Cymbidiums turning yellow

[lovemyorchids35]

I could not sleep last night - thinking thinking thinking....I use our bore water to water my plants, which does contain lime. Our normal water also has lime in it. I thought today I would separate my orchids away from my other plants, flush them and water them separately using tap water. With the additional shade cloth we may see a difference soon. I have sent the photos to a cymbidium expert in Sth Australia who will have a look and get back to me. Will let you know what he thinks.

[lovemyorchids35]

One of my cymbidiums is the Coonawarra Shirley and the other is Mini Flash Fantasy. My mum grows cymbidiums and hers are beautiful. Some of mine are from her collection after she has split and repotted. Mine are yellow and hers are green. Will let you know what the expert thinks.

[calvin_orchidL]

I don't grow enough cymbs to be of help, but it really does look like something is spreading upwards :S Could it be a mineral problem (ie the water), or a deficiency of some sort? Let us know what you find out!

[wingplum]

To me ,it looks like too heavy watering.

[lovemyorchids35]

Yes, Im starting to think that myself. Im thinking im being to technical and its a simple as to much water. My reticulation comes on every 2nd day and is a mist, but its the heaviest mist where my orchids are sitting. I need to move them NOW!!

[wingplum]

It is too much watering, I would suggest you stop water it for 2 weeks . Cym. are very strong grower, it should be OK.

[orchids3]

I think your expert may tell you that its due to a lot of sun and is not necessarily a bad thing. Minerals in water cause leaf tip die back as a rule and is the symptom I look for. Overwatering causes the roots to rot thats the symptom of overwatering. Southern California has a lot of minerals in the water and when I lived there I flushed out the pot every 4th watering to reduce mineral buildup. I hope you find someone locally to help you. Try attending an orchid society if there is one in your area and ask someone who grows good looking plants. A lot of people give a lot of advise - look at their plants if their plants dont look top notch then find someone else to ask. Good Luck!

[Des]

That plant looks quite healthy to me the yellowing could be as a result of the brighter light. Cymbids can take a lot of light , some of my plants growing under white shade cloth are a lot yellower than yours , so don't worry too much . Oh and cymbids grown in bright light could use slightly more nitrogen than those grown in low light

[charmbutterfly]

The plant actually looks quite healthy to me! I have cyms and i do notice that on the light colored cyms that is the whites and yellows, the bulbs tend to be lighter in color than the other cyms. The light yellow green color usually indicates that the plant is getting alot of light and cyms like a lot of light.
On the other hand when the bulbs age they get a yellowish coloring, yours does not look like it has any rot. I wouldn't be too worried. Cyms are very hardy orchids, but they hate being wet all the time especially when its cold that results in rot, i learnt my lesson with that!!

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by lovemyorchids35

Hi Stefan, thanks for getting back to me. As you see from the photos the yellow coming from the base and the lightish brown line where the yellow has made its way up the leaves. This is on all my cymbidiums.
Cheers. PS; Hope have attached photos correctly!!

Hello...just thought that I would add my 2 cents...

I agree with the previos comment regarding light. You are now in mid summer in Australia (mid winter for us up here) and your plants are getting more intense light. You will see this lighter green/chartreuse coloring on the leaf sheaths (covering the pseudobulb) and all along the leaves. The darker band that you are seeing just above the bulbs is the point along which the leaf, when it expires, will be shed. Keep in mind that most cymbidiums require high light in combination with cool evening temperatures to set floral spikes. The foliage should be a medium chartreuse color (i like to compare the color to the inside of a key lime whan it is cut in half)
You should also be watering very heavily at this time of year--I do so daily when we are in the full swing of summer. Along with heavy watering, comes heavy feeding; your plants are getting lots of sun and warmth during the day, so they will readliy use extra nutrients if they are given. I will post some pics in a follow-up of the cymbids that are out in the gh here...I too have quite a few that are yellow from the bulbs up the leaves.
Hope this finds you well,
Adam