Our neighbor gave us a Cymbidium Orchid as a gift. Can anyone tell me how to
care for this? The blooms have now fallen, the stalk holding the blooms is
dying, several leaves are dying and falling off. A new stalk has emerged,
but no buds yet.
I'm especially interested in knowing water, light and fertilizer
requirements. Thanks!
Kevin,
I have a few Cymbidium Orchids of my own. I live in zone 9b in FL where the
weather is very hot and humid. My orchids love it. I keep them hanging on
the back porch where they only get early morning sun for a few minutes each
day, but are in bright shade the rest of the day as the sun reflects off of
a white wall. I water my orchids only once a week using water from our fish
tank. The plants seem to like the fish water. If you don't have fish water
use a liquid fertilizer at 1/4 strenghth about every third watering.
If you do not have the natural humidity you will want to create it. A tray
of pebbles filled with water under the pot will do. If your orchid is
planted in soil or a soil like mixture you will need to repot it in an
orchid mix. They need a lot of air to their roots and the soil will
strangle them. You do not need a special orchid pot, I have all mine
planted in normal terracotta pots with orchid mix. They also like company.
The more orchids you have the more humidity is held around the plants.
Do not let your orchid freeze. Make sure it is kept above 40degrees F,
though some can take colder temps, most can't.
to
Anne -- I hope that the first orchid I've ever bought (at the Philly flower
show) will survive. After doing exactly what the instructions that came
with it said, the flowers fell off, the remaining buds yellowed then fell
off, the flower stem died, 2 large leaves yellowed and fell off -- I finally
stopped watering it the way they had said (really soaking the bark once a
week) and now I give it much less water, and have only fertilized it once in
all this time. There are new leaves coming out, and I hope that soneday in
the future this plant will again develop another stem of buds..
karen, nj
the
> weather is very hot and humid. My orchids love it. I keep them hanging
on
> the back porch where they only get early morning sun for a few minutes
each
> day, but are in bright shade the rest of the day as the sun reflects off
of
> a white wall. I water my orchids only once a week using water from our
fish
> tank. The plants seem to like the fish water. If you don't have fish
water
> use a liquid fertilizer at 1/4 strenghth about every third watering.
> If you do not have the natural humidity you will want to create it. A
tray
> of pebbles filled with water under the pot will do. If your orchid is
> planted in soil or a soil like mixture you will need to repot it in an
> orchid mix. They need a lot of air to their roots and the soil will
> strangle them. You do not need a special orchid pot, I have all mine
> planted in normal terracotta pots with orchid mix. They also like
company.
how
> to
> care for this? The blooms have now fallen, the stalk holding the blooms
is
> dying, several leaves are dying and falling off. A new stalk has
emerged,
Thanks, Anne, for that reassuring response.
karen, nj
do
> just fine the way I keep them. One even popped out of it's pot. I draped
> it over the top of our fence, in a shady spot and it grew that way for
> years, only coming in on the coldest nights. Until one night that the
frost
fell
> off, the flower stem died, 2 large leaves yellowed and fell off -- I
> finally
> stopped watering it the way they had said (really soaking the bark once
a
> week) and now I give it much less water, and have only fertilized it
once
> in
> all this time. There are new leaves coming out, and I hope that soneday
in
Karen,
Your orchid is getting used to it's new growing conditions. It will
probably do fine as long as you keep the conditions the same as they are
now. I find that greenhouse grown orchids all go through something like
yours did. But the ones I have gotten from other outdoor growers seem to do
just fine the way I keep them. One even popped out of it's pot. I draped
it over the top of our fence, in a shady spot and it grew that way for
years, only coming in on the coldest nights. Until one night that the frost
came early in the evening and got the orchid before I got home.
Anne in FL
zone 9b, sunset 26
"It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling
exception, is composed of others."
--John Andrew Holmes
flower
> show) will survive. After doing exactly what the instructions that came
> with it said, the flowers fell off, the remaining buds yellowed then fell
> off, the flower stem died, 2 large leaves yellowed and fell off -- I
finally
> stopped watering it the way they had said (really soaking the bark once a
> week) and now I give it much less water, and have only fertilized it once
in
