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Introduction to the characteristics and care methods of the Cymbidium ensifolium 'Xiao Tao Hong' variety

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It is one of the easiest orchids to bloom, a must-have variety for beginners! Xiao Tao Hong - native to Guangdong. Leaves erect, texture firm and strong, bracts of new shoots purple, leaves emerald green with golden edges. Strong fragrance, blooms up to 4-5 times a year. Leaf color relatively light, veins relatively clear. It does not have as much waxy texture as Cymbidium ensifolium. Flowering mainly from May to October, winter and spring al...
It is one of the easiest orchids to bloom, a must-have variety for beginners! Xiao Tao Hong is an excellent leaf-art variety among Cymbidium ensifolium. Because it possesses characteristics such as clear and far-reaching fragrance, frequent blooming, golden-edged leaf art, strong growth, and high reproduction rate, it is highly favored! Xiao Tao Hong 3 yuan/seedling. In the hot summer, keeping one pot indoors for elegant enjoyment fills the air with fragrance and makes one feel refreshed! But the fragrance of Xiao Tao Hong is not pure! Xiao Tao Hong blooms earliest among Cymbidium ensifolium, blooming 3-4 times from June to September.

Xiao Tao Hong - native to Guangdong. Leaves erect, texture firm and strong, bracts of new shoots purple, leaves emerald green with golden edges. Strong fragrance, blooms up to 4-5 times a year. Leaf color relatively light, veins relatively clear. It does not have as much waxy texture as Cymbidium ensifolium. Flowering mainly from May to October, and also blooms in winter and spring. Characteristics: terrestrial orchid, mostly growing on cliffs and in sparse forests. Natural plant height about 20-60 cm. Pseudobulbs elongated ovate, inconspicuous. Height 2-3 cm, leaves 2-5, width 1-2 cm. Linear, 40-60 cm long. Wild four-season orchids have many erect-leaf varieties. Drooping-leaf varieties mostly have thinner leaves. One stem with multiple flowers: 5-7 flowers (a few can bloom more than ten), arranged evenly. Flower diameter 4.5-7 cm. Sepals elongated ovate. 2.5-3.5 cm, flower color mostly yellow-green or light red, with light purplish red showing through, also green. Often with red lines, petals 2-2.5 cm long, red flowers relatively rare. Lip 1.5-2.5 cm long, elongated ovate, creamy yellow with red-purple spots, three-lobed, lateral lobes crescent-shaped, erect. Middle lobe triangular-ovate, curving downward.
Because Xiao Tao Hong is easy to grow and easy to flourish, it can send out new shoots twice a year, with a flowering period from June to October, and glossy, lustrous leaf color. It can be called showy but not overly made up, appealing to both refined and popular tastes, and should not be disparaged for its haloed center.

The flower buds of Xiao Tao Hong

  Xiao Tao Hong won an award at China's first Orchid Exposition in 1988, rising at once to become a famous variety among Cymbidium ensifolium, eagerly purchased and admired in the market, with its reputation and value increasing tenfold. The name Xiao Tao Hong appeared less than twenty years ago; originally there was no such name, and it was not known where it originated. Around 1970, an orchid grower in Daliang cultivated this variety, and after several like-minded seniors made repeated efforts, several plants were obtained and propagated. At the time, it was known only as a haloed-center silver-edged autumn orchid, and it was also seen to be easy to cultivate, not only with a long flowering period and large flowers approaching lotus-petal form, fully worthy of appreciation, but also easy to produce new plants. In leisure time, colleagues proposed elegant names. One was named Yi Xian Hong (One-Line Red), but I said there was more than just one line on the flower, so it did not seem very apt; another was called Fei Hong Su, but I said su should not be fei hong, so it was also not apt; another proposed how about Xiao Fei Hong? I thought it was somewhat more apt than the previous ones, but the flowers could not be considered small; later someone proposed calling it Xiao Tao Hong, aiming at its manner and bearing, which was also very elegant, and with no objections it became established by custom, and before long the name Xiao Tao Hong spread far and near. Because Xiao Tao Hong is a haloed-center type, it was also not highly regarded by the world. Someone named Feng brought more than ten plants to Hong Kong, China, and like-minded people there regarded it as belonging to the leaf-art orchid category because of its silver edges, and without regard to whether its center was haloed or plain, praised it greatly. Because of this, more and more people followed suit, and it gradually came to be planted around Daliang, and afterward people throughout the county were happy to cultivate it. This shows that there are many flower lovers, but truly discerning judges are few, and original insight is not as easy to profit from as following the trend.

  Judging by its plant form and leaf appearance, Xiao Tao Hong is extremely close to the Longyan varieties. The item "Silver-edged Red-flowered Longyan" recorded in Guangdong Orchids is very close to this variety. Are they actually the same variety? If so, Xiao Tao Hong is not without origin. It is not unacceptable to have this elegant name, while Silver-edged Red-flowered Longyan is more scientific, and the two should coexist. Would the seniors agree when consulted? Because Xiao Tao Hong is easy to grow and easy to flourish, it can send out new shoots twice a year, with a flowering period from June to October, and glossy, lustrous leaf color. It can be called showy but not overly made up, appealing to both refined and popular tastes, and should not be disparaged for its haloed center.

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