Cymbidium goeringii 'Duanxiu He': Variety Characteristics and Appreciation
The leaves are slanted upright, with pure pointed tips and edges slightly rolled inward, and the leaf color is green. The bud sheaths are purplish red. The three outer petals of the flower are short and round, with visible purplish red veins, tight edges and angled corners. The sepals are mussel-shell shaped, the lip is large and round, and the red spots are vivid.
The leaf buds of "Duanxiu He" emerge a little later than those of "Lüyun", around mid-July. The mature plants have deep green leaves but slightly poorer gloss, while the new shoots are clearly glossy. The leaves can reach 26cm in length and 0.9cm in width. The new leaves are upright, and the old leaves are slanted upright, slightly more slanted than those of 'Huanqiu'. The leaf tips do not droop. The leaf shape is short and broad, and the lower leaves are hooded. The sheaths are low and tightly clasp the leaf stalks without loosening. The leaf tips are blunt, the veins are deep, and the leaf texture is slightly thin but elastic. The flower buds have a green base with purplish vein patterns, and the inner bracts close to the flower have purplish red blush and deep purple vein patterns, with the sheath tips turning green. Through the bud sheath, the small bud shows obvious purplish red veins on the backs of the outer petals. The flower stem is purplish red, and the scape is slightly tall; with proper cultivation it can rise above the leaves. Its incomparably round and neat center, with elegant mussel-shell sepals (some consider them short round sepals, which is inaccurate) guarding the fragrant column, and a large liuhaishé lip (some call it a large round lip) that hangs down without rolling backward, is adorned with bright large red patches on the lip surface. The entire center is nearly perfect. The outer petals are short and broad, with extremely fine bases, angled petal tips, and flat shoulders, and the flower is medium in size. Unfortunately, this flower is not pure green, and the purplish red veins on the backs of the petals are especially obvious. This variety has strong resistance and a medium sprouting rate; with proper cultivation it easily produces large plants, and some individual plants can produce more than six leaves. Entering June, additional phosphorus and potassium fertilizer can be applied to promote flower bud differentiation.
