cym growth too late in season?

[mattryan]

Hello fellow orchid geeks, I am hoping I can find some help here. I have searched the whole site/internet and can't find and answer to my problem. I purchased 2 cyms around easter this year and after their blooms were finished I re-potted them. At the time one of them had some nice growing tips and 2 pbulbs, the other one nothing. Well I managed to pretty much kill the first one (by putting in a nice decorative pot that I didn't know--- had no drainage holes . The other one was ok and and I placed in a shaded morning sun only and it seemed to be doing ok. Now the first 1 is again growing a new pbulb (blessed thing) with only 3 original pbulbs, but it is very small. With this one is the season way too late for it to keep growing? It is only the size a maybe a dime? Will it grow some roots? The second cym already had 6 pbulbs and it growing 2 more, but they aren't much bigger maybe a quarter, will they continue to grow as well, I don't expect flowers this spring unless I buy some more I kind of wish that I didn't re-pot them as they were doing really good, unfortunately I knew they needed it. I am very new to cyms and am tring to learn, I have other orchids and am still learing Do they abort the growth on the previous years pbulbs or still grow til the next spring. Also my last question is..I have them both in bark mix, perlite etc (orchid mix) and I constantly read about they being heavy water/feeders. Mine take easily a week to 10 days to dry out with the humidity here I don't know how I can possibly feed them enough w/o killing their roots.

[Puddy1]

Well...I'm new to cyms but I think they are late winter/early spring blooming. New growths now should be right. Mine currently has a nice pbulb growing. Maybe a more experience cym grower will chime in...

[1joyceh]

I am very new to cymbidiums, divided out some for a friend about 6 weeks ago.
I took a back bulb and tried an experiment (don't I always!) . It had a little green nub attached, I put it in coco, gave it some grow with root stimulator, and now the nub is about 4 inch leaves. The small divisions that I kept are also really growing quickly. I don't see any new bulbs, but the plants are growing.
There are some real experts here on the subject, we can both get some good info on the subject!!

[katrina]

I don't know what kind of Cym you have but no, it's not uncommon for them to put out new growths at this time of the year. The 2 Cyms I still have (I've gotten rid of the others) are putting out new growths and usually do at this time of the year.

Based on your "shaded morning sun"....I would say you should probably acclimate it to higher light. Most Cyms need a good deal of light to bloom. If your leaves are a dark green, it needs more light. I have both of mine in very high light...one sitting w/the catts and the other in dappled w/direct afternoon sun.

[syndywindy]

Hi! I agree with Katrina, depending on the cym, most need really high light. I have a huge one that is in the sun all day and I also water it everyday. There are several new growths on this plant in varying stages of size. This is normally the time for them to grow, but depending on conditions, culture, etc. you may or may not see blooms next cylce.

[mattryan]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have since moved the bigger (6 pbulbs) to my south deck about 2 weeks ago. It gets morning full sun and evening sun as well. I was hoping it might help speed things along a bit. The other cym I don't give as much as it is in recovery, just hoping it grows something this yr. Thanks again

[orchids4me]

I agree my Cyms are full of new growths right now. They are water hogs but make sure water runs through the pot and they are Hungry buggers. Most of the time when I buy them I noticed those time release fertilizerround gell pellets or pelleted food. Durring growth spurts make sure you feed them. And flush the pots so they don't get fert build up in the form of salts. You will know if you have a build up when the leaf tips turn brown. This means you aren't flushing enough (the media in the pots)
Good luck !

My cymbidium skipped flowering this year, there was early frost so I had to take them indoors...they need to be exposed to cold weather for at least two weeks but not freezing temps...oh well...maybe next year

[mattryan]

Thanks for the replies, I am very new to cyms and have no idea if I am doing anything right. I have no idea what their growth cycle is especially the 2 that I got this year. I have searched the internet to find some answers, and they must be really dumb questions because I still haven't found the answers. So here goes I do know from reading the posts that back bulbs are the leafless ones, next are the ones that have already bloomed , but still have their leaves. Now this is where I get lost. My 2 cyms have started to grow small bulbs (new leads i believe), but no leaves on them. Will these ones take til after next summer to spike? Also I have pbulbs that look in between small new ones and bloomed older ones, they are not as fat or mature, are these the pbulbs that will spike this fall if the cooling down is correct? Since I haven't had these long, just since easter I am going by looking at the pbulbs to see which ones have had a spike already (one of them has 8 pbulbs and growing 2 new ones). I hope someone can understand my question I have been growing phals and decided to try some other types of orchids and have done ok, new growth etc. I have downloaded all the culture notes I can and I haven't had anything that I didn't understand, but still fused when it comes to the pbulbs and what exactly happens when they grow and how long generally it takes from the beginning til blooming. I realize that culture has alot to do with it. Thanks for the help

Once it is explained to me I'll probably go duhhhh, I guess everyone had to learn at some point, and this is my blonde moment (sorry blondes )

[PaulB]

You're probably doing everything right. Keep in mind, if you repot Cymbs, make sure you have at least two older back bulbs, three is better. If you're only potting one new bulb, then expect it to take awhile to develop new roots and become a blooming plant. In my experience, this can be two to three seasons, maybe more, depending on the maturity of the bulb.

Your mix should be soaked very well before repotting. At least an hour or more. Once the plants have been potted, water again to help settle everything and then keep them in a shaded area for at least a month. No water for a month, then resume normal watering after this period. If you freak out, because you think they need water, go ahead, but Cymbidiums are real survivors, so the no watering thing forces them to send out new roots.

Once established, they need a lot of light. I put them in full sun in September for an October/November bloom. I really don't mind a little sunburn on the leaves, I want blooms. One way of knowing you're doing ok with the light is that the leaves should be a light, yellowish green, not dark green. Dark green is prettier, but you probably won't get spikes.

I have two types- one type blooms October/November and the other blooms in Spring. tho I repot all of them in early June.

Hope this helps.