Flowers burnt on Cym

[funktified]

I have a Cymbidium and the the flowers are getting "burnt" on the tips.

I live in Melbourne Australia and keep the plant indoors and plenty on indoor indirect sunlight along with many other orchids and dendrobiums and only this plant is affected. Plants are not exposed to any heating system or air-conditioners.

Plant was purchased about 2 months ago without any burnt marks and I did place it in our greenhouse which I forgot to take out and the temperature reached 40 degrees Celsius - although this did not affect any other orchids/dends that I had that was also in the greenhouse at the time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

BIG 1.1mb File can be found here as I cannot upload pictures yet:
zolthar.com/IMAG2340.jpg

[kmarch]

I suspect it was the heat. I also live in Melbourne and grow my cymbidiums outdoors all year. They are not only cold tolerant but they prefer it and if it is cool in the spring (like it has been this year) the better and longer they flower.

[funktified]

If it is the heat, does it continue to affect more flowers and the burn spreading?

I have kept it indoors since and I cannot place it outdoors due to:
1. The Wind currently is appallingly hideous - I mean its almost gale winds where I live in Waverley Gardens
2. We have severe problems with Snails and Slugs

How do you keep your orchids outside and above ground other than putting them into pots or kept in greenhouse?

Also, my wife did cut some of the flowers for her cake making and not sure if this may have caused a bug to infect the plant.

[kmarch]

It could be the flowers are now past it and just fading.It could be thrips too. Thrip damage looks "fried." Cutting a few flowers off wont' cause a bug infestation.

It's strange that you're having gale force winds in Waverly Gardens and it's nearly still here in the city but no matter, we do have very heavy winds in the city some times and I leave my cymbidiums out in the wind with no problems. Maybe once or twice a year I have to go out and set a plant back up in the morning. Cymbidiums are very hearty and can take it.

All of my cymbidiums are in pots and some of them sit on milk crates above the ground. Some of them just sit on the ground. I do have problems with slugs and snails but you can get slug bait for that. As I said in my previous post, I grow my cymbidiums outside all year round, I do not grow them in the green house. They don't need to be heated.

[funktified]

Thanks for the input kmarch - I guess I will just wait and see how the flowers progress.

Because we live near the EastLink/SE arterial interchange, I "think" that the road noise barriers are channelling the winds aggressively around the area and it drives be nuts!

[terry_sealey]

Those flowers do not look burnt to me they just look like old flowers that are dying, as they do when they age. How long have they been open?

[funktified]

Thanks Kevin and Terry, come to think of it - I feel like a spaz for posting such an obvious n00b picture!

It seems that the outter flowers at 12, 4 and 8 are browning first and the inner 2, 6 and 10 are still fairly clean.

So by logic - not sure why a dirty nappy wasnt thrown at me and burned (I guess everyone is nice on this forum); I think that we have had the flowers for 2 months and they were pretty much at full bloom, they are reaching its end.

I always thought that flowers would wilt then brown!

[PaulB]

What is a "dirty nappy" and why would it be burned?

Hope that's not a dumb question.

[PaulB]

Just so I know what to do if my wife throws one at me...

[funktified]

Originally Posted by PaulB

What is a "dirty nappy" and why would it be burned?

Hope that's not a dumb question.

Its more of my little saying that everyone on this forum is so nice.

Well, I think a nappy could be termed as diaper or a cloth sheet wrapped around a baby bottom to catch their "by-products" - and I have always hated changing dirty/soiled nappies and my wife would threaten to throw one in my face.

... and usually in other forums if you make an obvious "DUH" post, you would be burned at the stake or flamed by other people.

Hence I just put the 2 together.

and back to my original post - I didn't realise my duh post that Cymbidium flowers die by drying like a sunburn and then falls off - which is what they have done - an obvious newbie question that I made myself a fool of

[funktified]

I have attached the cropped image here for reference just in case I delete the image from my hosting.

[kmarch]

I'm glad this thread got a bump because I about 4 days ago I was looking at my cymbidiums. Some of them are starting to go or have gone off. One of them that was going off was browning starting on the petal tips almost exactly like the picture you've just posted. I looked at my plant as I removed it form my "show off" area in front of my door and it seemed healthy. We've had some warm days here too. I think there's a really good chance your browning is caused by the same thing as mine was, a combination of warm temps and the end of the flowers' life.

[funktified]

I have only gone on the information that you and Terry have provided me earlier and it does seem to follow suit as now all the flowers on that Cym has all dropped off and the spike gone brown.

Weather has been way strange I agree - especially today. If spring is like this, I can only image how this years Summer will be.

[kmarch]

Yeah, if the summer is anything like the spring it's going to be winter, spring, summer and autumn every week. LOL

[terra_australis]

Odd that the browning off is so advanced on the sepals but nowhere else on the flower...

[-k-]

Not adding any new insight just confirming this also happens to my Cyms at the end of their life span, they brown and eventually become crispy... (if I hadn't removed them yet) I like to let blooms fall naturally for the most part...

[funktified]

In my case, I think it was just the end of the life span as it has happened to 2 of my cyms (both from AON - not sure if this is a pattern yet).

Although I am concerned that experts here are saying that it is not normal or not familiar.

It starts on the 3 Sepals, then once its half way it starts on the Petals and shrivels and browns off. Once its a fairly even brown, then it just falls off. On my cyms, this pattern started on the bottom half then slowly goes to the top last flower.

I self pollinated (please correct me, I'm sure my terminology is wrong - same spike, 2 flowers with the pollinia?? swapped between them) two mid flowers just to see what reaction is has and column becomes puffy although it still falls off, although at a later stage after all the others have dropped off -- not sure if this info was any use, more likely useless as I wanted to know what will happen!

I agree with K and just letting them drop off naturally - that way I cant (from what I have read here) introduce any new diseases to each plant.

Kmarch, Im just hoping the winds will die down for this summer - I dont mind the 4 seasons in 1 day - walking out in the morning with a winter jacket to only take it off by 10 and needing a raincoat by 4pm, just not the wind.