Posts Tagged ‘cymbidium orchids’
Cymbidium Orchid Red Beauty (Vanguard x Tapestry)
Two different cultivars of this cross demonstrate complex hybrid variation. Pictured are “Netty” and “Wendy”. Grow plants cool (45-50ºF fall and winter nights).
cymbidium Orchid Red Beauty (Vanguard x Tapestry)
Cymbidium Orchid Description
Cymbidium Group (Epidendrum Subfamily)
Epiphytic, lithophytic, terrestrial, Sympodial. Pseudobulbs
The beloved Cymbidium orchid yields bountiful tall spikes of many exquisite flowers amid elegant grassy-leaved foliage and short, fat, egg-shaped pseudobulbs.
Plants can stay in bloom for 3 months; the waxy long–lasting flowers make classic corsages and are a commercial cut-flower industry.
Flowers come in just about every shade except blue and purple. The 45 species range from low to high elevations of India to Japan down to Australia, often in exposed habitats in full sun. Some, such as Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbilium sinense, and Cymbidium kanran, are intensely fragrant. While traditional hybrids are large cool-growing hybrids.
The generic name of the cymbidium orchids is from the Greek for “hull of a boat”, referring to the boat-shaped lip.
Cymbidium Orchids: How To Grow
Most cymbidium orchids are very easy to grow if they have cool nights and high light. All Cymbidium need high light, whether in a greenhouse or sunroom, although the smaller types can be grown on southern windowsills. All need a decided drop in nighttime temperatures for at least 6 weeks, generally in late summer and fall, in order to induce buds, and it’s best if this drop can be maintained throughout winter as well.
High-altitude species and most large hybrids will need cool night temperatures of 40-45ºF; the warmer types will need to drop to a more intermediate 52-55ºF. The ig types have copious root systems and do best in large deep pots of semiterrestrial mix.
The warmer-growing species do better in baskets, since many are pendent-flowered. In mild climates, cymbidium orchids can also be grown outdoors as landscapes plants, in well drained humusy garden soil. Give all types even moisture and heavy regular fertilizer. Most will bloom from February to April.
For best floral display, stake the erect inflorescence when it is in 4 in. tall, then again at 8 in., but first put the plant in a warm spot for several hours to make the inflorescence mess brittle.