Saturday, October 23, 2010

Cymbidium Updates


As of this week, spikes are coming out from the Cymbidium California 'Sun Acres'.  Compared to last year's bloom, these flowers are coming out early.  Considering that we just got into fall season not that long ago, this is indeed a pleasant surprise.  Last year I learned that flower initiation in cymbidiums is greatly affected by the differential temperatures (maximum and minimum) of the day.   They require between 10-20 degrees (F) difference between the day and night time temperatures before flower initiation depending on variety.  Out of the five different cymbidiums I repotted last spring, only this variety is flowering so far.  However, all of them are looking very healthy which indicates that they are all set to put on their own show and just waiting for the opportune moment. 


I intended to pursue cymbidium as my new hobby plant for this year.  My plan was to buy at least 100 plantlets for a start.  My husband, who is always very supportive, already purchased all the pots that I would use for this purpose.  These pots, which are still in a huge box, haunt me every time I see them in the garage. And yet, here I am still vacillating as to whether it is a good idea or not. 

Gardening is a time-sensitive endeavor.  A delay in implementation moves the reward further away.

6 comments:

Diana Studer said...

A hundred. Wow! Where will you put them? I have about 10, 1 is blooming inside, away from the slugs. A second got eaten before the flowers had a chance. The rest will have to read your instructions about the temperature. Mine are in the garden, in the shade of the ash trees.

Helen Lewis said...

Elephant's Eye-
Good question! I guess if there's a will there's a way. I got such a beautiful result (putting them under a tree during the hot months and in the patio during the winter months where they get the maximum sunlight and some protection from the cold at night) that I am willing to push further.
Slugs have not been a problem for my cymbidiums. They like a lot of plants but not these ones. I'm guessing that you have a different breed of slugs. :)

Bom said...

Hi Helen,

I'm unable to email you. I'd like to ask permission to put a link to this site on my blog.

You can reach me at bom at plantchaser dot com.

Mabuhay!

fer said...

That is a lot of plants!
I hope they all grow well, Is nice to have little experiments like that.

Helen Lewis said...

Bom - You have my permission! :)

Fer - I have not purchased them yet, although I hope to order them soon. :)

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