Question
QUESTION: we are growing cut cymbidium in holland and now we started with potplant sarah jean ice cascade. I like pendula cymbidiums very much but i don't know what is the best way to get flowers. our website is www.lzorchidee.nl
i hope you can help me   best regards  Leo

ANSWER: Hello Leo,

Pendulous cymbidiums require the same basic elements as standard or upright cymbidiums.  The major difference is that they tend to grow and bloom better when grown hanging about 2 to 2.5 meter or higher above the ground, this also makes it easier to see spikes emerging along with harvesting the flowers.  Most do not require quite as much light or about 80% as standards.  They may require more frequent watering due to their being up higher and are exposed to more light and air movement.  Fertilization is the same as for standards and you want the new pseudobulbs to mature by the end of summer.  

I have found that my Cym. Sarah Jean 'Ice Cascades' blooms best when the leaves are a light medium green color.  One thing to keep in mind is that hybrids with a large percentage of asian cymbidiums do not require as much light as those that have little in their background.  

I was initially surprised by your question since you commercially grow cymbidiums, but after browsing your site I realized that most of your experience is with the standards.  

I hope this is of some help.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks for the answer, i know a lot off growing standards cymbidium, but sorts like sarah jean have totally different parents then the standards. Sarah jean is flowering in december - januari, I try to get the flowering periode longer, for this i try to get more knowlegde about why it is flowering normaly in this periode. Is it the warm and colder periode, is it a dry and wet periode, is the during of the daylenght or a combination of all.

Answer
Hello Leo,

As you know from your experiences growing standards, specie background can have quite an influence upon how you should grow hybrids.  

Cym. Sarah Jean as with many other orchids can be made to flower sooner or later by adjusting primarily light and temperature.  I believe to get it to flower later there in Holland would mean maintaining light exposure for a minimum of 14 hours along with temperatures kept above 15C in the evening until after late September.  Another method to delay or slow flowering on those already in spike is to keep the greenhouse temperatures below 12C until several weeks prior to sale.  

In the past, there has been some debate about exactly when cymbidiums initiate spikes.  Some say it starts in early spring while others contend it is mid fall.  Personally, I think spike initiation begins in both seasons depending upon the species background.  

Allow your Cym. Sarah Jean to go slightly on the dry side during late fall into early winter, not completely dry but almost.  Still water it but not quite as frequently until the spikes begin to grow.  

Hope this helped.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.