I just bought my first two cyms. They are standard size, blooming in 1 gal.
nursery pots. I want to divide the one which has completely filled its pot,
but the other has room to grow for at least another year. The top of the
potting medium is small bark chips mixed with some perlite, but underneath
it looks like peat moss-based potting soil mixed with small chunks of bark.
I know that this would be too broken down for most orchids, but from what
I've read, cyms like a semi-terrestrial mix. So what I need to know is,
what kind of mix should I use when repotting? Is the current mix too small
and broken down? Any thoughts on semi-hydro? I've had great success with
it so far, but I'm not sure about using it for such a big plant.

Thanks,
Chris

Chris,

I have two Cyms in bloom right now. One is a recent purchase and was potted
in straight spaghnum when I got it. The other (Cym alifolium) I purchased
from Ray last year. It arrived in SH and I've kept it that way. It
rewarded us with two beautiful spikes full of flowers.

I'm a believer.

Diana

Mine have just completed their blooming, they are planted in a mixture of:
alphora, sponge rock, charcoal and peat - 40%, 30%, 20% and 10%
respectively. They grow well in that mixture.
"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
Chris,

I have two Cyms in bloom right now. One is a recent purchase and was
potted
in straight spaghnum when I got it. The other (Cym alifolium) I purchased
from Ray last year. It arrived in SH and I've kept it that way. It
rewarded us with two beautiful spikes full of flowers.

I'm a believer.

Diana

Dave,

Thanks for the info. What is alphora?

Chris,
I've bought a number of cymbidiums over the last few months and I always
repot them as follows: 1) ensure plant is moist and has been in a reasonably
warm environment for a few days at least 2) remove from pot and take off all
old compost (as much as possible) 3) remove any dead roots and prune them if
necessary and dust with cinnamon 4) put in clay pot with plenty of spare
room for roots 5) add inorganic semihydro mix - i use only clay granules of
up to 1 cm, 6) water, stand in clay or plastic saucer and keep fairly warm
for a few weeks 7) I then move to outside greenhouse before moving them
outside later in May. Initially I water from base. Some I put in hanging
baskets which they love.
Good luck,
David

Hi Chris, I can't speak about semi-hydro but your potting mix & culture all
depends where you grow. You want a quick draining mix especially if it rains
in the
winter time.
There is a super web page about potting etc. with pictures but unfortunately
I no
longer have it. Hoping someone will read this & post.
In the mean time try this:-
http://www.cymbidium.org/cymbidium4.html
Keep us posted as to what you decide.
Cheers Wendy
"Chris Ridge" wrote in message
.net...
I just bought my first two cyms. They are standard size, blooming in 1
gal.
nursery pots. I want to divide the one which has completely filled its
pot,
but the other has room to grow for at least another year. The top of the
potting medium is small bark chips mixed with some perlite, but
underneath
it looks like peat moss-based potting soil mixed with small chunks of
bark.
I know that this would be too broken down for most orchids, but from what
I've read, cyms like a semi-terrestrial mix. So what I need to know is,
what kind of mix should I use when repotting? Is the current mix too
small
and broken down? Any thoughts on semi-hydro? I've had great success with
it so far, but I'm not sure about using it for such a big plant.

Thanks,
Chris

Thanks everyone for the advice. I decided to experiment a bit, I divided
the plant and put half into S/H and the other half into a mix of bark, peat
and perlite. It will be interesting to compare the two as time goes by.

Chris

"Chris Ridge" writes:
Thanks everyone for the advice. I decided to experiment a bit, I divided
the plant and put half into S/H and the other half into a mix of bark, peat
and perlite. It will be interesting to compare the two as time goes by.

I tried this with my epidendrum keikis. One is in a bark mix, the
other two in a locally available ceramic pellet variant. They have
only been in there for four months.

The one potted in bark has two new growths, the other two have four
and five, respectively. The one in bark seems to have more roots, and
the leaves are "limper" (Reed-stem epis use their leaves for storage
instead of having bulbs). I guess this is a result of the SH potted
specimens having a more or less uniform access to moisture and
fertilizer throughout the pot, while the one potted in bark needs to
seek out the moist bits of bark with its roots to feed.

I am starting to have problems with algae and mineral buildup in the
SH potted ones, though. I would welcome any suggestions on how to deal
with this without access to Physan 20 and the like.

Geir

Geir Harris Hedemark wrote:
"Chris Ridge" writes:

Thanks everyone for the advice. I decided to experiment a bit, I divided
the plant and put half into S/H and the other half into a mix of bark, peat
and perlite. It will be interesting to compare the two as time goes by.


I tried this with my epidendrum keikis. One is in a bark mix, the
other two in a locally available ceramic pellet variant. They have
only been in there for four months.

The one potted in bark has two new growths, the other two have four
and five, respectively. The one in bark seems to have more roots, and
the leaves are "limper" (Reed-stem epis use their leaves for storage
instead of having bulbs). I guess this is a result of the SH potted
specimens having a more or less uniform access to moisture and
fertilizer throughout the pot, while the one potted in bark needs to
seek out the moist bits of bark with its roots to feed.

I am starting to have problems with algae and mineral buildup in the
SH potted ones, though. I would welcome any suggestions on how to deal
with this without access to Physan 20 and the like.

Geir

I have decided that the algae does not seem to be the end of the word.
Even with the Physan I cannot keep it down in the couple of s/h orchids
I have. So far the plants are doing well. I just try and remember to
flush, flush, and flush....

Maybe someone else will have a better Idea.
Karen