Cymbidium devonianum & Cymbidium kanran - Advice needed

[kavanaru]

Dear all,

a couple of weeks ago a friend gave me a 2-years-to-blooming-size Cymbidium devonianum and newly I bought a blooming-size Cymbidium kanran. These are my first Cymbidium. I potted Cym. devonianum in S/H but is neither doing bad nor showing signs it likes it. So I was wondering whether I should change it, as well as Cym. kanran, to tradiotional culture method... my question is: what is the best culture medium for this genus?

any suggestions and advice are more than welcome!!!

[Don Perusse]

Ramon - Here in the Southeast I would plant my cyms in the following: I use a mix of fine bark (4 parts), coarse perlite (l part), fine charcoal (0.5-1.0) (1 part) and a couple handfuls of cocohusk or sphagnum peat moss in the mix. I repot and divide as needed, usually every 2-3 years). It works for me, good luck with yours.

[Ray]

Ramon,

I used to import lots of Chinese cymbidiums from Taiwan. The grower there used a medium of pumice and tree fern chucks, and fertigated (using sour milk) daily. That sounds pretty much like S/H culture to me!

All that I imported went straight from box to S/H and I never lost a one.

I cannot speak for devonianum, but Cym. kanran thrives under phalaenopsis condititons.

[kavanaru]

Ray and Don, thanks a lot for the info. I am not yet sure whether S/H (maybe only for kanran) or go with a bark "cym mix" as Don described...

so far I know, both plants would like similar conditions, only a bit warmer for Cym devonianum... that's something I could give to both... let's see...

[LanXing]

Hi,
as I just read this and grow around 20 oriental Cymbidium. I made good experiences with Seramis, burnt clay granules developed from the cat toilet stuff.
Recently I planted a "Golden Elf" with root problems in it and it recovered within 3 month. Another one, "Chen´s Ruby" which is the first, crossed with C. iridioides, import plant Feb08, nearly without roots in the spagnum, recovered fully in 8 month and shows first spike now.

Another good point is, that you allways can take the plant out of the pot and look for the root status or repot when new roots make it through the holes of the pot. Never did they feel disturbed.

Some of the sinense, faberi and kanran in chinese pots I grow in stuff that is used for Cypredilum culture in a friends nursery. Gravel, chunks of peat and broken LECA

Hope that helps
LanXing

[D_novice]

Maybe things are different in the S/H world, but amongst the vast majority of orchid hobbyists who pot in anything else, you wouldn't evaluate anything after two weeks. If it's not dying, it's probably working on its roots. Evaluate in four months, not two weeks.

S/H or no, patience is an orchid hobbyists' best ally.

[estación seca]

It's a very old thread, but I echo what Ray says: All the Cymbidiums I put into S/H have done well. This includes standard hybrids, C. dayanum and warmth-tolerant Oriental hybrids.