How to care for Cymbidium to make it bloom
An article with detailed introduction on how to care for Cymbidium to make it bloom and precautions for growing Cymbidium, providing knowledge about flowers and plants that will certainly help you. Let's learn about it together!
Cymbidium has a strong fragrance and is shade-tolerant, making it very suitable for growing on balconies with limited sunlight. It can climb or hang, and when blooming, the small flower balls hang down, which are not only beautiful but also fill the room with fragrance. So, how should Cymbidium be cared for to bloom early and often?
Caring methods and precautions for Cymbidium
To grow Cymbidium well, you first need to understand its growing habits. Cymbidium is a perennial evergreen climbing shrub, native to South China, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Cymbidium prefers a warm climate and has leathery leaves that are somewhat drought-resistant. It likes sunlight but can tolerate shade, and is not tolerant of direct exposure to strong sunlight. When caring for it, Lan Yao suggests focusing on the following points.
1. Loosely packed potting soil without waterlogging
Cymbidium prefers slightly acidic, loose, and breathable soil. Potting soil can be mixed with a general nutrient-rich soil plus 1/5 of vermiculite or river sand to increase breathability and reduce the risk of waterlogging. When mixing your own soil, you can use 4 parts peat soil, 2 parts decomposed leaf soil, 3 parts perlite, 1 part organic fertilizer, and a small amount of bone meal mixed evenly.
2. The size of the pot should be appropriate
Whether Cymbidium blooms is closely related to the size of the pot. If the pot is too large and the roots of the Cymbidium do not fill the pot, it will grow excessively lush foliage and not bloom easily. Therefore, when planting Cymbidium, you should choose a pot size that suits your needs.
For example, if the Cymbidium seedlings are small and you want to focus on growing them, you can use a slightly larger pot, 1-2 inches larger than the original soil ball. If you want the Cymbidium seedlings to bloom as soon as possible, you can choose a smaller pot, making sure it's not too difficult to water. When repotting, if the roots have already filled the original soil ball, you can change to a pot of the same size or one size larger. If the roots have not filled the ball, you can change to a pot of the same size.
3. Watering and fertilizing
Cymbidium prefers a relatively humid environment but is also drought-tolerant. When well-fertilized and watered, it often grows quickly. Therefore, during the growing season of Cymbidium, it is recommended to keep the fertilization and watering adequate, water when the soil feels dry to the touch, and apply a general growth fertilizer every 7-10 days.
The blooming period of Cymbidium is usually from April to June and can continue to bloom until September with good care. Therefore, starting in March, you can reduce watering and increase phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to promote blooming in Cymbidium. The blooming characteristics of Cymbidium are somewhat similar to that of Bougainvillea, requiring a slightly drier environment to bloom. Thus, watering can be done when the leaves of the Cymbidium slightly soften, and flower fertilizer such as "Flower More No. 2" or monopotassium phosphate can be added to the water.
4. Reasonable sunlight
Cymbidium is shade-tolerant, but if there is too little light, it will only grow leaves and bloom rarely. In late autumn, winter, and early spring, it can be exposed to full sunlight, while in summer, it can only receive the soft light of early morning or evening. If the sunlight is too strong, Cymbidium may experience overall yellowing of the leaves and may get sunburned.
However, it should not be kept in a hidden environment for too long, as too little light can affect blooming. It can be maintained on a bright balcony.
5. Overwintering management
Cymbidium has average cold resistance and requires a safe overwintering temperature above 5 degrees Celsius, which can generally be met by indoor cultivation. If grown outdoors, it is recommended to move it indoors when the temperature drops below 5 degrees Celsius in winter. Keeping the environmental temperature above 10 degrees Celsius allows Cymbidium to continue growing in winter.
Cymbidium grows relatively fast, and when pot-trained on a trellis, dense foliage and poor ventilation can easily cause scale insects. Preventive measures should be taken in daily management, and dense foliage should be thinned to enhance ventilation. Alternatively, a larger climbing frame can be used to guide the branches and maintain good internal ventilation, preventing scale insect infestations.
The above () provides a comprehensive introduction to how to care for Cymbidium to make it bloom and precautions for growing Cymbidium, hoping to bring some knowledge about green plants to plant enthusiasts.