Interesting curiosity about my NoID Cymbidiums...

[tom_e_boi]

I've been trying out my new xmas gift, which is a Sony Cybershot camera, on my newly acquired NoID Cymbidiums (two pale yellows & one deep purplish red). Well, I've been placing them outside to receive full Winter sunlight, whenever there are some bright sunny days for it, and today when I brought them back inside I noticed that the newest spike on one of them had a new rosy color on the lips of the pale yellow blooms. I just thought it was pretty interesting. It didn't happen to the 2nd yellow NoID, even though it also has a newer spike that bloomed at relatively the same time.

I only place them outside when it's sunny and the temps hover around the mid-40's to mid-50's, and only if it's not too windy. On the days when I can't stick them outside to soak up some sunlight, I place them in my garage overnight where it's cool but not too cold. They seem to be happy and healthy. The Cymbidium with the new rosy glow has three spikes in full bloom with another on the way. The other yellow NoID has two, and the third darker NoID already had one that I trimmed away after it faded, and has another that's almost ready to open.

Well, mainly, I just wanted to try out my new camera and just planned on posting pics of my three NoID's, but then today I noticed the slight rosy color on one of them and thought I'd ask about it. I've had cymbidiums before, but none that have ever done this. It's only a slight color enhancement, but still, I just thought that it was very interesting.

The 1st pic is one I took of all three last week, and then the 2nd & 3rd are a before and after shot of the same bloom spike...

[Ferns Daddy]

I wish I could help you out but I'm still learning about growing them, I hope one day to have blooms on my cymbidium. Yours sure do look good and I like the flowers on them

[Lagoon]

Very pretty white blooms

[WhiteRabbit]

Differences in light and/or temps while buds are developing can cause some color variations.

Lovely blooms!

[Cym Ladye]

Your "rosy glow" on the lip is the flower telling you that it has either been pollinated or is old and ready to die. If it is one of the older flowers on the stem, I suspect it is just fading away. If it is on one of the newer flowers, I suspect a visiting solitary bee.

When you continue to move your plants from outdoor, sunny days to protected indoor nights, are the temperatures warmer during the day or the night? Often people think it is just sunlight plants need during the day and move them outside where it may be over 40 F but then inside to 55-60F. This really confuses the plants. You are better keeping it in the house and enjoying it during the day, and putting it in the protected garage at night.

Cym Ladye

[tom_e_boi]

Thanks for the input from you guys.

I love Cymbidiums and these ones certainly brighten up my bedroom during the Winter months. I can't wait until the darker third Cym's spike of blooms opens up too. The only blooms with the slight color change are just on that one spike, which is the newest one to open up, and it's happened to all of the blooms on that spike. It's the third spike on this plant and there's still a fourth one shooting up, so it'll be in bloom for a while. None of the blooms on this spike have been pollinated, as far as I can tell. I've checked all three plants and they all remain untouched. The two previous spikes are beginning to show signs of their blooms reaching the end of their cycle. But no matter, they'll still have plenty of blooms left to enjoy. I know Cymbidiums take up a lot of room, but the addict in me still wants even more of them, HeHe.

Never enough orchids and there's always room for at least one more.

[ron-in-norcal]

I don't blame you for wanting more cymbidiums, especially with such beautiful ones that you already have. I like how you displayed them, too. When I saw that pink blush I thought the same thing as Cym Ladye, that they were either finishing up or pollinated. I'll be curious to hear more as you find out either way.

[Cym Ladye]

I just went back to your last photo and noted that the pollen cap may be missing from the "rosy" flower. If you lose the pollen cap on a flower, it will mimic the action of a bee backing out of the flower carrying the pollen and, even though the flower has not actually been pollinated, the flower will think it has and the lip will turn.

(The only time this will not occur is if you have a true alba flower with no red coloring anywhere on it. It is actually a fun test to do on an alba or concolor plant to see if it is in fact an alba.)

Another reason for your rosy glow is your moving the plant around from warm to cold while it is still in bud. I had assumed all the spikes were open. Buds have been know to blast in this manner if extremes of temperatures keep occurring.

Rotten roots will also cause the spike to fail as not enough nutrients can get to the bulb supporting the spike. Hopefully, it is not that and time will tell if the flower falls off.

Cym Ladye

[tom_e_boi]

All of the pollen caps are still in place, as I've said, all of the flowers remain untouched. I've raised many Cymbidiums before, these are just the first three I've acquired this year since I've began growing orchids again. So I have plenty of experience with them, they're one of my favorite alliances. I also haven't been putting them thru temperature extremes either. I only place them outside when the conditions are right to do so. When I overnight them in my garage, the temperature in there hovers around the low fifties, I have remote temperature sensors to keep track of that very closely. And even when they're in my room, I have the vents closed off so that my bedroom remains cooler than the rest of the house, which is for the most part, where they remain the vast majority of the time anyways. My best guess is that they received the rosy color on their lips from being in the full Winter sunlight shortly after opening up. That spike of blooms remains vibrant and healthy, while the first two older spikes begin showing signs of the end of their blooms lifecycle, which was fully expected.

On another note, since my state was blanketed with a foot of snow on xmas, I was able to fully restock my dwindling supply of rainwater with that from the fresh snowfall. Tho, my hands were numb and hating me by the time I was finally thru collecting enough of it, HaHa. Oh the things my orchids (and several carnivorous plants) have me doing just to cater to their every whim...

[ron-in-norcal]

Now that's some dedication! I look forward to seeing more photos of your collection.