Warm growers

[smweaver]

Have you tried any of the numerous Cymbidium madidum crosses? The species madidum is very heat tolerant in its native Australia, and it seems to pass this tolerance on to its descendants. I've grown Cymbidium Fifi 'Harry' AM/AOS for many years, and here in the Midwest where I live, it's very easy to grow and flower. I put it outdoors in the early spring and bring it back inside in the fall, and it flowers every year in the late winter. Long pendulous spikes, between three and four feet in length--and the plant itself (also thanks to its madidum parent) gets very large. But it's absolutely stunning when in flower--and it has a tendency to flower off older leafed pseudobulbs also; not always consistently, but it's a nice surprise to find a spike coming off a bulb that's three or four years old once in awhile. You can also try another madidum hybrid called Len Southward 'Tranquility.' I bought a sprouted backbulb from Casa de Las Orquideas (sp?) in California last fall, and it was very reasonably priced. The new growth is now at least a foot tall and is growing like a weed. But if the backbulb's any indication of its ultimate size, it's going to be a monster; the backbulb is approximately ten inches tall and five inches wide--honestly! You might want to contact them to see if they have any left for sale. The madidium hybrids, in my experience, can handle lots of heat and humidity, and they don't require the cooler late summer and fall weather in order to initiate spikes (mine never see temperatures below around 55 degrees fahrenheit, at those are only experienced during the coldest days of winter). Good luck!

Steve