Reasons for Cymbidium Orchid Bud Drop and How to Fix It

Every year just before the Spring Festival, the best-selling flower in flower markets everywhere is the Cymbidium orchid. Cymbidium orchids have large blooms and upright, emerald-green leaves, combining the gorgeous beauty of ordinary flowering plants with the unique charm of orchids. They symbolize good fortune and wealth, and are very popular with flower lovers.

The Spring Festival is approaching. Whether you grew your Cymbidium orchid yourself or bought it at the flower market, it is now at the bud stage or flowering stage, and you must guard against buds drying up and dropping, which would affect its blooming during the Spring Festival. Why do some flower lovers' Cymbidium orchids drop their buds? Most likely 4 reasons. If you want your Cymbidium orchid to bloom smoothly, you cannot skip the work of preventing bud drop in advance.

I. Reasons for Cymbidium Orchid Bud Drop and Solutions

1. Bud drop caused by excessively high ambient temperature

Cymbidium orchids like a cool growing environment and cannot tolerate high temperatures or strong direct sun. During the bud stage, if the temperature is maintained between 10 and 20 degrees and the day-night temperature difference stays within 10 degrees, the buds can develop normally. If the indoor temperature stays above 20 degrees for a long time with no temperature difference, the buds will not develop fully and may develop rapidly ahead of time, resulting in poor bloom quality and a shortened flowering period.

When the indoor temperature stays above 25 degrees for a long time, with no temperature difference or only a small one, vegetative growth speeds up and leaf buds sprout rapidly, making it very easy for buds to dry up and drop. Generally speaking, in areas without indoor heating, Cymbidium orchids rarely drop buds due to high temperatures. In areas with indoor heating, the indoor temperature is high and the day-night temperature difference is small, so bud drop is more likely to occur.

Solution: If the environment where you grow your Cymbidium orchid stays above 20 degrees for a long time, the day-night temperature difference is less than 5 degrees, the buds gradually wrinkle, dry up and drop, and there are no other care problems, then you should consider temperature as the cause. At this point, move the Cymbidium orchid to an environment with a temperature between 10 and 20 degrees and keep the day-night temperature difference between 5 and 10 degrees, and the bud drop will gradually improve.

Note: Once a Cymbidium orchid starts dropping buds, promptly check the buds that have not yet dropped. If some buds have already lost water and shriveled, remove them even if they have not dropped. Such damaged buds cannot recover, and they not only spoil the appearance of the whole plant but also affect our mood. Removing them early saves nutrient consumption and lets us stop worrying about whether they will recover, so we can focus on caring for the other healthy buds to bloom.

2. Bud drop caused by spraying water on the buds

Cymbidium orchids like a humid growing environment. Some flower lovers, when caring for a Cymbidium orchid with buds, spray the whole plant from time to time, thinking this increases air humidity and benefits bud growth and development. In fact, once the Cymbidium orchid has formed its buds in a row, you should avoid getting the buds wet, otherwise the buds are prone to wrinkling and dropping.

The reason is that in winter, Cymbidium orchids are basically grown indoors, where ventilation is poor. After spraying water on the buds, water droplets gather on them for a long time and cannot evaporate, which affects bud development, causes tissue death, and ultimately causes the buds to die. Especially when indoor ventilation is poor and the temperature is on the high side, buds that get wet are very likely to rot or wrinkle and drop, failing to open normally, so pay attention during care.

Solution: If you have the habit of spraying water on Cymbidium orchid leaves, when you find buds rotting or wrinkling and dropping, stop spraying immediately, remove the already rotten or wrinkled buds, and increase ventilation, and the undamaged buds will grow normally. If you really want to spray water on the leaves of a Cymbidium orchid with buds, it is best to do so at noon on a clear day, and open the windows for ventilation right after spraying so the water droplets evaporate within 5 minutes.

Note: Although the Cymbidium orchid is also a kind of orchid, it is still somewhat different from the Spring Orchid (Cymbidium goeringii) and Chinese Cymbidium (Cymbidium faberi) we usually grow. Spraying water on the leaves not only causes buds to drop but may also cause spots on the leaves. Therefore, even outside the flowering period, when caring for Cymbidium orchids, you should avoid spraying water directly on the leaves. If you feel the air humidity is low and it affects the growth of the Cymbidium orchid, just spray around it and on the ground, or use a humidifier. Cymbidium orchids grown outdoors are more resistant than those grown indoors, but during long spells of rainy weather, it is still best to keep them somewhere they will not get rained on.

3. Bud drop caused by overwatering

During the bud stage, Cymbidium orchids should still be watered based on the principle of watering when dry and letting them dry out between waterings. Water when the potting soil is seventy to eighty percent dry, and water thoroughly in one go. If you water too frequently, the roots will be damaged or rot, and the first thing the plant abandons is the buds, causing them to wrinkle and drop, and some may even develop black rot. Especially with newly purchased Cymbidium orchids, control watering during the first week, which helps the plant adapt to the home environment.

If you water immediately after bringing it home, problems are more likely to occur. Some flower lovers think Cymbidium orchids need a lot of water while growing buds, but this is not actually the case. The buds do not consume much water, and slightly dry potting soil may even benefit bud development.

Solution: If you have recently watered your Cymbidium orchid a lot and the buds are wrinkling and dropping or developing black rot, stop watering immediately, increase ventilation time, and at the same time remove the already damaged buds and observe carefully. If the buds stop wrinkling, dropping or developing black rot after you stop watering, you can continue growing it. If after stopping watering the buds not only continue to drop but the leaf tips also turn black and the leaves turn yellow, it is best to repot it, as root rot is very likely.

Note: When the indoor temperature is below 10 degrees, be cautious about watering Cymbidium orchids. At low temperatures the plant is less active and needs very little water, so the risk of watering too much increases greatly. But you also cannot let a Cymbidium orchid go without water for a long time; lack of water will likewise cause buds to lose nutrients and drop. Exactly how often to water a Cymbidium orchid should be decided based on the temperature where you live and the growing medium, not by following others, watering every few days just because they do.

4. Bud drop caused by improper fertilizing

Cymbidium orchids have a long flowering period, and a single flower spike carries many blooms, so during bud growth and development, nutrient consumption is relatively high. Therefore, when growing Cymbidium orchids, fertilize diligently in autumn to prepare for winter budding and blooming. But if your Cymbidium orchid has already formed its buds in a row, it is best to stop fertilizing and just wait for the flowers to open.

Fertilizing when the buds are relatively large easily causes fertilizer burn, and the buds dry up and drop. Especially when applying quick-acting fertilizers to a Cymbidium orchid with buds, such as Huaduoduo No. 2 or monopotassium phosphate, fertilizer burn is even more likely. In a low-temperature environment, you should definitely not fertilize Cymbidium orchids. The basic temperature requirement for fertilizing is above 12 degrees, so pay attention to changes in the ambient temperature.

Solution: If you have recently fertilized your Cymbidium orchid and it is dropping buds, has black leaf tips, or its leaves look less glossy, you should consider fertilizer burn as the cause. If you applied a solid fertilizer, you can remove the remaining fertilizer, increase watering appropriately, and increase ventilation while waiting for it to recover. If you applied a liquid fertilizer, on a clear day you can water the Cymbidium orchid heavily with clean water to dilute the fertilizer content in the pot, then increase ventilation so the water in the pot evaporates as quickly as possible, which can also reduce the harm caused by fertilizer burn.

Note: Newly purchased Cymbidium orchids are best not fertilized, because to ensure the spike formation rate and overall condition, these Cymbidium orchids have already been given plenty of fertilizer before leaving the greenhouse, enough to last until they finish blooming. Some Cymbidium orchids are sold in their original pots, and you can see a lot of granular fertilizer on the surface of the pot. If you fertilize before the Cymbidium orchid has adapted to the home environment, it is easy to cause fertilizer burn, leading to bud drop and scorched tips.

II. How to Prevent Cymbidium Orchid Bud Drop?

1. Maintain a reasonable growing temperature

When caring for a Cymbidium orchid with buds, it is best to keep the temperature between 10 and 20 degrees, no higher than 25 degrees at most, no lower than 5 degrees at minimum, and keep the day-night temperature difference between 5 and 10 degrees. After the first flower of the Cymbidium orchid opens, growing it in an environment of 5 to 15 degrees can make the flowering period last about 3 months. In an environment of 15 to 25 degrees, the flowering period can only last about a month and a half to two months.

2. Do a good job of watering

While a Cymbidium orchid is growing buds, water based on the principle of watering when dry and letting it dry out between waterings. Cymbidium orchids are generally grown in deep pots, so when watering you must fully consider the dryness and moisture at the bottom of the pot, not just look at the surface. When the ambient temperature is high, water more frequently; the lower the ambient temperature, the less frequent the watering.

3. No fertilizing and no spraying during the bud stage

Once the buds of a Cymbidium orchid have swollen, stop fertilizing and just wait for the flowers to open. Especially when the buds are showing color and about to bloom, fertilizing easily causes buds and flowers to drop and also greatly shortens the flowering period. When caring for a Cymbidium orchid with relatively large buds, you should also avoid letting it get rained or sprayed on, to prevent bud drop.

4. Prevent long periods of direct sun exposure

How fast or slow Cymbidium orchid buds grow is closely related to light. If the buds are relatively small and you want them to bloom quickly, give them a longer light period. If the buds are relatively large and you do not want them to bloom right away, grow the plant in a spot with weaker light. When the temperature is above 25 degrees, when caring for a Cymbidium orchid with buds, you should shade it 30% to 50% at noon to prevent sunburn on the buds and leaves, which would affect its appearance.

5. Increase ventilation

During the bud stage of a Cymbidium orchid, more ventilation benefits bud growth and development, makes bud drop less likely, and makes the flower colors more vivid. If you keep a Cymbidium orchid in a poorly ventilated place for a long time, besides being prone to bud drop, it may also develop problems such as weak growth and dull, lusterless leaf color.

III. How to Make a Cymbidium Orchid Bloom Faster

Some flower lovers' Cymbidium orchids still have relatively small buds now and may not bloom during the Spring Festival. So how can you make a Cymbidium orchid bloom faster to catch up with the Spring Festival? You only need to do two things well:

1. Grow it in a warm environment

Grow a Cymbidium orchid whose buds are still relatively small in an environment between 12 and 24 degrees, and the plant's metabolism will speed up, so the buds can quickly swell and bloom in time for the Spring Festival.

2. Increase light duration

When a Cymbidium orchid's buds are still relatively small and you want it to bloom quickly, ensure 4 to 5 hours of direct light each day, and the buds will grow quickly. But when giving light, note that at noon when the temperature is high and the light is strong, you should shade appropriately to prevent sunburn on the buds and leaves. When the light is weak at noon and in the afternoon, more sun exposure can promote bud development.

Cymbidium orchid bud drop is mostly caused by excessively high temperatures, overly frequent watering, fertilizing during the bud stage, or spraying water on the buds and leaves or letting them get rained on for a long time. As long as you avoid these four "pits," the buds growing smoothly and blooming will not be a problem. When caring for a Cymbidium orchid with buds, you should do a good job of preventing bud drop. On the one hand, ensure the ambient temperature is no higher than 25 degrees and no lower than 5 degrees.

On the other hand, water reasonably, control fertilizing, increase ventilation, and avoid strong direct sun. The flowering period of a Cymbidium orchid can be controlled artificially. If you want it to bloom earlier, raise the temperature and extend the light duration. Conversely, if you want it to bloom later, weaken the light and lower the ambient temperature, and you can delay the flowering time.