"grow outdoors on the Central Coast... Cymbidiums are great starter plants... Traditional varieties grow 3 to 4 feet tall... newer breeding... sizes ranging from dainty "teacup" plants only 12 inches tall, spike included, all the way up to 5 feet tall.
Breeders are also extending the bloom season. ... They start as early as September with the fragrant, fall-blooming varieties. They end as late as June with the madidum varieties from Australia... In the garden, the best spot is one that receives bright, filtered light most of the day, or early morning light or late afternoon light, along with filtered light mid-day. ... keep the plants in pots, which should contain bark, cocoa fiber or some other fast-draining mix. ... In their native habitat, they're terrestrial, so they prefer an open mix... if you plant them in the ground, you risk rotting out their thick, crusty pseudobulbs. ... Gene Baum of Lompoc... grows his Cymbidiums beneath a translucent fiberglass roof, which he has painted with special greenhouse paint to reduce all-day sunshine to 50 percent. "The main mistake people make is not giving them enough light," said Baum. "In a house, even a south-facing window is not bright, compared to the outdoors ... If they say they can't get them to bloom, it's because they put them on the north side of their house, or under a real dense tree." It's fine to bring your plants indoors while they're in bloom. But put them back outside afterward. "Cymbidiums initiate their flower spikes in late summer, early fall, ideally when it drops into the 50s at night," Baum said. "You have to have that differential, between day and night..." Baum waters his Cymbidiums about every 10 days during winter, and twice a week during summer. "In warm, windy summertime, it's almost impossible to overwater unless the medium is peat moss," he added. ... Dendrobium speciosum... takes 10 to 12 years to reach blooming size.., Dendrobium kingianum and its many permutations, most... bear fragrant... flowers and bloom fast. "Divide them and immediately they bloom every year..." said Baum." ... it's best to keep your Dendrobiums in pots... Dendrobiums are lithophytes [some!] which means they grow on rocks. Impeccable drainage is key. ... "Cold-growing Laelia... brings the temperature tolerance into the Cattleya cross," Baum said. Excellent drainage is... important, so don't plant your Cattleyas in the ground... Cattleyas can also be mounted on boards or planted in hanging baskets... Provide the same once- or twice-a-week watering regimen... a translucent ceiling, rather than leaving the plants open to the sky. ... Laelia These orchids are the original tree-huggers [I like that expression !]: They're epiphytes and literally love to grow on trees. Laelia anceps... is one that's great for adapting to trees... oaks, queen palms, yuccas or any other evergreen tree that provides bright, filtered light will work... While Laelia anceps blooms in fall, Baum said Laelia purpurata and Laelia tenebrosa bear summer flowers. They're from temperate regions in Brazil. "They're very hardy... Stanhopeas... grow them in a wire basket or slatted wood basket and line the basket with green moss... In the middle of the summer... spikes come out of the bottom... bright, filtered light, and watering once or twice a week. ... When it comes to fertilizing your outdoor orchids, Wayne Ferrell, general manager of Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, says to keep it simple. For Cymbidiums and other potted orchids, he recommends a single, annual application of a balanced, slow-release granular fertilizer like Osmocote around the first of the year. For mounted orchids, he advises spraying the roots with a diluted, water-soluble fertilizer during most waterings. Half a teaspoon of a 7-9-5 or 20-10-20 to a gallon of water" article URL : http://www.timespressrecorder.com/articles/2007/03/09/news/news16.txt ************** regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
