18-04-2024.
The harvesting season of the cascade cymbidiums is truly over now. However, we still have some beautiful Cali night and Devon railway plants in bloom, but these are not for sale.
All the plants have been set out again to maximize light absorption for the growing season. This is necessary to allow the shoots to grow heavily so that new flower spikes can easily form for the coming winter. Yes, light is crucial, but we are also entering a period where there can be too much light. That's why the greenhouse covers have been coated with a thin layer of chalk again to prevent direct sunlight from reaching the plants. So, we want plenty of light but not the direct sun radiation. Over the past months, we have potted up all the young plants from the trays and transferred them to the large greenhouse. They're growing well.
Now is the time when we are very vigilant to ensure that there are enough biological controls present in the greenhouse, especially when the weather turns dry and harsh, as red spider mites can become a real problem. Slugs are not really a problem for us, but we do occasionally see some slug damage in the older plants. We have placed some slug traps with bran, and they seem to be working surprisingly well, catching far more slugs than we anticipated having. Since these slug traps are still in a trial phase, I cannot provide a photo, but I will share more about them once they are available for purchase. In recent weeks, we have clean the glass on the inside with a lot of water because, although we don't need all the light now, clean glass remains essential to produce enough assimilates, especially on days when there is little light.
We have also thoroughly cleaned the floor under the plants to prevent weed growth because weeds often mean more pests in the greenhouse. Trips don't particularly like cymbidium plants, so they don't lay many eggs there. However, if there are weeds that trips enjoy, they will lay many eggs there, which will cause damage to our cymbidiums.
Normally all plants are watered with a dripper, but in the spring it is good to water once at the top with the rain pipe so that all pots are evenly wet again.
You can still order soil and pots from our website, but we have temporarily stopped offering plants. The young plants have been potted up, and I prefer to keep those that will bloom next winter in the greenhouse for a while longer to ensure that if you buy a plant that should bloom, it will indeed bloom next winter. All plants will be available again from mid-July, including some new varieties like Prem 2.0 and Wyne.
Over the past two months, we have also introduced many shoots into the laboratory so that we will have flowering plants again in the 2027-2028 season.
Have a good summer