Q: I bought a new cymbidium a couple of months ago. It had two spikes and many buds and the buds almost reached opening size. Then during a month, one at a time, the buds yellowed and dropped. Why? One of them struggled to open with curled sepals.

A: A number of cultural factors will cause buds to yellow and drop prematurely, such as the roots being unable to supply the plant with sufficient water or ethylene in the air. Sometimes buds drop due to change in growing location/conditions. Buds may also drop when temperature is too warm. I would need to know more about your cultural conditions to be specific.