Cymbidium like these and a few other species are a big thing in china and Japan and they have growing and displaying of them down to a fine art. I can't hope to achieve such erudition in my craft but at least I have the plants growing which is an achievement in itself. They have not shown any ill effects from being shipped bare root (only from England, don't panic), and have settled well into the mix of sphagnum moss and bark chips I have potted them in. Pots are deep, as is necessary for the robust root systems of Cymbidium, so they will never be as attractive as their Oriental counterparts because the ceramic pots I found online to pot them in were more pricey than the plants. I may be skilled, but I'm not rich!
I have probably ranted before about the difficulties in growing Cymbidium well in this country. There are several problems with the shop-bought plants usually available at Christmas. The first is the constant battle with dead roots on plants coming off the continent and the need to cut flower spikes and nurse the plants back to something resembling health. Secondly, most Cymbidium widely for sale hail from the Himalayas and need temperatures much cooler than we can easily provide in our centrally heated homes. This leads to bud drop in the short term and problems with pests and diseases and lack of blooms in the long term. Cool growing Cymbidium need cool nights in late summer to initiate flower spikes. This can be achieved by standing plants outside during summer and running the gauntlet with more pests and our changeable weather. This has never worked for me and I had largely given up growing Cymbidium altogether. Cymbidium were very popular in the past when we had cooler houses (that is before we invented central heating) but the way we live now just doesn't suit them. Also, they tend to be big, unwieldy plants that take up an awful lot of space and spend a lot of the time out of bloom.
You may gather that I had rather fallen out of love with Cymbidium and pretty much stopped growing them altogether. That was until I realised that not all Cymbidium are cold growers and that several species are well suited to my warm growing conditions. One of them, Cymbidium chloranthum, we have already met during our discussions. I also have Cymbidium aloifolium, and although that has some growing to do before it blooms, it is doing very well indeed. So my most recent acquisitions were the four Oriental Cymbidium I got recently. Imagine my surprise when I noticed flower spikes appearing within a few weeks of potting them up. I attribute that to the change in conditions.
The first to open a flower is C. ensifolium "Ching Sha Yu Chun" and I have to say I think I'm in love.
We have got so used to Cymbidium being large blousy rounded blooms that we forget how beautiful and delicate they can be. The erect flower spikes are only a few inches high and need no support. The flowers remind me of some Maxillaria species in their structure (no surprise there, as they are related), with the upper two petals swept forward over the column and the lip bent back on itself. I particularly like how the colour of the flowers and the flower spike is the same (i assume that is down to the skill of the breeders).
For several days now, I have been wondering what the smell was in my hallway. There has been a delicate, sort of lemon zest kind of scent wafting around which I haven't been able to place, especially as it doesn't resemble any cleaning products I use. It was only today that I traced the source back to this Cymbidium. It packs quite a punch for what is basically a miniature. Again, we are not accustomed to modern Cymbidium being scented at all, never mind so strongly. Once again, breeders have selected for large rounded blooms in pastel shades and have lost the scent in the breeding which is a terrible shame. I am already addicted to the scent of this. Luckily I have another plant to bloom yet, by the looks of it with a red flower. I hope that smells as good as this one.
There's not much to add with this second photo but it does show nicely the forward sweeping petals and the colour of the inflorescences. There are only three or four flowers per spike but I understand this is quite normal for cultivars of Cymbidium ensifolium.
The whole plant. As you can see with the label for scale, it isn't large at all. It is actually better proportioned than it looks, its just that the leaves are coming straight out at the camera and the flowers are at the back. What is (arguably) lost in size and immediate visual impact is gained in heaps in elegance.
I think there is great potential in breeding here. These warm growing species could be used as parents to give modern large flowered varieties added temperature tolerance, and possibly decrease their size, too.
Although it is early days yet for me to be giving tips on cultivation of these, I will say that they haven't lost any leaves at all and pseudobulbs are all looking good and plump. Roots are very thick as you'd expect and the plants appear to prefer to be kept on the wetter side. Emerging new growths on all four plants are growing well and haven't showed any sign of a check in growth from being moved. I guess I will find out in the coming months whether the reputation these plants have for being difficult to grow has any foundation in reality or not.
If any of my readers knows of a source of warm growing Cymbidium in the UK, I am very interested indeed.
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