Quote:
Originally Posted by estación seca
An Australian speaker at our society told me he thinks flower spikes are triggered by cool nights when the growth that will bear the flowers is just forming, 14-18 months before the flowers emerge.
|
Probably true for the majority of Cyms, that follow the standard pattern. But then there are the ones that bloom in summer (like Golden Elf and its progeny, and a few species like dayanum) These are pretty obvious... the season for those starts in July/August. Some of the warmer-growing species also don't need a cool-down. Cym. Golden Elf is half Cym. ensifolium, which is a warmer-grower, tends to die if it gets cold. By breeding it with a standard to get Golden Elf, one gets the best of both worlds - warm blooming, but cold tolerant. Cym. dayanum is pretty cold-tolerant, but doesn't need it to bloom. Like everything in orchids, there are exceptions to the general rules. There are some Aussie Cyms from the north - tropical- that bloom nicely without cool-down. In fact, Cym. canaliculatum, I have found, actually needs to go into the greenhouse for the winter. Warm and fairly dry. And blooms its head off. (Before I learned how to grow it, it declined badly during the winter that it was outside. Once I figured it out, it has done so well that I was able to give a division back to the person who originally had it, had entrusted it to somebody else and lost it... Best insurance around is to share one's plants)
Hybrid Mode
