Cymbidium, need re-potting help - Orchid Board

Sandra75 · #1 01-04-2011, 09:14 PM

I bought 3 Cymbidiums at Home Depot ... They not at the greatest shape but am trying to make them healthier.

When should I repot? They are not in flower and there dont seem to be much room left to grow in their pots.

Also, what is the best mix for cymbidium?

Thank you everyone for any help!

Sandra

Zoi2 · #2 01-04-2011, 09:42 PM

Hello and welcome to the Orchid Board.
Your cyms are beautiful. What makes you think they are not in the greatest shape?
Joann

Sandra75 · #3 01-04-2011, 09:53 PM

The leaves of the yellow Cymbidium were all with brown tips, I had to cut tips off. The Brown Cymbidium, looks like is too big for its pot and some flowers are like dark on edges, same as for the yellow one. The pink one, I bought it already with lots of leaves cut down to the bulb.

Obviously on all 3, there are missing flowers ... I just dont know how much it will affect my Cymbidiums. I also have to mention that I bougth those about 2 weeks after the store received them .... I like to have one of the first choices.

Zoi2 · #4 01-04-2011, 10:22 PM

The pots your plants are in look to be about the correct size for your plants.
It may be time for the flowers to die back, when did you purchase the plants? It is not unusual for flowers to fade quickly when you first bring them home due to the environmental change.
Brown leaf tips can be caused by excessive fertilizer salts and is fairly common, just flush the pots really well between fertilizing.
How are you growing these plants, such as temperature, light, water, fertilizer etc?
Joann

camille1585 · #5 01-05-2011, 04:57 AM

The pot size looks fine to me as well. Cyms like to be snug in their pots, and it seems like there's still some space for them to grow.

Sandra75 · #6 01-05-2011, 07:53 AM

I just bought them, this passed weekend. So they are now located on top of a shelf. About 1 foot away from a very huge window from which there only early morning direct sunlight in the summer time....so basically because of the angle, just a couple months a year.

Now they are getting the full day light and is cooler there. From Spring to Fall they will be outside, benefiting from the 5:30am to about 9am very early direct sunlight.

About pot size, one of the pots is no longer round but more of a oval shape ... why I am thinking its maybe crowed ...

camille1585 · #7 01-05-2011, 08:21 AM

Is there anywhere else that you could put them outside? That's going to be far from enough sunlight for them, especially since you're in canada. They need LOTS of sun! For example, where I live (similar latitude to you) my Cyms are put outside may to october and get direct sunlight all day long, even when it's very hot. I adjusted them to the light over the course of 2-3 weeks. The first 2 years I had them in an area that only got morning sun, and that was not enough to get them to bloom.

As for the pots, because of the root system of Cyms, taller pots like yours are actually ideal. And I repot my Cyms once the pot is crammed full of roots (one cym actually exploded the plastic pot it was in shortly after I got it)

Sandra75 · #8 01-05-2011, 08:40 AM

Unfortunately, the balcony is the only place I can leave them out side ... Or else they'd have still be at the window getting sun until about almost noon. In summer time, that window would be way too hot for them and they wont get the temperature difference day from night ...

From what I read, says they need bright light but no direct sun ... just the weak morning or evening sun is good.

What do you use for your potting mix? I am a little confuse because of different info I been reading.

Cym Ladye · #9 01-05-2011, 02:12 PM

Sandra75,

I always repot my new cymbidiums after they have bloomed, in the spring when the weather has warmed up. This way, the mix will be a "known factor" and all your plants will be in the same type mix and can be watered and fertilized the same.

In regard to light, you may have some experimenting to do. Cyms want 50/50 sunlight conditions, but in some of the northern climes, they can take more direct outside sun if properly acclimated. Cyms will not do well grown all year inside. Just not enough light.

The trimmed leaves are a product of some well meaning soul in the sale's pipeline. I can only suspect unsightly dead tips unless someone just likes the "lawn mower" effect.

My recommendation is to enjoy the blooms as long as they last and then plan to repot in the spring, as soon as your weather warms up. Also read all you can on Cymbidium care, keeping in mind that you will get 12 different answers for 10 different questions! If you get totally confused, do not despair. I will be more than happy to send you privately a repotting procedural guide if you cannot find all you need on this forum.

CL

WhiteRabbit · #10 01-05-2011, 04:01 PM

as to yellowing foliage, they do shed old foliage - is it foliage on older growth that is yellowing?

I agree with others re: repot in spring, and you can determine then if they need larger pots. If you do pot up, don't go too much larger. An FYI - leave yourself plenty of time for repotting these - and don't feel you need to repot all of them the same day - if the roots are very good (bulging pot makes me think this is likely) - many people are not prepared for their first cym repot - it isn't so much hard, as just can be more time consuming than smaller orchids - cyms do get lots of very long, very fat roots, and they wind around inside the pot ...

In my experience, many cyms can take a good deal of light - I have one that burns easily (but even this one takes a few hours of direct morning light in summer), but the others take direct sun all morning (til at least noon) in summer - and one did fine with sun even longer. They also generally tolerate heat just fine too, tho many require a period of cool nights in late summer-fall to initiate spikes.

I pot mine in a mix of medium and fine fir bark, with plenty of perlite, a bit of charcoal, and some styro pnuts.