Cymbidium update

I took advantage of the mild damp (actually, wet) weather today and stood my cymbidium outdoors. While I have been known to bang on about ‘inducing dormancy’ in houseplants, in practice I think a rest period is best kept as brief as possible – in their country of origin, these things would be more or less permanently in growth.

So, take advantage of any opportunity to keep them ticking over. It’s always good to keep handling your plants anyway (unless you know them to be poisonous), and I noted in picking up the cymbidium that a new growth bud has appeared at the base.

This is not a fledgling pseudobulb but an emerging flower stem, always an exciting discovery. This suggests I should start feeding – but not just yet. Growth won’t (indeed can’t) be rapid until we have passed the shortest day. So come the new year, I can start watering and feeding regularly to build up the developing flowers. I’ll report back on this in January.

Spots on cymbidium

I have now brought my cymbidium indoors for the winter, after summering it outside (in a shady spot). But I may put it outdoors again, if we have any mild, wet days.

Fluctuating late summer temperatures are supposed to stimulate flowering. We shall see – it isn’t until after Christmas (usually) that flowering stems appear.

Cymbidiums usually produce their flower spikes in the middle of winter

But while the leaves are wonderfully firm after being exposed to the elements, the young growth (brighter green than the old) is showing dark spotting. This is almost certainly not the dreaded mosaic virus (which can only enter plants via wounds) but merely a response to cold. As the leaves are evergreen, these blemishes will persist – not really anything to worry about, but they are unsightly, and these parts of the plant will be slightly more vulnerable to disease. I shall have to watch it.