bought a cym, now what?

[DDS2007]

i just couldn't resist getting myself one of these beauiful cyms , i got it with fairy a god bargain , 43$. i'm so happy with it. and i have one million questions about it if u guys can help me out :

1. i read they're not suitable indoors, but i really want to show them off in my living room with all the beautiful flowers they have. is it possible to grow a cym indoors? and what conditions should i provide?

2. i have a western facing window with 4 hours of direct sunlight eact day(i have no curtains). is this enought for my cym and should i place directly in the sun-light?

3.what about watering , do they need more or less water then Phals? (i will use skewer method too)

4.the potting medium it came in was a mix of peat-moss and SPONGE???? yeah regular sponge like the one used to clean the dishes but in smaller pieces, is that suitable for my cym or should i repot after flowering is over. but the potting medium my cym is in right now doesn't cover the roots entirely , i mean i can see BARE rots in the top , is that ok or did the potting medium fall off the pot during shipping and i should add more?

5. what's the common potting medium for cyms?

6.would a pebbles tray be sufficient to provide it with humidity?


(maaaaaaaaaaaaaaany questions yet to come !! thanks a lot for replying )

[fred]

as we are all very keen to help can you post a pic for us please

[orchid_lord]

Well, you can very well grow a cymbidium indoors. The cymbidium medium keeps water more than the phals medium. I think that if you water the cym once per week it will be perfect. At orchids I don't find water as a problem (1/2 times per week). I think the real problems are light , temperature and humidity.
-From the experience of a newbie in love with cymbidium-

[Anton]

I use a medium to course bark mix some with perlite, some without.

I water them about once every 2 weeks in winter and about once every 3 days in summer.

If it is extremely hot, and we get temperatures around the 90 to 105F for 3 weeks on end, with over night lows in the high eightees, then I will put the pots in saucers of water with diluted liquid fertilizer and the plants will suck up what they need. When the temperature drops a bit, then they will slow down with the sucking up of the water. Then I go back to the once every 3 days.

When in a rapid growing phase, I use liquid fertilizer every second week and a total flush through of clean water to flush the excess salts out after 4 weeks.

They are extremely hardy and I have had them growing inside, but they grow just as good outside providing they are not in direct sun. If you put them under shade cloth they will make you very happy.

Have a look at my cyms on my Web site and make up your own mind:
http://www.users.on.net/~op_ink/AD/Welcome.html.

Happy growing. They are easy to look after.

[DDS2007]

hi guys photos will be posted shortly, but if u remember my growing space, (from the growing spaces thread) i have placed the cymz right next to that window, near the Phals but in direct sunlight . is that enough for it to grow indoors? what about the medium it is in ? good enough or need to repot?

thanks a lot

p.s Anton, couldn't link to your website please make sure u have no typing errors in the URL and send it again , i'll be most thankful

[fred]

I done a little web serch for you.

I hope the links help

http://www.easyorchids.co.uk/site/content/view/17/40/

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortn...1/orchids.html

http://www.baileyorchids.com/types/cymbidium.html

http://www.ivensorchids.co.uk/cymbidium.htm

http://www.bribieislandorchidsociety..._cymbidium.htm

[DDS2007]

fred , thank u for the links , they are indeed very helpful ,
but i was looking for a more personal advice from the members on this forum ,
seems everybody's is busy with something (maybe all are helping cynthia out!)
i got my cym in a spot near my Phals , my Phals are doing great over there so i thought if Phals are ok then this should be too little light for my cym , so i moved it to direct afternoon sunlight but when i felt the leaves they were a tiny bit watmer than the surroundings so i moved it back near the Phals. i have no idea what i'm doing but i hope my cym is a bit tolerant until i learn or until someone replys to the questions i asked above!!!!

thank u fred, thank u anton
farah

[Anton]

As long as they are not in direct outdoors sunlight which burns them and you'll get blackening of the leaves. Sunlight filtered through windows is not quite as harsh.

Keep them in the bright light, not in shadow.

[kmarch]

Dear Farah,

I really recommend visiting the American Orchid Society (AOS) website and download or print out their culture sheets. These culture sheets are fantastic and give clear, concise, and detailed info on the cultural needs of various orchids. There is a culture sheet fo rCymbidiums for beginning growers. It's extreemely well written very easy to understand. Once you give it a read and understand the basic needs of a specific orchid you can then ask questons specific to your growing conditions. This will make it much easier for us to give helpful advice and the advice we give will then be much more useful.

Now some replies to your questons:

Originally Posted by DDS2007

1. i read they're not suitable indoors, but i really want to show them off in my living room with all the beautiful flowers they have. is it possible to grow a cym indoors? and what conditions should i provide?

In general your orchids do not know if you are growing them indoors or outdoors, they only know if they are receiving the conditions they need. Look at the AOS culture sheet for Cymbidiums. These are the conditions they must have regardless of whether you're growing them indoors or outdoors. Most of us grow them outdoors because there they get what they want.

As some have said before, you could grow them outdoors then bring them in when they are in bloom. Then when the blooms are gone, back outside with them. This would really give you the best results, the most healthy growths and the best blooms. I understand that's probably not what you want to hear. If you insist you want to grow the plant indoors be aware that the flowers last 6-8 weeks so for 10 months out of the year it will not be in bloom. Also Cymbidiums must have autumn nights in the 55-60F temperature range or they will not bloom. So you've got to get your house down to 55-60 at night in the sutumn or no flowers. Same for their need for high light (see next question).

Originally Posted by DDS2007

2. i have a western facing window with 4 hours of direct sunlight eact day(i have no curtains). is this enought for my cym and should i place directly in the sun-light?

Cymbidiums require bright indirect sunlight. In the house (northern hemisphere) that means in a south window with a sheer curtain or an east window (bright direct but not hot early morning sun). West may be ok but watch it for signs of leaf burn.

Originally Posted by DDS2007

3.what about watering , do they need more or less water then Phals? (i will use skewer method too)

Cymbids like to be kept moist all the time. Drying out stresses the plants. The answer to "how often?" is, "However often to keep them moist." You will find in the winter this may infrequent while in summer it may be almost daily. Anton mentioned every 2 weeks in winter and every 3 days in summer. I should like to add to that our winters (in southern Australia) are cool and wet and humid and our summers are hot, very dry and with low humidity (<10%) so this is what we need to do here to keep them moist. What we do in Australia or California or england may or may not be the same as what you will have to do. Use the skewer method to see fi you rmix is staying moist inside and water when needed to keep your cymbidium moist.

Originally Posted by DDS2007

4.the potting medium it came in was a mix of peat-moss and SPONGE???? yeah regular sponge like the one used to clean the dishes but in smaller pieces, is that suitable for my cym or should i repot after flowering is over. but the potting medium my cym is in right now doesn't cover the roots entirely , i mean i can see BARE rots in the top , is that ok or did the potting medium fall off the pot during shipping and i should add more?

I'll address these questions in reverse order: I'd add just enough mix now to cover the roots. I think mix did fall out in transit. You are correct in that you should wait to repot until the flowers have all gone off. The sponge....it's strange...I do see a kind of logic to it...it will retain moisture, but I would be in favor of a more conventional mix like the one Anton suggested.

Originally Posted by DDS2007

6.would a pebbles tray be sufficient to provide it with humidity?

Yes i believe it would.

Finally, in closing, I would gently but enthusiastically encourage you to research the care and culture of an specific kind of orchid before you buy one. Doing this will save you a lot of money and frustration with loosing plants because they're not getting the conditions they need. I encourage new orchid growers, as soon as possible, to break themselves of the "I bought it, now how do I take care of it" habit. In fact I used to give a talk to orchid clubs on how to look at your room and figure out what your conditions are then which orchids to buy to fit those conditions. Maybe a written version of this might be a helpful thread for me to start.

Happy Growing!

[Anton]

Kevin, Farah is in Jordan, so I would suspect her weather similar to ours, maybe not in winter, but definately summer.

[DDS2007]

kevin !!!!!!!!!!!!

very very informative reply, just the right answers i needed to hear. i shall do as u and anton advised, keep it in while in bloom then move it out to a bright area, we get cool fall temperatures so i don't think providing it with temps it needs would be a problem.

i did study the needs of a cym before i bought it , and actually i started a thread earlier asking about it,i sunk into Ortho's book and memorized every word mentioned about cym, i googled the net, read AOS culture sheets(where they mention cym isn't suitable for indoors) and read every tiny piece of info i could find on the subject. when i found that i can provide it with what it needed i went on and bought it. i was just wondering how to keep it optimumly happy while i'm keeping it indoors for bloom . and since i have no local orchid society i can join , i thought i would seek the help and wisdom of the senior members of this wonderful forum

you were all most helpful, i found out that Anton and i share the same cym , he actually provided me with the correct full name of it since mine came with no ID . i can't stop learning from this forum and that' s why i keep asking all these newbie questions of mine

culture sheets seem to de-personalise the culture of orchids. i understand that orchids , just like humans, each needs certain type of care tailored to its growing conditions, that's why i was seeking a more "personal" type of info regarding my newly acquired cym.

i thank you all , again and again for fulfilling my urge to learn , and to taking the time and petience to reply to my posts . i'll post some pics when my husband brings back our cam from his office!!

Farah