Warm and Hot Cymbidiums - a reference

[isurus79]

Wow, 15k hybrids!!! That’s amazing!

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Keysguy

Hah......... I just woke up! All this talk of the Milton Carpenter Cymbidium........he was the gentleman that owned Everglades Orchids I mentioned earlier and whose name I couldn't recall. DUH!

Here's a snipit I found on his hybridizing success in search of "warmth tolereant" Cymbidiums.

"Over the years, we have attempted well over 15,000 hybrids. From that, we've obtained about 3,000 pods. That means that 20% of the pods did take. Of those 3,000 pods, the majority of them did not produce viable seeds. I believe we have named 504 hybrids out of those 3,000 pods. With this type of hybridizing within the Oncidiinae, you run into sterility barriers due to the different groups and genera. Sometimes they simply won't match up - and then if you do get something, it's often a mule - you can't go any further with it. So you have to make a lot of hybrids to find a few that are successful -- those that will give you a good plant and allow further hybridization."

Yes, I've read that article about his hybridizing program. It's very interesting. I bought a few Oncidium intergenerics from him back in the mid-90s when Everglades Orchids still did retail sales. They were very nice plants.

[SouthPark]

I agree about the warm and hot thing. The whole thing is probably really about flowering. These orchids probably can just grow in cold and warm/hot regions. It's maybe the flowering that is the main consideration ----- ie. whether it will flower or not easily ------ in say the tropics.

I personally don't mind if my cymbidiums in the tropics don't flower. I'm new to cymbidiums. But I'm going to grow them anyway heheheheh. I'll just enjoy growing them, and looking at their nice architect-plant sort of leaves hehehe.

I do have a couple that I ordered from down south with flower buds (that came along with the plant - with flower spike and buds). So that'll be a bonus if (or when) they eventually open up. That will be great.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

I do have a couple that I ordered from down south with flower buds (that came along with the plant - with flower spike and buds). So that'll be a bonus if (or when) they eventually open up. That will be great.

If they are already in bud, they'll open up. It's the spike-initiation process that requires some cool nights to happen in most of the hybrids. The species that come from tropical areas, and their hybrids, are the ones that are likely to rebloom in a perpetually-warm area. Others will tend to be big foliage plants.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Roberta

If they are already in bud, they'll open up. It's the spike-initiation process that requires some cool nights to happen in most of the hybrids. The species that come from tropical areas, and their hybrids, are the ones that are likely to rebloom in a perpetually-warm area. Others will tend to be big foliage plants.

Thanks very much Roberta! I'll certainly be able to help out with testing the sources of information that I've seen about a requirement of a significant temperature difference between say day time max temperature and night time minimum temperature ------ of say 18 to 20 degrees Celsius to achieve spike initiation. Also, I remember reading something somewhere about not just for a short time, but this cycle must be kept up for some relatively long time ---- eg. over a few weeks or something.

Also, finding pretty much no mention or photos (in our northern region of Australia) of flowers of the cymbidiums I'm growing ------ could be a bit of a sign hahahaha.

Maybe somewhere down the track in future, I could try some experiments like inducing spike development by purposely cooling one plant for a bit each night in a cooler of suitable size.

[Roberta]

SP, hope you have a large cooler... Blooming-size Cyms tend to not be petite. Probably more productive to study habitats of species and parentage of the hybrids that you're interested in. There ARE Cyms that grow in warm (even tropical) locations. They tend to have smaller flowers, but often lots of them, typically on pendant inflorescences. So getting the big, round standard Cyms to bloom in the tropics may be right up there with getting a standard-sized Vanda to grow and bloom in San Francisco (or New Zealand)... maybe possible but difficult and a whole lot of trouble and special accommodations, not going to happen in the back yard. But those many-flowered pendant Cym species and their hybrids are also charming.

[SouthPark]

Roberta ----- about the cooler --- I haven't got one of suitable size. You're right about that! The cooler will need to be a suitable sized one.

The concealed freezer unit (covered with blue tarp) in this link here (as a back-up unit in case our food freezers inside the house break down) is relatively large ... but most likely won't be workable for cooling a cymbidium. That's in terms of cost and not the right sort of unit for the role.

One of those cymbidiums down the back is one of the two in spike with buds. The buds are bigger now. That plant is Cym. Barrita Princess 'Princess'. The grex is Barrita Princess, but it has a cultivar name of Princess too. That's why the Princess appears twice hahaha.

Some buds didn't make it during shipping. But those ones remaining in the photo are doing great. I have a second plant of this one, and it lost many more buds ----- but at least the second plant retained three buds --- stabilised!

The foliage is quite large (large span that is) for these plants. So if they are able to grow nicely here, then they'll make really good decorative plants. Very nice foliar display.

I have two other big plants - Cym. Valley Olympic 'Pink Perfection' (such a modest cultivar name heheheh) and Cym. Regal Flames 'Queen of Hearts'.

All these Princess, Pink Perfection and Queen of Hearts are 'Aussies'. I didn't intend to purchase Australian plants only though hahaha.

[Roberta]

Post pix when they bloom. Looked up Cym. Barrita Princess... pretty much a mix of the species that go into the standard types so enjoy it this year and take lots of photos.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Post pix when they bloom. Looked up Cym. Barrita Princess... pretty much a mix of the species that go into the standard types so enjoy it this year and take lots of photos.

Will do Roberta! I'll share the pics with you and everybody once those flowers open up. Looking at the bud size right now --- maybe flowering soon! Thanks for your help, time and recommendations Roberta! Always appreciative of that here.

[DirtyCoconuts]

i was going to say, LOL.... SouthPark DOES have a big cooler but his cat is using it