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03-26-2009, 09:51 PM
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Jr. Member
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Zone: 8b
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Age: 40
Posts: 7
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Questions about my new cymbidium. (black spots and potting mix)
Hello everyone, and thanks in advance for your generous help.
I was recently forced to purchase this cymbidium (forced by the great deal I got due to supermarket clerk apathy), but I've only grown phalaenopsis orchids before, so I'm kinda out of my element here.
I noticed after I got home that a good portion of the leaves have these small black spots on the underside (see attachment). The picture is of the worst one I found. The spots are only on the undersides of the leaves and aren't even detectable from the top. Some of them have very few spots, about a third have none at all, and then there are a couple like the one pictured. Is this a disease? I'm sure it isn't normal, and I'm curious if I should keep it away from my phalaenopsis orchids until I have it pinned down.
Also, and forgive me for not making another post in a more appropriate section, I was wondering what you guys thought of the potting mix it's in (other attachment). I think it looks terrible, and I'm a bit concerned it may just have fertilizer or something thrown on top of it. I'm not familiar with the medium cymbidiums would be best grown in, and was hoping for some thoughts on this also. And on a related note I was wondering, if I were to repot, are these all separate plants? Should I keep them together or repot them all individually?
Again, thanks for all the advice.
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03-26-2009, 11:44 PM
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Jr. Member
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 20
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The black spots on the leaves of Cymbidium can be fungal, excess humidity, if it rained a lot or a sunburn.
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03-27-2009, 05:31 PM
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Administrator
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: middle of the Netherlands
Posts: 13,773
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A lot of cyms tend to have spots like that for no reason. Mine has had some ever since I got it (4 years go) and it has not suffered from it. They might be like Oncidium type orchids, just prone to spotting.
As for repotting, Cyms aren't plants I know much about since I only have 2, but I'll try to help. No, they are not individual plants. Each bulb blooms once, so it grows more, which bloom when they are mature. As for the mix, I would take it out of the pot and have a look to see what the roots look like and what shape the medium is.
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Camille
Completely orchid obsessed and loving every minute of it....
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03-31-2009, 03:50 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Zone: 9b
Location: Monterey, California
Posts: 170
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It looks like bone meal to me, ontop of the potting medium. Like suggested, pull it out to check the roots and to see how broken down the medium is. For me sometimes, cymbidiums will also get that on their leaves due to their roots being in bad shape and the plant is stressed. Sometimes the leaves will just spot like that though regardless of how good a shape the roots are in. Overall I think your plant looks healthy and if you decide to divide it, it looks like it may miss a year of flowering because it looks to have only 5 p-bulbs (if divided, leaving you a 3-bulb and a 2-bulb division). I personally prefer growing them in 10 or 15 gallon pots so they don't tip over and the flowerings are much more impressive. Remember, Cymbidiums love to be so pot bound they are practically, and sometimes literally, breaking out of their pots.
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