Cymbidium orchids, the exotic flowers boasting dark and bright colors on spotted, striped, or plain petals, belong to the orchid family. As the federal website on plants affirmed, cymbidiums also categorize as vascular plants, seed plants, and flowering plants. This information benefits gardeners learning botany greatly. Women simply searching for names for flowers in their bouquets may better understand cymbidiums as colorful flowers whose cores look like open animal mouths.
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As the botanists at Aggie Horticultural discovered, cymbidium spikes grow straight up from the grass foliage base, reaching one to two feet in height and width. The two to five inch flowers, 20 to 35 per spike, form during the late winter and begin blooming in the early spring. The cores which look like mouths are called lips, often containing two ridges on one lobe. Leaves grow in short, narrow, and leathery. Given the experiments in botanical flowers, various colored cymbidiums now exist. The most commonly seen colors are yellow, red, white, and purple.
Cymbidiums require limited sunlight. Too much or too little sunlight will discolor the leaves. However, as journalist Kim Haworth stated in her article ‚”Cymbidium Orchids,” cymbidiums thrive in the Northern California climate. While the plants may overheat during the day, the chilly night air cools the plants to their ideal temperature. They also grow well on the eastern side of buildings, where the flowers receive mild morning sunlight and are protected from harsh afternoon sunrays.
To plant cymbidiums, gardeners spread the egg-shaped bulbs on soil. Bulbs survive best when planted together, within two to three inches of each other. The grass-like undergrowth first grows. In late winter, spikes emerge and buds form. Fully grown cymbidium spikes with flowers last on average eight weeks. When cut from the plant and put on display in a cool location, the spikes can last up to four weeks.
Throughout the main growing period, beginning in March and ending in October, cymbidiums require water and fertilizer for optimum growth. A liquid fertilizer should be used periodically from January through July and replaced with a nitrogen-free fertilizer from August to December.
In a severe frost, gardeners should cover their plants or pull them under shelter. If minor frost damage occurs, gardeners should hold onto their plants, for more foliage and new spikes will grow again with warmer weather. If potted, cymbidiums should have adequate drainage. Plants absorbing too much water suffer negative side effects.
Cymbidium orchids originate from cooler regions in Australia and mountains in Asia. The plant’s beauty became known worldwide overtime. Now, gardeners obtain and plant the seeds in their backyards. Flower shops sell cymbidiums in bouquets, along with tulips, calla lilies, and prides-of-Barbados. Overall, the plants entail slightly more care than other garden plants, but bring dazzling beauty to home gardens and decorative vases.
References:
Aggie Horticultural: Cymbidium Orchid
National Gardening Association: Cymbidium Orchids
United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conversation Service: Cymbidium
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