GENERAL CULTURAL NOTES 
ON CYMBIDIUMS 
Cymbidiums are amongst the easiest grown of all Orchids, and can be 
successfully cultivated and flowered in most parts of the United States. These 
brief cultural notes are given to be of assistance to the grower in familiarizing 
himself with the basic cultural requisites of these lovely orchids. 
Whatever type of Orchid we wish to grow we must first determine the basic 
requirements for its successful culture. With the Cymbidiums we must fix in our 
mind the facts that they are cool growing, are semi-terrestial (semi-ground 
growing), and put out quite a lot of growth during the growing season compared 
to other major types of Orchids. 
In California, and similar latitudes, where they can be grown out of doors, 
they may be grown in a lath house where Camellias, Azaleas and other shade 
loving plants do well. They are often grown successfully under trees where the 
shading is not too dense. In other parts of the country where below freezing 
temperatures occur during the winter, a greenhouse is required to protect them 
from extreme low temperatures. The species from which the fine hybrids come 
that we grow in our gardens and greenhouses today, are native in the moun- 
tainous areas of South East Asia at elevations of from 2,000 to 7,000 feet. At 
these high elevations near the equator the days are moderate in temperature 
and the nights are quite crisp with temperatures approaching 32° F. at times. 
As could be expected, too, the sunlight is quite intense. 
SOILS — Cymbidiums, unlike most other Orchids, can be grown in 
soils suitable to other shade loving plants. An important thing to bear 
in mind here is that the drainage must be unimpaired. Though Cym- 
bidium plants require great amounts of water during the growing season 
they are extremely intolerant of any water stagnating around their 
roots. The preparation of a compost for Cymbidiums is a highly con- 
troversial subject. Most every Cymbidium grower has his own formula 
for compounding his Cymbidium soil. However, the basic formula can 
be about three-fifths coarse leaf mold, one-fifth good garden loam, 
one-fifth very well rotted cow manure. Great care must be taken to see 
that the cow manure has lost all its strong action. To this basic formula 
can be added a handful or two of bone meal to a wheelbarrow of the 
prepared compost. Finely chopped or ground Osmunda, either used 
or fresh, is a desirable added ingredient to the compost. We have found 
the finely chopped bark of the California Redwood tree to have a very 
beneficial effect in maintaining the correct acid pH as well as having 
desirable general conditioning properties. This can be purchased from 
either seed stores or some lumber yards under the trade name of 
“Palco Pete.” We suggest the addition of from 10 to 20%, of this Red- 
wood bark or chopped Osmunda to the prepared soil. In conclusion, 
the basic facts to bear in mind when we mix our soil are, make sure it 
has a high coarse leaf mold content, has an acid reaction, and that the 
drainage is thorough. 
WATERING — Assuming that we do have a well balanced soil with 
a high food value and good drainage we must balance this off with care- 
ful watering in order to assure the plants optimum growth. During the 
active growing season, which runs roughly from March through Sep- 
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