From personal experience: I move my cyms to a protected location when
the temps drop to the mid 30's F or when spikes are identifiable.
That's only ballpark. One needs freezing or below, some initiate in
the 40's. All were out in the snow last year when the weather took me
by surprise. I do not bring them into the house proper, because I
think the temperature is too warm for them. Some absolutely require a
cool dry rest while the spike and buds are developing. That may be
part of the problem, the increased temperature may have accelerated
their growth cycle or interrupted the rest cycle.
In Alabama, I only moved them to a protected enclosure (garage, shed,
etc.), rarely heated to more than 45 F. at night, daytime temps were
managed by solar gain and could go into the 70's. During the winter,
I water very little, or not at all. Watch the bulbs for that one.
Here in Missouri, they are in my growing room. Cym. pots are on or
close to the floor, at the south end for best light. Heaters are set
to turn on at 58F-60F, Cyms are in the brightest corner, farthest away
from the heaters. It is probably the coolest, draftiest part of the
room, undoubted the brightest. As said before, I don't give them much
water, only at the mix around the base of the plant. They may get
some overspray when I mist or water hanging baskets, but that is only
on a clear day when the temps are above 70F. The humidity stays
around 60%.
Cyms have drippy sappy buds even when they are healthy. You should
cut off the rotted buds before they damage or infect the rest of your
plant. Maybe sprinkle some cinnamon on the bulbs and mix.
Divide and transplant in about 6 weeks =/-. about 3 weeks before their
active growing season. In Missouri, they are moved outside in May, so
I try to have the transplanting completed the last of March or in
April. Have a helper and sharp tools, cyms have the toughest roots
and are labor intensive to divide.
BTW, the buds on mine have never rotted like yours, Occasionally will
lose on bud out of the spike. Getting them to bloom was achieved
after subjecting them to an adequate chill. Mine are not delicate and
insist on "their season" to bloom.
Best wishes,
Nancy
On Feb 14, 1:05 pm, gerald wrote:
It is in the house, as I am in Washington dc. temps this month have
been in the low teens all month(F). Plenty of room in the middle to
throw water and avoid the leaves. I use a wet meter to check
dampness. it is definitely time to repot this guy.
thank you for your interest and reply
On Wed, 14 Feb. 2007 08:50:55 -0800, "K Barrett"
wrote:
I have a stupid question, but why is this in a house? Are you in Europe? I
have a friend that blooms these indoors in England, the weather is just too
inclement to grow Cyms outside like we do here.
Well, it certainly seems to be a well grown plant. Otherwise, as you said,
you can get them to flower but just not bloom, so you are 75% of the way.
You don't say whether you get the spikes wet when you water. Try watering
only the potting medium next time a spike starts to form and see if that
helps. Don't try to get the spike or leaves wet so bacteria/fungus won't be
encouraged to grow. As the spike emerges its a tight whorl and water gets
trapped inside and starts this sort of problem. Also I don't see any sort
of fan in the growing area, but it may be out of frame. Increasing airflow
will help plants dry off by nightfall ('don't send your plants to bed with
wet feet' is a rule. Their leaves and spikes should be dry by nightfall.)
I can't remember the proper time to repot a Cym, but it can be critical to
reblooming. If I recall correctly you said you've given portions of this
plant to other people which have bloomed for them, so if you can remember
the time of year at which you divided the Cym and repot it into fresh mix,
just so you can check its roots. I'd try that after correcting my watering
habits. Sometimes bacteria etc enter the plant through rotten roots.
However, usually that attacks the *whole* plant rather than just the spike.
My two cents,
K Barrett
"gerald" wrote in message
.. .
I have posted pictures of my sick cymbidium he
http://slawecki.com/cymbidium/
the plant is indoors. came in when temps got down to under 40
degrees. Is in a relatively humid environment, where cats and dens
are happy.
the shoots started just about the time the plant came in. the buds
form, then turn brown rot. 2 of 3 shoots(spikes?) are brown rot. this
plant is over 12" in dia, and each bulb is over 2" in dia.
any assistance as to what is the brown rot?- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -