**Cymbidiums (orchids) in California**?

i live in southern california, and i have a cymbidium, "marie carter" thats has a spike, but for some reason it already passed almost 2 months and the spike only grew about 8 inches, it has not grown more and there is no sign of the flower buds coming out of the spike...am feeding it "more grow fertilizer 30-10-10" ...does any one know if it takes this long for it to grow and how long would it take to see the buds coming out. or am feeding it a wrong fretilizer.

Answers:
I grow them too and am using More Bloom by Preen. Mine took a long time to establish, but now are growing like a weed. However, mine bloomed in late April and early May. There isn't any buds presently, so you may be beyond their bloom time.

Other answers:
You may want to switch to a more balanced food. I use a 20-20-20 mix on my orchids. i dont have that type but i do have two orandas, phalanopsis, miltonia, leliocataleya, dendrobium(?) and a regular cataleye and they all like that mix.

The dendrobium took about a month and a hlf to go from a 1 inch spike to blooming.

Make sure you keep it humid, amny times that is the biggest problem, the humidity is too low.
You may want to switch to a more balanced food. I use a 20-20-20 mix on my orchids. i dont have that type but i do have two orandas, phalanopsis, miltonia, leliocataleya, dendrobium(?) and a regular cataleye and they all like that mix.

The dendrobium took about a month and a hlf to go from a 1 inch spike to blooming.

Make sure you keep it humid, amny times that is the biggest problem, the humidity is too low.
Make sure you have your plant in partial sun. One of the most important requirements for orchids to bloom is making sure they have the correct light exposure. Cymbidiums need partial sun - Not direct sun and Not shade.

I agree with the others who recommend a balanced fertilizer. I would also dilute it to about 1/4 of the recommended strength and only fertilize 3 out of 4 weeks so one week alows built up fertilizer to be flushed during watering.

Hope that helps.
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