Re: Cymbidiums
- To: B*@monterey.edu
- Subject: Re: Cymbidiums
- From: d* f*
- Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2000 23:30:40 -0800 (PST)
Barry,
Cymbidiums should be perfectly happy in your garden.
In zone 17, they can even take close to all day sun.
The plants are fully hardy to 25F, but bloom spikes
can be damaged at 32F. I find they look best if grown
under cover from winter rains, baited for snails, and
protected from frosts, and the flowers will last in
good shape for 4 to 5 months. Combining some of the
new cultivars can give you up to 10 months of bloom
these days. Out in the garden with excellent drainage,
they will also do well, but the flowers are eagerly
sought out by slugs and snails, with just enough
damage to make 5 months of brown edged flowers an
annoyance. The newer hybrid dwarf cymbidiums are well
worth collecting, but more expensive than the older,
larger cultivars.
You might also want to consider Reed Stem
Orchids/Epidendron hybrids. These can be virtually
everblooming in our climate, located in a warm sunny
spot and regularly fed. Growing them in pots is best,
so they can be moved under an overhang for frost
protection in the winter. They don't like anything
below 32F, and sometimes show cold damage at slightly
above freezing temps. They can grow to 6 foot tall,
and range from yellow, orange, red, purple,to white,
and look like miniature clusters of Cattleya orchids.
They grow to perfection in Southern California's
Sunset Zones 23 and 24.
- Barry Garcia <Barry_Garcia@monterey.edu> wrote:
> davidfeix@yahoo.com writes:
> > I feel
> >that I need to say in my defense, that I don't
> really
> >use that much water in my garden, and use
> >mediterraneans and drought tolerant succulents in
> the
> >full sun areas. The water loving plants are
> grouped
> >together in the shadier parts of the garden, and
> the
> >drip run off from hanging baskets in my trees for
> >epiphytes is further utilized by draining onto the
> >plantings below.
>
> I loved the description, David. Anyway, my garden is
> similar. the sunnier
> part of the yard out towards the sidewalk i barely
> water much. It has the
> California poppies, silver leaved bush poppies (all
> volunteers from a
> neighbor's bush), ceanothus, Stipa gigantea, dietes,
> and my Flowering
> plum. Towards the house where it's a bit shadier,
> are my novelty plants,
> which use a little more water, but generally dont
> require a lot (like
> canna, miscanthus, viburnum, banana, varius
> grasses), and it's really not
> a big part of the yard (maybe 1/4th of the yard)
>
> Small question: How long can cymbidiums be kept
> outdoors in sunset zone 17
> (i'm about 3 miles from the coast)? I've seen these
> growing in huge pots
> at Monterey Community Hospital in the rose garden.
> These were growing near
> the building, somewhat under the balconies above.
> The pots look too big
> for them to move indoors each winter (well, maybe
> they use some machinery
> to move them), but they looked quite happy outdoors
> in the garden, and all
> of them had 5 or 6 spikes of flowers. I dont have a
> cymbidium, but if I
> were to get one, I think it would be a cool
> addition to the garden (and
> of course, probably kept in its pot, but sunk into
> the ground until it
> needs to be moved, if it does).
>
> __________________________________
>
> L E A Ñ I O N Ò U O, U N A E Á N Ò U A
>
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