Name: Cymbidiums
Type of Plant: Orchids for indoor blooming in the winter months.
Why I love this: My favorite orchids are Cymbidiums. I love their colors, their long lasting, showy sprays of flowers, and the fact that they bloom in the coldest, darkest months of the year. From December through January Cymbidiums are found in garden centers and grocery stores. I try and find plants that are just coming into flower, so I can tell what color the blooms are, while still having bud spikes that haven’t opened. Such plants will be in bloom for two to three months!
A Word to the Wise: Cymbidiums are cool weather bloomers that flower on the newer growth. So to bring Cymbidiums into bloom again you follow these steps:
- Place your plants outside after all danger has passed, putting them in a location that is bright light but not direct sun. I put the plant pictured under my grape arbor.
- Give your plants some time-release fertilizer when you put them outdoors in the early summer. Water them as you’d water any outdoor container in your region.
- Leave the Cymbidium outside as the temperatures cool in the fall, but watch the forecast and bring them inside before the nights go below freezing. It’s the cool weather that stimulates the flowers so be sure not to bring them inside too soon!
- Because they flower on the newer growth, repot in fresh orchid bark every couple of years so that the newer shoots have room to develop.
This Cymbidium has just come back into flower for me. It has five bloom spikes this year!
