Cymbidiums are big

Cymbidium Kusuda Shining x Douglas Dillon

     It seems like a statement of the obvious, but it's hard to appreciate the size of cymbidiums until you've had one nearly double in size on you.  Last February when I first bought this orchid, I marveled at its miniature size.  I now know that I made the mistake of confusing 'blooming size' for 'mature size'.  While the plant I received was supposedly large enough to bloom, it was no where near done growing.

From the February 29 blog entry: Cym Kusuda Shining x Douglas Dillon

     The two new growths that were just starting to open last winter have now matured, and overshadow the original pseudobulbs.  The cymbidium is 2 feet tall from floor to tip of the tallest leaf.  The longest leaves are now 18" long, and they're also thicker than the leaves from the older bulbs.  At this rate, I expect to orchid to grow even bigger over time.

New growth bud on cymbidium

     The oldest backbulb rapidly shriveled up and dried out last month.  Meanwhile, the two newly matured pseudobulbs have produced new growth buds of their own.  I've counted two so far (one on each pseudobulb) but it's possible that more will appear over time.  While it is possible that one of both of these are actually flower spikes, it is far too soon to be possible to distinguish buds from growth, and leaf growth is much more likely.