Cymbidium ensifolium
I recently moved to a new country and had to leave all of my plants behind. After buying furniture, dealing with paperwork, and finally settling down, I decided it was time to start rebuilding my collection of plants. For this collection, I have chosen to focus on orchids.
In my previous plant collection, I had a lot of Aroids because I enjoyed their green foliage. I thought I wouldn't have the patience for a plant that only bloomed occasionally. However, whenever my orchids bloomed, it brought me so much joy. This made me realize that I love flowering plants.
I find beauty in things that may appear ordinary. During my research, I came across an orchid genus called Cymbidiums. Although they may resemble grass, they have incredibly beautiful flowers.
I found a seller on Etsy named CymbidiumUS who sells Cymbidium orhcids. They delivered my order promptly, and the particular plant I received is called Cymbidium ensifolium “Yu Ru Jiao 玉如娇”.
I planted it in a tall, inexpensive plastic pot. I filled the pot with orchid bark and topped it off with some moss. The moss served no functional purpose, but was purely for aesthetic reasons.
I wasn’t able to find much information about the plant until I searched for its Chinese name. While there were only a few posts, they had beautiful pictures and detailed descriptions of the plant.
建兰玉如娇 Jian lan (Cymbidium ensifolium) yu ru jiao is described on Baidu in chinese: 建兰 荷瓣特点：玉如娇是个建兰中行花的上品，花瓣正格荷形，颜色鲜艳夺目，浓香，叶宽阔，中垂形，叶质厚，花开荷型瓣花大色艳，香气怡人。
Roughly translated, it means: Characteristics of the Lotus-shaped Petals of Jianlan Orchids: Yu Rujiao is a top-grade flower among Jianlan orchids, it has petals in the shape of a lotus, bright and eye-catching in color, with a strong fragrance. The leaves are broad and drooping, with thick texture, and the large and colorful petals are in the shape of a lotus, giving off a pleasant fragrance.
上上谦xzqx on Baidu posted these beautiful images of the flowers.
