Cymbidium goeringii "Fuji no Yuubae" (Japanese) 日本春蘭「富士の夕映え

[Asian Cymbidium Empress]

Cymbidium goeringii "Fuji no Yuubae" (Japanese) 日本春蘭「富士の夕映え」It's time to check the flower buds. This year, the plant produced a very beautiful snow-white bud, so stage 1 shading was very successful. Now, it's time to continue shading the bud with aluminum foil. To bloom, vernalization is required in the winter (0C-10C no higher and no lower). The aluminum foil is only removed 2 weeks before the flower blooms in the spring. The bud is 3cm-5cm tall and will remain this size until 1 month before it blooms in the spring. The plant came damaged 3 years ago (in bloom). It has bloomed for me every year, so next year will be the 4th year in a row. When Japanese Culture procedures are followed, Cymbidium goeringii will have strong roots and can bloom every year. Last picture was the bloom in Jan/Feb 2021. All my Cymbidium goeringii are grown in Toronto, Canada.

[Shadeflower]

thanks for sharing. Did you buy these in Japan?

I see you have a few different ones. They look quite compact.

Can you explain the aluminum foil a bit? Can I ask are you trying to achieve a snow white flower with no color or what is the shading for?

I had a brief look on google but there wasn't much mentioned from a cursory look. Is it some Japanese technique?

What I did come across was a fertilization experiment with japanese cymbidiums which is my main interest. Generally the consensus is to reduce fertilizer in winter.

But this one gears up to flower in this period.

So do you plan to fertilize them over winter or is your plan to withhold fertilizer over the colder months?

[Asian Cymbidium Empress]

Yes, all my Japanese C. goeringii are from Japan directly. Either I pick them up in Japan with permit (pre-Covid, I visit Japan once every 2 years) or Flora Peculia (orchid vendor in Canada) bring them back for me when he goes to the Tokyo Dome Show. I contact Japanese Cymbidium vendor directly and hand pick the plants directly from the Cymbidium vendor.

Yes, the Japanese and Korean C. goeringii clones are smaller than the Chinese C. goeringii clones. The average leave length is between 25cm-35cm. The smallest known Japanese C. goeringii is about 3.5cm leaf length (blooming size plant).

The flower bud shading technique is required to get the vibrant colours for C. goeringii and it is required for all coloured C. goeringii varieites (red, orange, yellow, purple, white). Green flower varieites do not require the shading technique. This is a specific technique for the coloured flower varieites, since 99% of Chinese C. goeringii are green, it is not required for Chinese clones. The shading will make sure that the flower bud is always developed in the dark to intensify the colour when it blooms. Every year, I start shading from end of July/early August and only remove the shading 2 weeks before it blooms in the spring, so for about 9 months of the year (the time that takes the bud to develop and bloom), it is developed in the dark. Vernalization (0C-10C) in the winter is also required, not only to make sure that the flower buds don't die/abort, it is also required so to acheive the vibrant colour in the spring. It is a combination of the shading and the near freezing temp that create these vibrant colours. Since the flower buds are always covered, it will be white because there is no chlorophyll. If the flower buds are developed without the cover, it will produce chlorophyll, as a result, the flower stalk will be short, and the flower petals will have a dull and muddy colour (not desired). This shading technique is to simulate what happens in nature. In nature, the flower buds are covered by leaf litter for 9 months of the year.

East Asian Cymbidiums (all species from Jensoa section including C. ensifolium, C. sinense, C. kanran, C. goeringii, C. goeringii subspecies, and C. faberii) require little to no fertlizer and they are very senstive to fertlizers. I only use slow release fertlizer designed for East Asian Cymbidiums from Taiwan (there are also Japanese ones available). I fertlize once in the spring in early May and that's it. Each fertlizer pellet is good for 6 months.

[tmoney]

wow, really interesting! thanks for sharing. i think im gonna try this on some things just for fun