cym australian midnight
 

hi everyone,
i was just wondering if any one on the ob grows cym australian midnight, and if you do, can you please advise me one care and such, especially about watering, becuase i am worried about the winter drought aspect. thanks

stefan

Stefan,

I grow my Australian Midnights (canaliculatum x atropurpureum) more like the first parent than the second, i.e. drier in the winter. I do however, keep it warm in the winter, as it is prone to rot if you are not careful. I think it would be happiest in a warm, bright cattleya-type greenhouse, even though it will survive in intermediate conditions.

CL

Help With Cym Culture
 

I am trying to make my own medium for repotting my Cyms. I am going to use Cypress mulch. What else do I need to add to make it good for Cym? thanks

#1, is this Cypress mulch composted ?????? If its not, it could and probably will burn ever root off the plant.

I am always fascinated when I hear people say grow Cym Canaliculatum warm/intermediate in the winter. Where I come from in Australia the typical spotted form is common and temps frequently drop below -2c in the winter. Summer is above 40c at times though.

It grows well in cut of sections of hollow logs. I guess it maintains a moist but not wet root system. When I have rescued some from bulldozed trees, the extensive root system is just that, moist but never wet inside the hollow trunk.

Sorry, no idea of the hybrid, though friends in my home town do have it growing there. Not sure how they treat it.

Brett

I agree with Brett on the temps except for the variety "sparkesii'. This will grow at the expressed low temp for a while but eventually die out.
Cym Australian Midnight to my knowledge has "sparkesii" as the parent which means it will need temps above 10c in winter and little water. This may be a shock to many but it could take 5 to 10 years to flower the plant.

Wow.. 5-10 year is a while. I wonder if my Cym Canaliculatum Alba seedlings that just came out of flask will be as slow.

I didnt know that about sparksii. Would log culture be benificial for Cym Australian Midnight? I am thinking about where you get a rotted out small bole of a tree and plant into that. I saw this idea in a J. N. Rentoul book and thought this may assist Stefan with growing culture.

Sorry Stefan, not meaning to hijack your thread here.

Brett

Brett, not sure about alba, a friend had some and the loss rate was high. Aust' Midnight grows well in a normal bark mix in a plastic pot. I had 5 seedlings from the very first release of the cross. Mine made it to jam packed 7 inch pots with only 1 or 2 back bulbs and regardless of where I grew them, no flowers. I flowered the first one after 8 or so years. I believe it was the first ever plant of the cross to flower anywhere. I beat the maker of the cross to flower it.

Do not have Australian Midnight but would like to have it. Good to hear how Australian growers manage Canaliculatum and its hybrids. My Cym Little Black Sambo came close to dying from over water. It seems to grow best in the Catasetum section of the greenhouse.

Where I grew up, C. Canaliculatum is the most common orchid. There are some ground orchids about, though not common.

The roots of the species get right down into the rotting core of the tree trunks and run for metres. There are very few signs of exposed roots or arial roots. So what moisture they get must be out of the rotting wood and what rain seeps in. It is an arid environment and rain is infrequent, though when it rains, it can do for some time.

I dont know how much of the growth habit of C. Canaliculatum transfers to the hybrids, but it seems like a lot from the ones I have seen. Both Aussie Midnight and Little Black Sambo.

My C. Canaliculatum Alba seedlings seem to be settling, but hated the first few days out of flask, even in a 22c to 23c wardian case with near 100% humidity and in lightly packed live spagnum/coconut coir chips. You can see the pics in the propagation threads on dehydrating cyms. Had some die back on the tips initially.

Anyway, good growing with the Aussie Midnight Stefan.