The Orchid Garden

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Question:

Hi Ted, To start with I cannot keep optimum growing conditions because I live in a college dorm room so I realize to start with that my plants won’t be happy and I won’t be able (in general) to get the pickier ones to flower.  With that said… 1.  Will old Cymbidium bulbs naturally ‘wrinkle’ some or that a sign of too little water (or dead roots)?  Or will they lose their leaves but not wrinkle?

It could be any or all of the above. It really depends on the species or hybrid in question. In general, if a perceived "problem" is confined to old growth, don’t worry about it. 2.  Same with Dendrobiums?

Same answer 3.  Are there any guidelines as to when a species will flower (for at least the common geni)?  I have phals, dens, and cyms.

Only within limits. For every rule there’s an exception and that’s magnified in a less than ideal environ. A plant grown in less than optimal conditions will often flower out of season..it does what it can when it can. Phals bloom Fall thru Spring, tending towards the latter, same with cyms, Dens tend to bloom in the Spring. As I said, there’s plenty of exceptions. 4.  Do purple(phal) leaves mean too much or too little light?

I call that "Suntan". Your light is good. Yellow is a danger signal. Red is dead. -Rod- Venger’s Orchids Website http://www.vengers.com/

Response:

I have a few orchids and many questions To start with I cannot keep optimum growing conditions because I live in a college dorm room so I realize to start with that my plants won’t be happy and I won’t be able (in general) to get the pickier ones to flower.  With that said… 1.  Will old Cymbidium bulbs naturally ‘wrinkle’ some or that a sign of too little water (or dead roots)?  Or will they lose their leaves but not wrinkle? 2.  Same with Dendrobiums? 3.  Are there any guidelines as to when a species will flower (for at least the common geni)?  I have phals, dens, and cyms. 4.  Do purple(phal) leaves mean too much or too little light? I couldn’t find any Troubleshooting type pages just Cultural Files aka Eutopian Growing. -Ted

Response:

Hi, I can only answer the cymbidium questions.  Sometimes the backbulbs wrinkle and sometimes they don’t.  Mine usually don’t wrinkle until they have been backbulbs for a year at least (3 – 4 year old bulbs).  I expect as they get older, they lose their roots.  I wouldn’t worry about it too much, as long as you repot your plants every two or three years. The problem with cymbidiums is usually too much water.  They usually don’t lose roots from too little water (unless it is extreme deprivation).  It will actually cause them to grow more (trying to find more water I suppose). Cymbidiums do require low temperature (< 60) in the fall to initiate flower spikes, so you may have a problem growing them indoors. Each cymbidium will tend to bloom at the same time each year, but I have as much as a month or more of variation in bloom time depending on how the weather was during the preceeding year when the current growths and spikes were developing.  Last year all my plants spiked very early (most had spiked by now), but this year I’ve only seen one spike so far.  I grow my plants outdoors, so the environment is pretty much out of my hands. Hope this helped. Irene Timossi San Rafael, CA – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a few orchids and many questions To start with I cannot keep optimum growing conditions because I live in a college dorm room so I realize to start with that my plants won’t be happy and I won’t be able (in general) to get the pickier ones to flower.  With that said… 1.  Will old Cymbidium bulbs naturally ‘wrinkle’ some or that a sign of too little water (or dead roots)?  Or will they lose their leaves but not wrinkle? 2.  Same with Dendrobiums? 3.  Are there any guidelines as to when a species will flower (for at least the common geni)?  I have phals, dens, and cyms. 4.  Do purple(phal) leaves mean too much or too little light? I couldn’t find any Troubleshooting type pages just Cultural Files aka Eutopian Growing. -Ted

Response:

Filed under: Cymbidium Orchids

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