The evergreen orchid cymbidium is classified as epiphytic. About 60 species are found in nature. The natural habitat of India, Asia, Japan, as well as the mountains of Indochina and Australia. You can grow both in open areas and indoors.
Main types
Cymbidium orchid has about 100 varieties. All of them are different colors. Depending on the variety, they can be either pale white or dark brown or even black.
Orchid in the wild
Popular varieties include:
- giant. A plant native to India grows to 50 cm. The plant is fascinated by a beautiful inflorescence, which consists of 10-15 flowers. The petals are painted yellow, in the middle decorated with purple stripes. The flower is unpretentious in care;
- miniature. The flower is small in size with hanging clusters of soft pink hue. It blooms for five months (from August to December);
- cymbidium low. A lush bush with green leaves up to 70 cm long. There are about 20 flowers with a diameter of 10 cm on a peduncle. Olive-yellow petals with a wide red stroke and white center;
- cymbidium white. It belongs to tall plants, originally from the Himalayas. Pretty tall and large bush. The main difference between white cymbidium is the presence of fragrant, large flowers with a diameter of 7.5 cm. In the middle there is a narrow strip of yellow;
Orchid as an element of interior
- Daya. Originally from Southeast Asia. It has a multi-flowered inflorescence, on which up to 15 flowers. Petals are painted in a pale cream shade, in the middle is a purple vein;
- cymbidium pink. There is a flower in China or Thailand. Petals have a pale pink tint, in the middle they have a red spot. It blooms from February to May;
- orchid mix. A hybrid that was bred artificially;
- Vogels Magic. It is fascinating with spotty coloring with an interesting tint. The inflorescence has an interesting shape that resembles a wrapped lip;
- Ice Cascade. It grows in the wild forests of Australia and Southeast Asia. The leaves of Cascade are pointed in a deep green hue. Beautiful clusters of white are hanging on the stem.
A variety of types of orchids allows you to create amazing compositions that will fit into any interior. If it is impossible to buy a live specimen, you can decorate the room with artificial orchids from foamiran.
Home Care
Cymbidium orchid prefers to grow on tropical trees. It is extremely rare in nature to find it on the ground, more often a land orchid is found on a stone or rocky surface. Over time, the flower began to be grown indoors, providing the required cymbidium orchid care at home. It consists of three main components:
- suitable temperature and humidity;
- soil and top dressing;
- lighting.
Important! In order for the orchid to delight others with amazing flowers, it is necessary to provide the plant with decent conditions for development and flowering.
Temperature and humidity
The plant prefers cool conditions for growth and flowering. It is desirable that there are slight temperature changes. Permissible for normal plant growth 18-25 ° C. Raising to 30 ° C is painless for a flower. In winter, a temperature drop of up to 15 ° C is permissible.
Cymbidium prefers to grow in an environment with high humidity. From spring to autumn, it is advisable to take the plant to fresh air and bring it in if the temperature drops to 5 ° C. If this is not possible, then at home it is necessary to artificially increase air humidity. To do this, home humidifiers or small indoor fountains are suitable. It is still possible to increase the air humidity by placing the plant in a pot on a pallet into which to put wet expanded clay or pebbles.
Note! Once a year, a flower can be used for bathing in the shower, this has a positive effect on the development and growth of the plant.
Soil and fertilizing
Which of the finished soils is suitable for planting cymbidium is one of the frequently asked questions. In the store you can find a special substrate for orchids. You can also use pine bark, moss, charcoal and dried leaves for planting. The soil for cymbidium should be of medium acidity pH5.5-6.5.
Important! At the bottom of the pot you need to make a drainage layer in the form of granite stones. This will not only provide sufficient humidity, but also make the pot more stable.
For full development and growth, the flower needs regular feeding. Use special complex fertilizers. The most necessary elements for flower growth are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
You can purchase ready-made mineral complexes:
- Fertica Crystal. Make after unsuccessful watering during the growing season. The tool is diluted in the ratio of 0.5 g per 10 l of water;
- radiopharm. Vitamins, polysaccharides and amino acids are added to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium;
- superphosphate. Apply immediately before flowering;
- sugar. Often used to feed orchids. You need to take 1 teaspoon of sugar and add to 1 liter of water. Fertilize with a sugar solution once a week. Pouring fertilizer is exclusively at the root.
Feeding
For bait, you can use homemade solutions. As a fertilizer, you can apply:
- garlic water. Garlic is rich in vitamins, organic acids, sulfur and zinc. One clove of garlic is squeezed through a press and added to 1 liter of water. Leave for 45 minutes. Then used as root dressing;
- horse dung. Dissolve a small amount of manure in water and water the roots. Dry manure can also be used by distributing a small amount over the surface;
- peels from a banana. First, peel should be dried, then cut finely and soak in water for a couple of days. Strain the solution, and pour the resulting liquid under the root.
Important! Bait can not be applied during the flowering period, as well as in winter during the dormant period.
Lighting
In the care of Cymbidium orchids, lighting plays an important role. The bush loves sunlight; if possible, the plant should be placed on a large window from the southeast side. At noon, the flower must be slightly pritenit, with a strong scorching sun, the bush can burn. You should take care of the plant in the winter, organizing additional lighting.
In general, home care for the cymbidium orchid will not cause difficulties for both beginners and experienced gardeners.
Orchid bloom
You can watch the flowering of orchids in the middle of summer. New arrows on the peduncle usually appear in June. The flower stalk can accommodate about 30 pcs. arrows They are usually formed from the tissues of new growths after reaching the leaves of the final length.
Beautiful flowering can be observed in most cases on hybrids. Spectacular flowers, such as cymbidium mix, can bloom for up to several months. There are two types of hybrids:
- standard;
- miniature.
The color of the flower will delight others with its diversity except for blue.
Why the orchid does not bloom
The key reason for the absence of a peduncle on a flower is non-compliance with the temperature regime. For the orchid to bloom, it is necessary to create conditions similar to its natural environment, thus making it bloom. After the flower fades, it begins a period of rest. At this time, the temperature must be reduced to 10 ° C. The plant needs to build up strength for repeated flowering. In a sleeping state, the bush remains until April, then wakes up. It is advisable to move the flower to a warm place.
With proper care and resuscitation, the orchid will delight others with its flowering for more than one year.
Orchid bloom
Breeding options
To propagate cymbidium flowers, the application of special knowledge is necessary. There are several ways to reproduce them:
- dividing the bush;
- reproduction by roots;
- by seeds;
- pseudobulbs;
- layering;
- by the kids.
It is better to carry out reproduction in the spring after wintering. After resting, the plant has enough strength for growth and flowering.
Root division
This growing method is suitable for most indoor plants. The main condition is that the plant must have more than four bulbs. Propagate the plant carefully. For this, the bush is carefully removed from the pot, the roots are cleaned from the ground, then cut so that on each half there are three pseudobulbs. New bushes are placed in separate flowerpots.
Important! The place of the cut should be disinfected with charcoal, this will prevent the growth of bacteria.
Seeds
This method takes a lot of time. In nature, seeds germinate due to the root sponge. Grains in artificially bred varieties are small without nutrient tissue. Therefore, it is difficult to grow a bush from seeds at home.
To succeed, you must remember:
- seed germination takes up to nine months;
- three years later, the plant grows up;
- bloom will begin even after three years.
It is still possible to grow an orchid from a seed. It is necessary to prepare the ground by first adding crushed moss and leafy soil to it. Also, the soil should be moist. Next, create comfortable conditions. The room temperature should be 22-25 ° C with high humidity. After the appearance of four leaves, small bushes are transplanted into separate pots.
Orchid transplant
With proper care, the flower will begin to grow rapidly. Therefore, after 2-3 years, a cymbidium transplant is necessary in order to accelerate the growth of new pseudobulbs.
Important! Timely transplantation allows you to reanimate a depleted plant.
Often, beginners are worried about how to transplant cymbidium correctly so as not to harm the plant. To plant an orchid in a new flowerpot should be after it fades, and the height of young shoots will exceed 50 mm.
Transplanting orchids into a new pot
Soil selection
Replacing the soil for a flower is comparable to stress. Planting soil should have the following qualities:
- breathability;
- friability;
- ease;
- lack of toxic properties;
- have good drainage properties;
- optimal acidity.
You can prepare the substrate yourself. To do this, you need pine bark, fern roots, as well as moss. All ingredients are mixed together. As a constituent substrate, you can use a little horse manure.
There are several reasons for replacing the soil:
- old soil. The substrate eventually loses nutrients and minerals. Once every three years, the bush must be replanted in new soil;
- replacement of purchased soil. After the purchase, you should not transplant the plant, it contains all the useful substances, but after a year they are exhausted;
- pests or diseases. If the bush grows in one soil for a long time, infection with pests is possible.
Pot selection
Usually, choosing a flowerpot for a flower, it is often repelled by size and personal preferences. But this does not work with orchid. When choosing a pot for growing a flower, you should pay attention to such materials:
- plastic. Transparent plastic flowerpots have many advantages: the root system does not grow to the smooth surface of the walls, the pot always remains warm, protecting the roots from hypothermia, the material retains moisture well. But plastic pots are unstable and have poor breathability;
- clay. Environmentally friendly material passes air well, moisture in it does not stagnate. But it has its drawbacks: it quickly heats up, which in turn affects the rapid evaporation of moisture;
- ceramics. A worthy replacement for clay. It retains moisture well. Smooth surface prevents root germination to the flowerpot;
- glass. Is it possible to grow flowers in glass flowerpots - a moot point. The tank has no drainage holes. Excess moisture will remain in the pot, which in turn will lead to rotting of the roots.
Note! You can also try to grow orchids in baskets for epiphytes. They are made of wood, bamboo, plastic. The flower in such flowerpots will never overheat or supercool. Just have to water the bush more often.
Cymbidium orchid is a beautiful flower that, with proper care, will actively grow and delight with its flowering. The main thing is to choose the right soil, pot and place for growing.
