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cold weather exposure & cymbidiums
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Posted by tom_mn z4b_MN (My Page) on Sat, Oct 31, 09 at 19:36
| I got a new cymbidium this spring as an easter plant.
I have been careless with it and left it outside on the deck in quite chilly weather, down into 25-28 F range on several occasions and through some snowfalls. I prefer to leave it out in the sun and wind for as long as possible since tropical plants tend to languish in dry, dark indoor winter conditions.
Anyway, it seems to have had no damage, but I wonder if I have really sinned here and will pay for it later? I will take it inside for the colder temps/heavier snowfalls in a week or two. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: cold weather exposure & cymbidiums
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| Depends to some extent on what sort of Cymbidium you have. The recommended low is just above 0C. but this also depends on what happens during the day following the cold night. You need some advice from the locals but my advice is it needs to be put inside now. A name would be helpful because some of the so called warmth tolerant Cymbidiums may need to be kept warmer in winter. |
RE: cold weather exposure & cymbidiums
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| Plant is still outside due to mild, above frost weather that persists. Plant is sending up a flower spike, I noticed, so nothing major could be wrong. If I had known that these plants were so cold tolerant I would have grown them sooner. |
RE: cold weather exposure & cymbidiums
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| Be very wary, here in Cymbidium paradise some orchid nurseries suffered big losses of ready to market flowers when the temp dropped to about -4/-5C. one frosty night. Those nurseries are inland away from the Pacific Ocean , but i imagine the Climate there is tropical compared to z4b-MN. |
RE: cold weather exposure & cymbidiums
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| One of my Cymbidiums is still outside. The other is inside because it is in bloom. It had four spikes, but one got attacked by something and it died so I brought it in. This is the second time it has bloomed this year. The one that is in bloom was vernalized last fall and the lowest it got was ~29F, but it was against the house so it might have been a little warmer. It was moved to the cool portion of the greenhouse where I work (in the spring) for another month and then brought into the warmth and it produced three spikes with a total of 54 blooms. After it had finished blooming I up-potted it. The one that is outside has not bloomed in five years. I am being tough on it and if it doesn't bloom it is going to the great orchidarium in the sky. It will be taken to the greenhouse when the weather turns cold (by OUR definition of cold). I assume our streak of warm weather is going to end here real shortly.
Hope you have success. Cheers, Paul
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RE: cold weather exposure & cymbidiums
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| There is a lot of lumping with Cymbidiums. The one not doing its thing might not be getting culture appropriate to its type. There are;
So called warmth tolerant types such as Cymbidium Golden Elf. The standard types that need cool summer nights and a coolish winter to flower. The terrestrial Chinese cymbidiums. (only for experts). The types with Australian native Cymbidiums in the breeding that flower in very late spring here. Odds and sods. This "cold" treatment in winter might not be appropriate for some. |
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