What to do about cymbidium questions....

[mauraec]

I think I have now successfully asked for and received input about what to do with my monster pink cymbidium on three different forums here - these threads seem to wind around a bit. Any suggestions on whether I should somehow get the topic onto a particular forum? I fear I am running afoul of the posting protocol here and would like to get this right.

Thanks,

Maura

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Good idea to start your own threads with new questions. Hope the articles in the Orchid Article Library have helped some.

Cheers,
BD

[remo]

Maura, I missed your question all three times. Would you mind repeating it?
Thanks, Remo

[mauraec]

Thanks, Bruce, the article did help - particularly the photos.

[mauraec]

Remo - my struggles with whether and when to repot my cymbidium, how to get it to set buds here in Atlanta, am I following the basic guide for the conditions, etc. are on other threads and in other forums - for instance, I started in the Introduce Yourself forum and Bruce very patiently walked me through how and where to post my photos - resolved, by the way. For convenience I'll post a couple of photos of it here - they seemed to help Dorsetman in giving me advice (he, by the way, has been [I]extremely[I] kind and patient. I also had a new catt that developed black rot within 2 days, and exchanged it at the nursery for a phalaenopsis (apparently, actually, a doritaenopsis), which I also posted. The phal is a beautiful 3-spike plant and I posted photos of it, but I can't remember where, so I'll post one here as well. In general, it's very healthy, two of the spikes have had bud blast and it's where all my other phals are, and cared for the same way and I never had this problem before. So that was another question. I have had many, and received very kind and helpful advice from other members, but I still need , and welcome, more input. Bet you didn't know what you were asking in your post! Here are the pink cymbidium pictures showing new growth, and the giant yellow phal:

[remo]

Hi, Maura! Let's try to take it all a bite at a time...btw, whatever Geoff (Dorsetman) says to do, I would do it! But here goes my two cents worth...The giant cym does not look so giant. What size pot is it in? It looks to be in very good condition and if it is throwing a lot of new growth-congratulations! If the potting mixture is in good shape and has not deteriorated, simply feed it weekly-weakly, flush regularly with plain water, keep it slightly damp, never totally dry for more than a day or so, early morning & late afternoon full sun is great. In general the saying is that orchids like tight shoes, meaning do not overpot. When it is really crowded in the pot you will know it! Your cym looks like it has at least one more seasons room for growth right where it is. Now for your phal. Many of the hybrid phals which come from the big commercial growers are never labeled and can easily be dtps or doritanopsis (phal & dorita hybrid). As far as the bud blast goes...'you pay your nickel and you takes your chances'! What ever conditions it came out of before you got it I'm sure have much to do with it blasting...e.g. the temp and rh of the greenhouse where it was raised, it's transportation to market...perhpas over watering once it got to the retailer (a big problem imho that retailers have), maybe it got chilled at the nursery you got it from...who knows! I'm sure that next seasons growth will be spectacular! A triple spiker-don't really see that many of those and you never know-if the spikes are still healthy you may get those spikes to re-bloom for you! This may have turned more into a pep talk than anything else but sometimes all we can do is just kiss it and make it feel better...best to you! Remo

[mauraec]

Thank you for the pep talk - that may well be just what I need, but of course I have more questions. Geoff has seen a lot more photos and info about my pink cym and thinks it needs repotting and soon. It's in pot that's 4" across at the bottom, 6" at the top, and 8" tall. Its mature growth is 3 pseudobulbs about 4-5" wide (measured where it is most bulbous-looking near the bottom). The mature plant is over 3 1/2' tall and the 3 new growths are 10-12" now. The new growths are coming up against the side of the pot, behind the mature bulbs. This cymbidium has caused me such worry because it was part of an orchid exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and I was the lucky person to be able to buy the last one when they held the plant sale - it is beautiful and very healthy and I want to keep it that way. My understanding is that some of the new growth may contain new spikes - how exciting! The potting mixture is in good shape, I think, except that when I drench it and leave it to drain overnight, it is bone dry by the next evening and the leaves start to wilt a bit. I hope this will help at least explain my confusion about the repotting.

The doritaenopsis came directly from one of the major orchid nurseries here and was picked out for me by the owner. It is a stunner, and I've had such good luck with all my other phals (I think I have 9 now) I'm concerned the bud blast has something to do with how I'm caring for it. What on earth is a dorita anyway? I've lost the top 5 buds on the second largest spike, and would do anything to keep the other buds healthy for blooming - it may be too late for that, but this is otherwise a very healthy plant - it stands about 6" shorter than my cym - the cym is 3 1/2 feet tall. It's where the rest of my phals are - inside a sliding glass door with indirect southern exposure. Maybe the light is too bright or it gets too warm there for it? Like I said, though, I haven't lost a single bud on any of my other phals, so I'm stymied here.

I apologize for sending such a long response, but my orchids have become sort of like beloved pets to me and I want the best for them -

Maura

[mauraec]

I think I have now successfully asked for and received input about what to do with my monster pink cymbidium on three different forums here - these threads seem to wind around a bit. Any suggestions on whether I should somehow get the topic onto a particular forum? I fear I am running afoul of the posting protocol here and would like to get this right.

Thanks,

Maura

Just wanted to update that I have run to ground a retired local botany professor (from Emory University here in Atlanta) and he has suggested that I bring the plant to him for advice and evaluation - so, I'm going on Monday, with my visiting mom (also orchid fan) in tow. I can't wait! It suddenly occurred to me to join the Atlanta Orchid Society last week and they've been helpful, although they don't have a forum or all that many official activities. Orchidtalk is still my best and most fun sounding board and I'll let y'all know what happens to the cym next week.

Maura


Correction - my local orchid adviser is actually a retired pharmacology, biochemistry, and neurochemistry professor who happens to have grown hundreds of orchids, many of them cymbidiums in his home greenhouses - NOW, I'm feeling just a bit anxious and plain old awed by the whole thing. I'm going to have to pull together a more than a few of my wits and self-confidence if I am not to embarrass myself. How on earth do these things happen?

[kiwiorchids]

For the big cymb, that looks like it is about to pop from its pop, dont "re-pot" (it is such a general word!) pot on. Get a pot that is about an inch larger (in diameter i mean) than the current pot. Pull the cymbid from its pot, roots, bark and all, and place in the new pot. fill the edges with more bark. Thats it! it will continue to grow larger and this gives it the room for about 3 more years worth of growth.

[mauraec]

Thanks - I was hoping not to do any serious surgery on this. Just one (well, it's never really just one) question: It's in a special cymbidium pot - 4 inches at the bottom, 6 inches at the top, and 8 inches high - made of thick, sturdy black plastic - kind of an unusual shape for most plants I'm familiar with, and the only places I can find with different sizes of the same type pot are online catalogues (and ordering a dozen at a time doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me). How crucial is it that the cymb stay in the same kind of pot? Would it be okay to put it in a typical 8-inch terra-cotta pot - (by typical, I mean generally wider and shallower than the cymb specialties)? My phals, dendrobium, and cattleya all came in standard 4-inch terra cotta pots, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that cymbs are a whole lot more finicky. By the way, my monster cymb (a beautiful green and pink monster, of course) already has 3 enormous mature "bulbs" (say, 6 inches across where the leaves emerge from the bulb), and now has 4 new growths, which have shot up to over a foot tall in about 3 weeks. Geoff (Dorsetman) has told me that by December, I can expect the new growths to be about the same size as the others - which would mean 7 of these bulbs, or pseudobulbs, or backbulbs (not sure what to call them), all about 6-8 inches wide at the bottom, with something like 20+ leaves on each one, standing about 3 1/2 feet tall. Do you think a pot one size larger than the current one will be able to handle all that vegetation and still have room for some bark mix? Believe me, I have not dared, or had to, to repot a single orchid in my collection of about 15, so I would ideally have left it as it is - but my overall sense is that would jeopardize the new growth. I already have to water it at least every other day - after I drench it and leave it to drain, it's again dry as a bone less than 48 hours later; I don't mind the extra work, but it seems as though this indicates something I should be paying attention to.