I myself have around 70 pots of Lüyun, with more than 150 heads. This year, 3 pots produced double dragon shoots, giving a probability of 4.3% for double dragon shoots. Two pots produced autumn shoots, giving a probability of 2.9% for autumn shoots. Both pots that produced autumn shoots were cases where the shoots emerged from the soil last autumn, and one of them was a Tongxin tissue-cultured Lüyun. Taking large Lüyun seedlings as an example, they cost 3000 yuan/seedling, acclimatized plants 1000-1500 yuan/seedling, and re-imported plants 500-800 yuan/seedling. After planting for two to three years, they can bloom.
How do you tell true Cymbidium goeringii 'Lüyun' from false? Three petals short and round, broad and large, clamshell-shaped sepals, and a Liu Hai tongue. The petals and lip of this flower vary greatly, and at times multiple petals, multiple sepals, multiple lips, and multiple flower forms appear, so it can also be listed among the odd-petal types. The bracts are green, the leaves are short, broad, thick, and strong, the leaf tips are blunt, and they are glossy; the leaf clusters generally grow in a slanting upright manner, but twisted leaf forms also often occur. It is a rare and precious famous variety among the lotus-petal type of Chinese Cymbidium goeringii.
1. The history of starter seedlings reigning supreme may be coming to an end
In the early days of growing orchids, people often hold the mindset of spending a little money to accomplish something big, and they are most enthusiastic about starter seedlings.
Perhaps most consumers also share the same mindset as I do, and so a situation emerged in which large plants were hard to sell while weak plants were in demand.
But as the time spent growing orchids increased and my understanding of orchid nature deepened, I gradually discovered that buying starter seedlings not only failed to accomplish something big with little money.
On the contrary, small amounts added up, and in the end it turned into the awkward situation of spending a lot of money without accomplishing anything.
At present, in Lüyun transactions, premium seedlings are in demand, which shows that everyone has begun to change their thinking.
Perhaps the starter seedlings bought earlier have already been played out, or perhaps after finally getting them to bloom, people found that it was all just a floating cloud.
But no matter what the reason is, it is an indisputable fact that everyone's thinking has begun to shift from seeking quantity to seeking quality.
2. Stories can fool the intellect but cannot deceive the senses
The term "old variety" has accompanied almost my entire orchid-growing journey, and to be honest, I have that complex too.
For quite a long time, I found that a few scorched, bedraggled plants, as long as they were labeled as original old varieties, became highly sought after.
If the story was wonderful, there would surely be a crowd of responders, and waiting in line for years was also common.
But mental numbness is, after all, only temporary.
When you wake up one day and find that what you have been enshrining like a treasure is actually just a half-dead thing, your feelings will eventually grow tired.
Deep down, people are actually pragmatic. Your own feelings are the most real and the least likely to deceive you.
So gradually you come to feel that the story is really just a seasoning, and what truly lets people enjoy it is still health, beauty, and harmony.
If everyone observes carefully now, all those "original old varieties" and so on ultimately carry less persuasive power than a pot of elegant, healthy seedlings.
Mainstream consumers have already shifted from consuming stories to consuming seedling condition, and this is a sign of rationality.
3. The ultimate consumer market still has to judge heroes by flower quality
The flower quality mentioned here is not the same as petal type, but is closer to "the display of beauty," a comprehensive expression of the overall feeling.
Cymbidium goeringii entered a trading trough for a long period, but those varieties with truly distinctive flower quality were never abandoned.
Recently, as the orchid market has warmed up, the prices of some classic varieties have begun to strengthen, and this is also an indisputable fact.
As for Lüyun, in aspects such as color, fragrance, charm, rarity, and leaves, it can be said that no predecessor can compare and no successor can match.
Just as Senior Brother said: an indescribable heavenly charm, a stunningly extraordinary and unmatched rare flower...
It is precisely because of this unique quality of Lüyun that its own status in the orchid world has been established. Although it has been tissue-cultured repeatedly, it is still in short supply.
