A Detailed Guide to the Phenological Stages of Cymbidium faberi: A Timeline of Each Growth Stage

    Phenology is the relationship between the periodic phenomena of organisms and climate. Understanding phenological stages makes it easier to guide them along their natural tendencies and put them to use. Here we present the periodic phenomena of Cymbidium faberi, including the leaf bud tillering stage, emergence stage, diapause stage, flower primordium formation stage, leaf bud elongation and leaf-unfolding stage, maturation stage, dormancy stage, flower bud emergence stage, flower bud vernalization stage, flower bud elongation stage, flowering stage, and fruit maturation stage, described one by one below. The various phenological stages described below are not fixed and unchanging. They often occur earlier or later depending on differences in ecological conditions.

    (1) Leaf bud tillering stage

    When the spring temperature rises in late February, the leaf buds begin to tiller. After about a month of development, when they reach about the size of a bean, they pause to allow reproductive growth to become active, with the flower buds elongating and blooming. Therefore, when we buy plants with flowers, we can often see small leaf buds at the base of the plant.

    (2) Leaf bud emergence stage

    The leaf buds develop and elongate, emerging above the substrate surface, usually 7-10 days after the flowers fade. This usually occurs from early to late May. If you do not plan to enjoy the flowers, remove the flower buds when they emerge above the substrate surface, and the tillering and elongation of the leaf buds can be advanced.

    (3) Leaf bud diapause stage

    After the leaf buds emerge above the substrate surface and elongate to about 3 cm, they pause their elongation. They switch to root growth to allow reproductive growth to become active and form the flower primordium. This diapause stage takes about 3-4 weeks.

    (4) Leaf bud elongation and leaf-unfolding stage

    The elongation and leaf unfolding of the leaf buds mostly occurs in July, after the diapause and root growth of June.

    (5) New leaf maturation stage

    Because the flowering period of Cymbidium faberi is from late spring to early summer, the leaf buds emerge late and only begin to elongate and unfold their leaves in July, leaving only the three vigorous growth months of July, August, and September. In September, the inland winter monsoon forms, and the temperature drops increasingly day by day, so the plants successively slow their active growth and enter dormancy. Therefore, most new plants cannot mature in the same year and must wait until the temperature rises again the following year to continue growing and developing. In some low-temperature regions, the leaf buds emerge late, the effective growth period is even shorter, and they cannot mature the following year either, requiring a third year of continued development to mature.

    (6) Dormancy stage

    The dormancy stage depends on the local temperature. Usually when the temperature falls below 16°C, vegetative growth slows greatly and the plant enters dormancy. This usually occurs in November.

    (7) Flower bud emergence stage

    The flower buds of Cymbidium faberi generally emerge in September-October. They may also occur slightly earlier or later depending on the temperature in different regions.

    (8) Flower bud vernalization stage

    After the flower buds of Cymbidium faberi extend above the substrate surface, they elongate to 2-3 cm and then stop elongating, remaining so for nearly 5 months, until about 1-2 weeks before flowering, when they rapidly elongate. This "nearly 5 months" is its dormancy period. During this time, from December of the current year to January of the following year, the natural temperature is the lowest of the year, below 10°C, and under the low optimal temperature conditions of 5-8°C, the first stage of bud development is completed.

    (9) Flower bud elongation stage

    The rapid elongation stage of Cymbidium faberi flower buds occurs 1-2 weeks before flowering, mostly in mid-to-late March.

    (10) Flowering stage

    Cymbidium faberi mostly flowers from late March to early April; some late-flowering varieties bloom in early May.

    (11) Fruit maturation stage

    The capsule of Cymbidium faberi requires nearly 1.5 years of development to mature, roughly in October-November of the following year. The fruit matures when it turns yellow. If you want to use its seeds for propagation, harvest them in time to prevent the capsule from splitting and the seeds from being scattered by the wind.