cymbidium potting help!

[Sea_Sun88]

I was recently given a cymbidium, it has 8 spikes and about 80 or more flowers. The pot looks like it has algae on the outside( it was living in a green house) and I want to repot it. What kind of potting mix should I use and when should I repot?
Thanks for your help and I am new to this forum. Any help would be appreciated.

[PhalPal]

Hey San Diego! I live up in Orange County and have many cascading cyms living outside all year. They love our climate and do well with temps 30-100 degrees. I've had success with mine potted in a mix of coco chunks and Aussie Gold. (basically coir, perlite and diatomite) Cyms are semi-terrestrial so regular potting mix holds too much water and just orchid bark won't hold enough. If you have only one plant, you can get away with coco chunks (or generic orchid bark, tho readily available it's not my favorite to plant in) AND a little sprag moss mixed together. If you use coco, rinse it-drain it-rinse it-drain it 3 or 4 times to get the salt out of the stuff. Cym roots don't tolerate the salt in many coco brands. Cyms do not like to dry out between waterings, and be careful with the Santa Ana's; they dry out your medium real fast! I find great pre-made mixes at farm supply stores also, all ready to go in one bag. My favorite is called "New Age Gardening" orchid mix; it has a little bit of everything that is hot in orchid mixes right now! All the orchid geeks have their favorites and many will work, just keep in mind what part of the country (or world) the advice is coming from. Especially pay attention to humidity because mixes retain water much differently in various climates. I think that will get you started!
Also, welcome to the forum! You'll get lots of great advice here.
VERY important - wait until your plant is finished blooming before you re-pot! If you re-pot now you will stress the plant and likely lose your spikes. Cyms love to be potbound so it will do fine in the crowded pot it is in for now.

[Sea_Sun88]

Thanks for your help. It was really useful. And thanks, I was lucky enough to find this forum. In San Diego its usually in the 60's or 70's not to hot, not to cold so I think its also a good climate to grow Cymbidiums. But I bet in Orange County you get the best weather to grow orchids outside. Anyways I will try the "New Age Gardening" orchid mix. I will wait until it stops blooming to pot it. I think its okay to repot it in the same pot right?
If not then I will buy a new one.

Well thanks again
Chelsea

[PhalPal]

With a plant that size you might consider dividing it and making two plants from it. It's okay to use the same pot if it is cleaned and sterilized real well (10% bleach solution) Don't 'overpot', meaning putting it in a pot that is more than 1-2 inches bigger then the root ball. Let us know if you decide to divide and we can help you through it!

[kmarch]

You could divide the plant, or you could let it stay large and healthy and possibly give you 10 or 12 spikes next year. I often discourage people from dividing plants unless there are compelling reasons to do so, like the plant is declining or as is the case often with Cymbidiums all of the middle bulbs loose their leaves and the plant ends up looking a little goofy. Larger plants are often more vigorous and they make better displays for your home or for a show.

[PhalPal]

kmarch - how large have you let a cym become before it starts to look scrappy? I'm curious because mine stay their healthiest looking with 8-10 spikes max. Since I grow cascading types as hanging patio plants I do like the leaves to stay nice looking when not in spike. If there is a useful trick to getting them bigger without sacrificing the plant temporarily please let me know!

[kmarch]

phalpal,

In my opinion, it really depends a lot on the individual characteristics of a particular plant. For example I have a couple of plants that drop their leaves quickly and so it seems never more than 3-4 bulbs have leaves at one time. This becomes unslghtly when there's a large cluster of leafless backbulbs. Also these plants never seem to develop multiple leads and therefore only have a spike or 2 at a time. So when these get to the point where they have 3-4 leafless backbulbs, I cut them off and stat a new plant.

On the other hand I have some that seem to hold their leaves really well and produce multiple leads (which translate into multiple spikes). I'll let these go and go until the leafless back bulbs become unsightly or unless the plant begins to decline or becomes diseased.

One of my friends has a large noid Cymbid inher back yard that she lets go and go. Last year it had 18 spikes with about a dozen flowers on each spike (ave.). This is probably one of the larger ones I know of. I dont'know how many bulbs it has.

[PhalPal]

Thanks for your answer kmarch. I grow the mini-cascading types because I like the foliage when not blooming. I think I will experiment with one and just let it grow without dividing and see how it does.
I love the mini cyms that come out of Australia. I live close to Santa Barbara (CA) which is the orchid growing capital of where ever. Santa Barbara Orchid Estate has over 50 acres of nothing but Cymbidiums, yet I can only find a handful of cascading types. Have you ever ordered online from the states and had a plant arrive in good condition? I am soooo tempted to order from Australia but fear the trip will be too long and stressful. Your opinion?

[justloveorchids]

Have aquired a Cymbidium that was very dry with lots of dead leaves and pot bound

have removed dead leaves and given it a good soak in rainwater with worm tea

how best to care for from herein please

[fred]

links that you may find useful

http://www.winterview.com/tips.htm

http://www.1888orchids.com/text/orchid.care.html

with the above link scroll down to the ( Downloadable Orchid Plant Care Information) click Cymbidium.

I hope they help you.

[kmarch]

Hey Phal Pal,

I thought of you nd your cascading Cymbids recently when I attended a recent AOC judges training night. The topic was Cymbidium canaliculatum, a tough Australian native Cymbid. What made me think of you was the massive specimen plants photographed in-situ bearing about a dozen inflorescences. I'd never seen anything like it.

Do you know this species or have any of its hybrids?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

For sympodial orchids, those that grow side ways like cymbidiums, the general rule of thumb is don't repot if you don't have to. Cyms usually can handle a little mix breakdown as they like their mix to not dry out completely, and most Cyms are repotted when the are about to burst their pot.

I never sterilize a pot when the same plant is to go back into the same pot. Extra work for nothing if you do, in my opinion, especially with a large pot for a Cymbidium.

[PhalPal]

kmarch - No, I don't have any Aussie cyms. You have wonderful websites with cascading types that I would just die for!! We have similiar climates so I know they would do well here, just afraid to ship them that far. Since the miniture types are a newer phenom I may have to wait for them to evolve here. We are planning a trip next year to New Zealand/Australia. Wouldn't that be a sight trying to get all these huge orchids on a plane! Sorry, only one carry on per passenger lady.......
BTW - I always sterilize pots before re-using, especially if I cut off dead decaying roots which is a given. I usually don't re-pot unless I am putting the plant into a larger container.

[kmarch]

Hey PhalPal,

I noticed I never answered your earlier questin about getting orchids internationally. If I were to order orchids form the US I'd have to have, in addition to CITES, an Australian quarentine permit. the plants would then have to be quarentined here for about 3 months before being released. If you wanted Aussie cascading Cymbids you'd need a CITES too but the US does not require importedorchids be quarentined.

[PhalPal]

Thanks for the info kmarch. If I were to order from a grower in Australia, would they provide the CITES cert or am I responsible? I might be pipe dreaming here because California has extremely strict rules on agriculture coming in to the state as well. I just may have to give on on this. Besides tourism agri is our largest export and we have had major issues that destroyed food and flower crops down to the nub.
(mediteranean fruit fly - Oh MY!) I once had a banana confiscated driving across the Arizona border into California!
I was devastated.......