Cym. goeringii spikes - Orchid Board

stonedragonfarms · #1 09-20-2010, 07:24 PM

It's that time of the year again; these little guys throw up the beginnings of spikes, and then just "sleep" for a while. I usually just about miss the flowering, until I hit the greenhouse at night near the end of February and smell the flowers. They're a long ways from blooming, but here are a couple of spike shots. I'll post more when they're further along.
Adam

IncredibleOrchids · #2 09-20-2010, 07:55 PM

Very exciting!

Bolero · #3 10-19-2010, 08:40 AM

A real achievement, thanks for sharing.

Paul Mc · #4 10-19-2010, 08:47 AM

WOW! So, do you grow yours outdoors or indoors? Do you give it a slow release fertilizer (I read you can do that with cymbidiums)?

I've had one for 1 and a half years now and have yet to get it to rebloom. Though, I think the culprit was that I repotted it and it now needs some time to acclimate. It has plenty of new growth this year so it seems to be happy.

Just curious if there is any advice you can give to a cym newbie.

UKCat · #5 10-19-2010, 09:08 AM

A couple of my goeringii are also showing spike signs <sigh> now we have a 4 month wait for flowers

stonedragonfarms · #6 10-19-2010, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

WOW! So, do you grow yours outdoors or indoors? Do you give it a slow release fertilizer (I read you can do that with cymbidiums)?

I've had one for 1 and a half years now and have yet to get it to rebloom. Though, I think the culprit was that I repotted it and it now needs some time to acclimate. It has plenty of new growth this year so it seems to be happy.

Just curious if there is any advice you can give to a cym newbie.

I grow my cymbids in the greenhouse from late fall until early spring, then they go outside under shade for the rest of the year. I am not a big fan of slow release fertilizers--unless I keep very good notes, I don't know at what intervals I applied them, they can wash out of the pots & there are times that they get lodged in new growths/foliage and create problems--I'll just stick to what I prefer to use (fish emulsion) and go from there.
Repotting can be a culprit for a missed bloom cycle, though unless you are doing a major division at the time you are repotting, this is usually not too big of an issue. I would wager that your lack of blooms is either from insufficient light or lack of cool night temperatures. Aside from a few of the newer temperature indeterminate hybrids, most cymbidiums need a pronounced drop from day temps to night temps in order to induce spikes and flower well; additionally the plants will continue to require cool nights as the spikes elongate, the buds swell and begin to open. Once flowers are fully open, they are more tolerant of warmer nights, though the spikes will hold for longer given cool night conditions (flower color is usually also brighter and richer given cool nights/days during bud maturation...) If you know the name of your plant, give us a note, and we'll see what we can do for culture notes for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKCat

A couple of my goeringii are also showing spike signs <sigh> now we have a 4 month wait for flowers

LOL, that we do, provided the little devils don't decide to blast...or tempt a passing slug, snail or other critter...

UKCat · #7 10-19-2010, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonedragonfarms

LOL, that we do, provided the little devils don't decide to blast...or tempt a passing slug, snail or other critter...

Mine have been out in the garden from late spring until last week, they are now on a book shelf in the coldest room of the house.
The bookshelf is seated in the floor to ceiling north facing window that gets early morning sunlight and day temps of about 18c and night of about 10c.
My Cym. kanran has just flowered under these conditions (I brought it in earlier when I saw the flower spike) so I have hopes of getting these to flower as well, with no chance of slug or snail getting them either

How does that sound? If I'm realy lucky that will work

Paul Mc · #8 10-19-2010, 08:46 PM

The information I have on it is Cymbidium Rosanna (Pinkle) (Alexanderi x Kittiwake).

I take mine out once it the temperatures are equal to the house temperatures. I take it in when temp's drop into the 30's. It is positioned near a loose basement door on the floor (for cold purposes as there is only one heat vent downstairs). 1/3 of my basement has been converted into a grow light area for all of my 70 some tropicals, minus the orchids which would push that number closer to 100, lol...

I will have to try the fish emulsion.

Thanks for the help!