Why do flower buds turn black, shrivel, and drop off, failing to bloom?

Why do flower buds turn black, shrivel, and drop off, failing to bloom?

Spring Cymbidium (Chunhui Lan), ColdOrchidsbuds emerge from the soil one after another, and this is the critical period for bud management! Orchid growers often ask me why their buds emerge but do not grow, and sometimes turn black, shrivel, and drop off, so they fail to bloom and all their effort is wasted. Weorchid growersonly have 3 joyful periods in a whole year: in spring, lots of new shoots, exciting; in autumn, lots of flower buds, exciting; the next year, lots of blooms, exciting. Amid the excitement and joy, when you think back on how hard it is to achieve success through a whole year of hard work!
To get orchids to bloom, the first thing is to protect the new shoots; if the new shoots die young, how can there be any flowers! The flower bud differentiation of Spring Cymbidium (Chunhui Lan) forms during the mature stage of the new shoots, and it lasts nearly a year. Just think, what problems can happen over the course of a year!? Generally speaking, after a year of nutrient accumulation, the Spring Cymbidium (Chunhui Lan) flower buds emerge from the soil, and management during this period cannot be separated from everyday management. Everyone knows that the flowering periods of different varieties are different;Cymbidium goeringii (Chunlan), Cymbidium faberi (Huilian),Cymbidium sinense (Molan)、Cymbidium kanran (Hanlan), Chun Jian,Lianbanorchids and others, from the time the flower buds emerge from the soil, go through a relatively long process of growth, bud development, and vernalization. This process takes at least 5-6 months at the shortest, and even 7 months at the longest.Four SeasonsOrchid, SummerCold Orchidand others, from the time the flower buds emerge from the soil to flowering, the time is not long: at the shortest about 20 days, at the longest 30-40 days. Whether the variety has a vernalization period or not, attention must be paid to fertilizer, water, and light management during both the vegetative growth period and the reproductive growth period! The causes of flower buds turning black, scorching, dropping off, and dying are also many-sided; most are caused by excessive moisture, excessive fertilizer, and stuffy, unventilated conditions. Generally, being able to produce flower buds is already enough to show that nutrition is sufficient, so there is no need to keep applying fertilizer to the roots; only foliar feeding is needed. The so-called need to pay attention to fertilizer and water management during the flowering period to promote the flower buds to swell and grow to full size, in my experience, refers to foliar feeding! At the same time, during this period the temperature is still high, the orchids are still continuing to grow, and sterilization and disinfection should be strengthened. When the flower buds emerge from the soil, if you fertilize heavily and water heavily, and then encounter high temperatures with stuffy, unventilated conditions, the flower buds will turn black, shrink, and dry up, and all previous efforts will be wasted! For Spring Cymbidium (Chunhui Lan) during the bud gestation period, from the start of autumn to before the winter solstice, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer topdressing should be strengthened to promote the flower buds to swell and grow to full size. Whether for sterilization and disinfection or for spraying dilute fertilizer, the interval should be controlled at 7-10 days; it must not be too frequent or too concentrated, and they should appropriately get more sunlight, otherwise damage to the bud sheaths causing rot at the center is also a troublesome matter. Another thing to note is water control and fertilizer control before flowering; when the flower buds are in the small row-bud stage, attention should be paid to withholding water 1-2 times, which has a direct relationship with the later flower quality. If you are not rushing to participate in an orchid show, do not deliberately adjust temperature and humidity; let them open naturally.
By the way, let me say one more thing: during the vegetative growth period of new shoots, use multi-element fertilizer mainly based on nitrogen fertilizer to promote robust growth, achieve the goal of disease resistance and drought resistance, and ensure the conditions for flower bud growth. Therefore, the failure of flower buds to bloom normally is inseparable from earlier management. Everyone can analyze the causes based on this, correct incorrect management methods, and gradually improve their own orchid-growing skills.