Putting cymbidiums on drip system

[Andreamorrisart]

I am hoping that someone here can answer a question I have concerning cymbidiums on a drip system. I have 50 cymbidiums that are in individual pots outdoor all year in Lodi ca. I want to put them on a drip system to water them on a regular time table as with my busy schedule it takes so long to water them by hand.

So hopefully some one has done this with success or can point me in the right direction to get the information

Thank you in advance for your help

[Discus]

I imagine this can be done successfully provided 1) all pots are the same size 2) all media are the same (type and age) and 3) you establish how often/long to drip for to adequately water the plants. As with most orchid watering things, this is going to be something you have to "dial in", and will of course be affected by season/weather too. You'll probably occasionally want to run through them manually and really flush the media out with clean water to prevent problems with salt buildup. Black leaf tips are usually a sign of that.

[Andreamorrisart]

Thank you, I do have them in 1 gallon and 3 gallon pots. I have them all in the same medium, Bark, Charcoal, and Large Perlite. I can control how much water each pot gets by the pgh emitter I put on each pot so the larger pots will have more water than the smaller pots. Here during the summer I water every day. So using a drip on them will greatly reduce my time. I agree that I still need to monitor them and make sure all is well. Thank you for the advice to flush them out periodically. I have them on the drip system now and I will let you know how they doo over the next few months.

[GardenTheater]

I live in ca too. My entire garden is on drip including 5 orchids outdoors--3 are cymbidiums. I've had the orchids less than a year so can't say I've gotten them to rebloom, but they all look healthy. Drippers come in different sizes such as one gallon per hour or 1/2 gallonn per hour so you can adjust for pot size. In a really big pot you can use multiple drippers to cover a larger root area. That's what I do for my potted satsuma mandarin and eureka lemons trees which are blooming and producing fruit. What is nice about a drip system is that you can keep adding more pots and more drippers. I would suggest setting it up for a few of your plants and once you get the results you want, expand it to all the pots.

Here where it's a cooler summer than Lodi, we run the system 3 times a week. We cut back number of times and length as the weather cools in fall and winter. I think it runs for about 20 mintutes, but I need to look that up.

---------- Post added at 09:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Andreamorrisart

Thank you, I do have them in 1 gallon and 3 gallon pots. I have them all in the same medium, Bark, Charcoal, and Large Perlite. I can control how much water each pot gets by the pgh emitter I put on each pot so the larger pots will have more water than the smaller pots. Here during the summer I water every day. So using a drip on them will greatly reduce my time. I agree that I still need to monitor them and make sure all is well. Thank you for the advice to flush them out periodically. I have them on the drip system now and I will let you know how they doo over the next few months.

This post came up about the same time as mine so sorry about the redundant information. It's great you have the system setup. I think you'll enjoy the convenience. Sometimes emitters and hoses get clogged so I agree with monitoring.

[Cym Ladye]

I have known many hobbyists and several commercial growers who use drip on their orchids. As was said earlier, you will need to work it on a trial and error basis when you start.

As a note, your mix is very open, and will need frequent watering as you have discovered. When you repot, I would recommend putting together a mix which would be more water retentive and therefore not need as frequent watering.

You might also play around with putting saucers under any plants which are packed (root bound) in the pot in the summer. Water should be absorbed within 24 to 48 hours although some growers will let water stay. However, you have to know what you are doing if you do that.

Cym Ladye