Watering or Misting?

[Woods]

Is it OK to use a mister spray on a cymbidium (it is no longer in bloom) or is there a better way to water it?

[Ellen]

Do you mean the mist setting on a hose? If the cymbidium is actively growing it needs quite a bit of water, so a misting of the leaves may not provide enough. I would drench the medium with a shower spray from the hose once a week or so. I imagine conditions in Scotland are even colder than they are here in Seattle, so unless your plants are in a very warm greenhouse, once a week may be too often to water. You may be able to put your cymbidium outside in summer (although I remember nearly freezing the time I was in Aberdeen in August!).

[Woods]

Aberdeen is colder than Glasgow but unfortunately our summers in Glasgow are often cold and wet!

I meant a spray bottle on mist setting. No, it's not in a warm greenhouse. It is indoors but can get quite dry with the central heating being on.

As you explained before, there is a new bulb with leaves that has started to grow. There are 3 large bulbs, 2 smaller bulbs and the 1 new one. The pot looks a bit cramped. Should I repot? Should I remove any of the old bulbs or will the roots all be connected?

Thanks for your help.

[kmarch]

As a general rule, I don't use misting as a watering technique. I use it to dampen mounted orchids and to raise the humidity around my orchids, but not to actually water them. To water I water at the top of the pot until it starts to come out the bottom. I water all of my orchids this way. My mounted orchids get dunked in a bucket.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Cymbidiums don't need as much humidity as other orchids, so I would not mist them. Soak their pot well with water when needed, and don't let them dry out completely, as most are semi-terrestrial.