Getting cymbidiums to spike in hot areas.

[Bluey]

Hello all. Brisbane is not the best place to grow cymbidiums. They grow well, but with the lack of a regular temperature drop at night in our summer/autum.What is the best method anyone who grows them successfully in such climates, has found to drop themperature sufficiently?

[camille1585]

I grow Cyms in a cooler climate so have no problems with them. But I think that I have heard that watering with near ice cold water in the summer could help, since it cools down the root zone. I'm really not sure about that.

Otherwise I don't think there's much to do about it. You could try getting some warm tolerant cyms, they don't need the temperature differences to bloom.

But don't take my word on it, I'm no cym expert!

[Bluey]

Thanks Camille. I pretty much thought the same. I'm worried about how much cold water to use so as not to water-log the roots. We are getting lots of rain. ( You may have seen the flooding on the TV news.) I WAS going to place some ice cubes around the pot's surface, thinking they will melt slowly and do the job. Then someone who knows much more than I do, warned me that the ice would burn the roots causing the leaf tips to go black.
I'll see if anyone else comes up with another idea. This is my first posting.Wow....a reply straight away from so far away.
Thanks.

[silken]

Some of the smaller cymbidiums have more warmth tolerance so you could try those. Sorry, other than placing near air conditioning, I don't see how you can chill a cymbidium in a warm climate.

[Vanda lover]

I lived in Ontario Canada and accidentally left my Cymbidium out when it went below freezing. The soil in the pot was frozen solid, so I thought that I had killed it. I brought it in and it bloomed like crazy! So, I doubt that a little ice around the roots would kill it. I would wait until the coolest time of year, though.

[silken]

That's good to know! Not that I would deliberately freeze one that solid! But living in Sask. I have to watch my cyms very carefully in the fall to bring them in before freeze-up. Didn't all the leaves freeze and die? It must have been pretty cold to freeze the pot solid.

I guess Bluey could set them in the freezer for a while (kidding).

[Vanda lover]

It was perhaps -4 or so. I was quite surprised that the leaves were not damaged. I wouldn't advise freezing them deliberately, though. The man who sold me mine, told me to keep it outside until Halloween, but that was Southern Ontario. From then on, I protected from frost, just in case.

[orchids3]

We have warmth problems in Jacksonville Florida. It really is best to study and select the right cymbidiums which do not require the cools summer nights. I help the marginal bloomers by cooling with a short mist early in the morning and late evening. My mist system is automatic so its not much trouble to select a 2 to 5 min mist time. 6 am before the sun hits and 5 in the evening is the time I use. A well drained potting media must go with the technique. Notice that I posted my potting mix in an earlier post. A time release fertilizer is also used to always have fertilizer available to the plant. If it is raining a lot I turn the mist system off and watch the resevorirs or saucers. If they over flow due to the rain - the I also fertilize with water soluable fertilizer at 125 ppm. It may seem odd to use a water resevoir but it helps the plants to also have water available at all times in hot climates. The resevoirs also keep some of the fertilizer around which would wash away without the resevoirs. This guy in Australia also uses a pan under his plants. Cymbidium Species - Stephen Early

[kramarova]

You can wrap the pot with a wet cloth. It will drop the temperature in the pot a bit.

[rodrigo]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I have heard that watering with near ice cold water in the summer could help, since it cools down the root zone.

Originally Posted by orchids3

I help the marginal bloomers by cooling with a short mist early in the morning

Hi Bluey!

Welcome to the forum.

I live in a marginal temp range for cool blooming cyms in Costa Rica.

I have found that if I pot cool blooming cyms in hanging baskets, they seem to bloom easier in my area.

The rationale behind this is that the root system would have more air penetrating it, therefore cooling the roots and media.

I water copiously really early in the morning when the temperature is at its lowest (before sunrise would be best... but I never managed to go that far), when the sun starts rising, it will start evaporating the water, causing further cooling of the root system and plant.

Also, as mentioned earlier by orchids3, use a fast draining mix. Whatever you use as media, you will have to fine tune its coarseness to suit the water input according to your area and watering habits. Also, take into consideration that baskets will consume more water than pots, but if you live in a high rain area like me, baskets might be a plus for you as well.

Hope this works in your area. But please take it for what it is, my personal observations in my area, and not an established scientific fact.

Regards,

Rodrigo