There’s nothing worse than being tempted by something you can’t have. Or shouldn’t have.
Welcome to the world of Cymbidiums.
Few orchids compare with this genus when it comes to wow factor. A single plant can have three to four flower spikes, each carrying up to 15 tennis ball-sized blossoms. Colorwise, expect even more drama, as there isn’t a muted hue in the lot.
Even the flower’s anatomy (sepals and petals) is intimidating, being thick and waxy like complex lady slippers. Other popular orchids, including Phalaenopsis, have a thin and delicate texture.
Then, there’s the foliage. There is so much of it that a single plant can be the focal point in an estate entrance hall. Dozens of long and pointed leaves emerge from the base. Specimens can be challenging to carry.
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Finally, the root system is like no other, with tentacles that wrap around and around inside the pot, leaving no air pockets. Often, the pseudo-bulbs themselves are lifted several inches above the media by the expanding root ball.
It goes without saying that a sizable ceramic or stoneware container is needed to keep these top-heavy orchids from falling over.
Every year, about this time, floral departments of fine grocery stores tempt shoppers with Cymbidiums. These plants have traveled thousands of miles and arrive busting out with buds and blooms. The displays are stunning, the prices are affordable, and even casual observers stop in their tracks.
Cymbidiums are grown commercially in California, where they receive bright light and low temperatures most of the year. Herein lies the problem: Duplicating these conditions in other parts of the country is challenging.
Bright light
The genus has 52 species and is native to the subtropical highlands of Southeast Asia, where they get a lot of sun, just short of burning. Leaves are a good indicator of solar exposure, and they should be light to medium green in color, never dark. For the hobbyist, this means providing thin shading, far less than what most other orchids require.
Low temperatures
During the summer and fall, Cymbidiums like warm days and cool nights. For them, 50-degree lows are required to initiate and develop flower spikes. And not just for three weeks, like Phalaenopsis. Try three months.
In our climate, growers who don’t have a dedicated cool greenhouse or an unheated sunroom leave their plants outside until frost. Then they put them in the coolest part of the house. With any luck, maybe a third of the plants will produce flower spikes.
But those spikes may not reach fruition.
As the buds are forming, temperatures need to be relatively constant and in the 55- to 75-degree range. Otherwise, the buds try to open too quickly and shrivel up.
Thus, we have the Cymbidium challenge. Get the plant to spike, then get the buds to open.
Despite the “Easy to Grow” tag hanging from the stem, Cymbidiums are not for beginners. Although there are success stories to be found outside California, they usually involve substantial horticultural prowess. The reward is 10 weeks of some of the most impressive blossoms that nature has to offer.
Arthur Chadwick is president of Chadwick & Son Orchids Inc. Reach him at 1240 Dorset Road, Powhatan, VA 23139; (804) 598-7560; or by email at info@chadwickorchids.com, Previous columns are on his website, www.chadwickorchids.com.