Autumn is the time of year when in theory, the weather starts to cool down a bit. Therefore the methods for looking after our Cym’s need to change slightly.  It is still important that the mix in your pots does not dry out completely. Especially if or when we still get several hot days in a row, as is prone to be the case here in Perth. Once the temperature regularly drops below 30 degrees you can cut back on how often you water. 2 or 3 times a week should be enough to keep your mix moist between drinks. From about February to April, I change my automatic reticulation from starting at 6:00 am, to starting at 6:00 pm. This cools the pots down overnight, which in turn helps to initiate the flowering process on those plants that are going to flower in late winter and spring.

Check to ensure that the drainage holes in your pots have not become blocked over the summer ‘heavy watering period’.  The water should drain freely not just ooze out of the pot.

This can be a very enjoyable time of the year to regularly inspect your pots. If you have been doing all the right things, you may see flower spikes starting to emerge from the base of your pseudo bulbs. Or at the very least new growths will start to appear.  Generally speaking the new growths are flatter, and appear on the outside of the pseudo bulb. While the flower spikes tend to be thicker and will often appear between the bulb and the outer most existing leaf. In either case I would not recommend that you squeeze them to see if you can feel the flower’s inside the sheaths, if they are spikes they are very tender at this stage and it is easy to damage them by squeezing. Be patient, when they grow to about 4 to 6 inches in length it becomes much easier to tell the difference.

Maintain regular fertilizing During this period of high growth. Remember a little bit, and often is better than a whole lot, all at once.  Clean up any dead leaves and or weeds so as not to encourage the bugs to invade your collection.