started to develop into male flowers, may develop into bi-sexual flowers. So there might be 3 types of flowers on the same spike.

Previously, I mentioned the distinction between intensity of ambient light & intensity of light on the developing buds. For example, two plants are in the same STRONG ambient light conditions. One plant is hanging by itself or sitting by itself. This plant is likely to bloom female flowers (few flowers only). If the flower spike of other plant is heavily shaded by leaves or by other plants in close proximity, it is more likely to develop a longer spike of male flowers. Both plants are in the same greenhouse. But the developing spike & buds of one are under very bright conditions. The spike & buds of the other are under very shady conditions.

By moving a plant from very shady to very bright, the developing buds can easily shift to female buds. I have not seen the reverse happen. Moving from very bright to very shady will not change the sex midway in development … probably because the strong light has already irreversibly affected development.

[Oscarman]

Great Cycnoches info everyone and love the photos - real nice growing Bud

[katrina]

Originally Posted by catwalker808

By moving a plant from very shady to very bright, the developing buds can easily shift to female buds. I have not seen the reverse happen. Moving from very bright to very shady will not change the sex midway in development … probably because the strong light has already irreversibly affected development.

Interesting...I have never had this happen. And I have moved from bright to shadier and visa versa. Once I can see that they are male (or female) I've never seen them change.

Are you saying this would work on all Ctsm or just Cycnoches/Cycnodes?

[catwalker808]

Yes, once a flower blooms & you can distinguish the sex, it will not change.

As I indicate above, the BUD needs to be only 1/4 or 1/3 mature (still in early development stage) for the change to occur. We saw this first in catasetums almost 30 years ago, before we started growing cycnoches a few years later.

Female flowers of catasetums are REALLY homely & have no scent. Female flowers of cycnoches are not as homely as catasetum females, but not as showy as the male cycnoches flowers. And I believe the female cycnoches flowers have a light scent.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by catwalker808

Bud. Very nice bloom. You must have gotten your plant a while back. We haven't made that cross in over 12 years.

Cycnoches blooming habit is very much like that of catasetum. From my observations, sex of the flowers is mostly dependent on light intensity … NOT AMBIENT light intensity necessarily, but specifically light intensity on the buds, at a certain developing size.

If ambient light is VERY strong (maybe 4000-5000+ foot candles, or 50% shade in very strong light) & the flower spike & buds are exposed throughout the blooming process, flowers are very likely to be all female (the not so beautiful flowers … sorry ladies). On the other hand, if the plant is in a much shadier place, the male flowers would occur.

If the plant in a shady location has some male flowers open (with some still unopened buds) and is moved into bright light, the buds, that are 1/4 or 1/3 mature, will develop into female flowers … on the same spike. Some of the buds, in the middle of the spike, which had started to develop into male flowers, may develop into bi-sexual flowers. So there might be 3 types of flowers on the same spike.

Previously, I mentioned the distinction between intensity of ambient light & intensity of light on the developing buds. For example, two plants are in the same STRONG ambient light conditions. One plant is hanging by itself or sitting by itself. This plant is likely to bloom female flowers (few flowers only). If the flower spike of other plant is heavily shaded by leaves or by other plants in close proximity, it is more likely to develop a longer spike of male flowers. Both plants are in the same greenhouse. But the developing spike & buds of one are under very bright conditions. The spike & buds of the other are under very shady conditions.

By moving a plant from very shady to very bright, the developing buds can easily shift to female buds. I have not seen the reverse happen. Moving from very bright to very shady will not change the sex midway in development … probably because the strong light has already irreversibly affected development.

Thank You for taking time to give us important information about this orchid plant.

I got male flowers again for the second time around, the light from the corner of the windowsill must be doing it....

I got this orchid plant four years ago so the people I got it from must have acquired it maybe 12 years ago since they gave me three canes to start with....

---------- Post added at 03:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:34 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Oscarman

Great Cycnoches info everyone and love the photos - real nice growing Bud

Thank You !

I am glad to see you visit.