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Description
Soubai (pronounced Song Mei in Chinese) is considered the most classic standard Chinese goeringii and has a lovely fragrance.
Mei 梅 (also pronouced 'ume' in Japanese) means the petal is similar to Prunus (plum flowers). Song 宋 is the Family Chinese name (Song Jinxuan) who named this variety Song Mei around the year 1750.
Cymbidium goeringii are native to China, Japan and Korea. Over the years, many cultivars have been created. It is a special plant in East Asia as it is often deemed the 'scholars' orchid because of the history with China's famous philosopher Confucius, who was the first human to document the Cymbidium species in writing.
These plants are 'seasonal' growers, meaning they take cool temps, lower light and drier conditions in the winter. In the summer, warm, bright, and moist conditions work best as it is their growing season. The goeringii generally flower in February or March and are pleasantly fragrant.
The traditional way to grow goeringii is using a fired earth product, also used in bonsai mixes, called 'Akadama' and 'Kanuma'. These are red and yellow fired earth granules. Typically, they are blended together, and segregated by granule size. Then they are planted in tall plastic Cymbidium pots, filling the pot from bottom to top in 1/3 increments of coarse, medium and small size clay mix. We do like using this mix when possible. Currently, our goeringii are being offered growing in New Zealand sphagnum moss. They will grow in a wide variety of mix including pine bark and coconut husk.
Cymbidium goeringii are an intermediate to advanced orchid to grow and flower well. Growing them is easier than flowering them. The buds form late summer/early fall and develop best over the period of 50 days when the temperature is above freezing yet below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Some varieties have been known to flower without this specific temperature range, but most buds will abort if they are too warm during the spiking season.