Cymbidiums You Can Actually Grow at Home

I can't be the only orchid grower who's stared at a full-sized Cymbidium at an orchid show or florists' shop and thought, "Wow, that's gorgeous -- but how could I ever fit that thing into my small apartment?" The great majority of Cymbidiums grown for sale are so-called "standard" cymbidiums, which means basically they're at least four feet high, need a foot-wide pot, and only bloom if you have your own personal cool temperature greenhouse or live in coastal California. Tough luck for the rest of us. Even more ironic are the "miniature" Cymbidiums, which really mean "minature only when compared to the regular gigantic kind," being about, say, two or three feet tall. Hello? What kind of dictionary have they been using here? But don't lose hope. There are Cyms that almost anyone can grow in an apartment. Really! The trick is knowing what species and hybrids to look for, and perhaps giving up on the idea of dozens of four inch flowers on tall spikes. Hey, you can't have it all.

The "original" mini Cymbidiums are the six East Asian species of the section Jensoa. Characterized by thin, grassy leaves and short sprays of relatively small but often fragrant flowers, they have a history of cultivation in Asia that stretches back over 2,000 years. Some of the higher-elevation species need colder winter temps than most home growers can provide, but a few are quite suitable. Cym. ensifolium has a short spike of brownish flowers and can bloom several times during its summer season. It's also one of the parents of one of the most well-known mini hybrids: Golden Elf 'Sundust', with pretty yellow flowers and a great scent. Cym. sinense has wider leaves and a winter/spring flowering season. Cymbidium goerengei is the shortest of these three, and the coolest-growing; but is still worth trying.

More recently, hybridizers have developed a number of "ultra-miniature" or "teacup" cyms using species such as devonianum, pumilum (aka floribundum), and tigrinum. They are the closest in looks to the standard cyms, but only 12 to 18 inches tall, and encompass a range of colors from all white to yellow, red and green. Culture is similar to standard cyms as well, but since these species grow in warmer climates, they don't need as pronounced a temperature drop in order to spike.

Finally, there are a few pendant-flowering species that may fit a sunny window if you have the space to hang them in baskets. Cymbidium dayanum flowers in the winter, with red-marked white blooms; there is also an alba form. Cym. devonianum, mentioned above, is not really a miniature, but it can exist happily in a 5" basket if old bulbs are removed every other year, and its reddish- green blooms are quite dramatic.

So what do you give a mini Cymbidium to make it happy in your house? Most of these need good, bright, but not full light: the shorter ones can grow well and flower under lights. Two keys to cultivation: good air movement, and careful attention to watering. Spider mites love these plants, and the thin, grassy leaves give them plenty of hiding places. Particularly in the dry air of winter, they need a fan or other moving air source to keep their leaves healthy and developing spikes from blasting.

Regarding watering, an old saying has it that "cymbidiums love water but hate wet; they love dry but hate drought." What this means in actual practice is they need a coarse mix for terrestrial orchids, with large perlite, sharp sand, gravel, or charcoal to keep the drainage open. They also need deep watering, enough to run water through the entire mix, then they need to almost, but not quite, dry out before their next watering. In the house, drench your cyms in the sink or a bucket, or a give them a good shower, but skip the shampoo and conditioner. If your plants grow well but don't flower, they probably need cooler conditions at night and brighter days. Got a window that you can crack open at night, or a room that you don't heat as much as the rest of the house? Here's where you put your Cymbidiums (and any other plants needing similar treatment) to bed at night. During the day, keep them close to the window or other light source, but not so close as to burn the leaves. Avoid air from radiators or heaters at all costs.

During growth, Cymbidiums like regular feedings; some growers add slow-release fertilizer pellets to the growth mix. During the winter, too much fertilizer can create new, weak growth rather than flower spikes, so once a month is plenty. Cymbidiums have long, fleshy roots, and need pots about three times as tall as they are wide and a coarse, semi-terrestrial mix. A visit to your nearest Asian-American neighborhood will likely allow you to find beautiful clay pots for your plants; probably a lot cheaper than on the web.

Mini-cymbidiums can be seen as a "next-best thing" for those who lack the space for full standards, or they can be seen as charming orchids in their own right. A group of mini-cyms, in traditional pots, in the window or on a light shelf can be as elegant as any NBA Allstar-sized specimen. And they're perfect plants for those of us trying to keep our heating bills down this winter!

Three Orchids from Japan: Dendrobium monoliforme, Neofinetia falcata, and Sedirea japonica

In a world where mass-produced phalaenopsis clones and oncidium hybrids by the dozen are showing up at every home department store, corner florist, and local cafe, it suddenly becomes possible to forget the unique nature of orchids, and to begin looking at some of them as just another potted plant. To prevent modern merchandizing from robbing you of the special joy of orchid growing, it's refreshing to turn to species; especially species with personality. These three orchids are hardly unknown -- neofinetia and its hybrids being some of the most popular home-grown orchids around -- but it's worth looking at the three of them together as a kind of tryptych illustrating the potential wealth of variations within a species. When we do this, we can appreciate things like leaf shape, growth habit, and variegation -- things not often talked about in the North American orchid community.

Aside from their geographic origin, these three orchids have a number of common characteristics that appeal to apartment growers: they're small, of course, adaptable to a range of growing conditions, flower reliably, and are very fragrant. They have been cultivated in Japan and China for centuries, and as a result of selective breeding, there are numerous cultivars available for each species, all with different leaf colors and shapes, growth habits, and flower colors. Considering that the wild forms of all three have plain green leaves and all-white or mostly-white flowers, this is quite an accomplishment.

In fact, the practice of collecting and growing many different varieties within a single species is well known in Japan, where it is called "koten engei." Both orchids and non-orchids are used as subjects. The practice traditionally emphasizes collecting specimens for their leaf and growth variations as much or more as the flowers themselves, and requires great attention to the potting method and the container used to display the plant. This is a strong contrast to the style of most American home growers, growing a wide variety of hybrids and species, usually in plain plastic or clay pots, even old take-out containers. But when your growing space is small and your ability to modify growing conditions limited, it's worth thinking about an orchid plant and its pot together as a harmonious whole, rather than seeing orchids as simply clunky green vehicles for fantastic flowers.

For the home collector, growing multiple specimens of the same species also has the advantages of simplifying watering and care routines, and having "backup specimens" in case one of them dies. But the true joy of koten engei lies in appreciating the subtle differences between various cultivars. For instance, a neofinetia collection might consist of a typical wild specimen; a cultivar with short, thick, "bean" leaves; one with twisted, "ocean wave" leaves, and one with yellow-edged variegated leaves. Each one, sitting in its pot, will have a very different feel to it. Each one will grow differently, and respond differently to the same cultural conditions, even though horticulturally they're all the same species. It is possible to start thinking about each orchid as an individual, rather than as one of a thousand genetically identical clones.

Even if you don't want to get all Zen about your orchid growing, there is a lot of fun in collecting within a species; placing a white, a yellow, and a pink-flowering den. monoliforme together, or a dwarf sedirea with leaves the size of a quarter next to a regular-sized specimen.

Although it goes completely against the grain of this article, I can't resist mentioning a few choice hybrids. Dendrobium monoliforme, crossed with Den. tosaense, aka stricklandianum, becomes Den. Ise, a common parent in many compact nobile-type hybrids and worth growing in its own right for its fragrant, pink-tinged flowers. The hybrid of neofinetia and sedirea, Neosedirea Summer Stars, is very rare, but try seeking it out. Sedirea has been hybridized with holcoglossum (formerly vanda) amesiana to produce Vandirea Newberry Jasmine, with excellent fragrance, temperature tolerance, and frequent blooming. Rhynchorides 'Dragon Charmy' combines sedirea with rhynchostylis gigantea; it has dramatic, reddish foliage and reddish-marked flowers and is described as intensely fragrant.

For more information on these species and their growing requirements, there are a few nurseries to look at on the web: New World Orchids specializes in these three species and has a ton of cultural information. Cal Orchids and Orchids Limited both offer many different neofinetia cultivars. Finally, Japanese orchid show and society pages, available on the Web, are not often translated, but beware: the beautiful pictures can really get you hooked.

Epicatts: the Spray of the Future

Huh? Spray of the future? You’ve probably seen at least one cross between these two different genera of the Cattleya Alliance, possibly without even knowing it. On the one hand, you’ve got the well-known Cattleya, Laelia and Sophronitis species with large flowers and a whole palette of colors and fragrances. On the other you have plants from the Epidendrum and Encyclia genera, with sprays of many smaller flowers and a different range of colors, also often fragrant. Putting them together can be like combining lemon and meringue, or honey and mustard – you’ve got a whole new taste treat! I say “Spray of the Future” rather than “Wave of the Future” because I don’t think epicatts are going to push regular Cattleya alliance orchids completely out of fashion, but I believe and hope they’ll be making more of a splash at shows and in collections, especially for us urban orchid growers.

What do you get when you cross an epi with a catt? Many encyclias and epis used in epicatt hybrids have a tight habit, with psuedobulbs clustered close together, and a number of species are miniature growers as well. This means many epicatts are mini or compact growers. In addition, they’re fast growers and often produce multiple growths. This, combined with tall, often branching sprays of flowers, leads to massive flower power for the size of the plant. Finally, they have very dramatic colors in shades of purple, rose, brown and green, particularly in the lip. Compared to a straight cattleya hybrid, an epicatt will often have more numerous but smaller flowers, a compact growth habit, and bright color combinations. What’s not to like?

Things get even more interesting when you consider some of the diversity in the Epidendrum group. For instance, Epidendrum conopseum (now Epi. magnoliae) is a tiny, very cold-hardy grower with small, honey-scented flowers, and it blooms on each new growth when happy. Rarely seen as a parent in the past, it’s now being used to create some very small epicatts that are tough, adaptable and often fragrant. Taller epi species like epi. ciliare, epi. criniferum and epi. ilense have extremely fimbriated (that’s “frilly” to most of us) lips, which they can pass on to their progeny. Epi. psuedoepidendrum has a dramatic orange/purple lip, leading to some outrageously-colored hybrids. Encyclia prismatocarpa and epi. stamfordianum have spotted flowers. And for you fragrance fanatics, encyclias such as e. alata, e. cordigera, e. fragrans (of course), e. radiata and e. tripunctata are all wonderfully scented; e. phoenicea and e. randii are even rumored to smell like chocolate, giving the ubiquitous Oncidium Sharry Baby a run for her money. From the breeder’s point of view, it’s safe to say that the surface has barely been scratched on the breeding potential of epicatts.

Most epicatts grow very much like other cattleya alliance orchids: they like medium to high light, a well-draining mix – they also do well mounted, if your humidity levels are decent – and a cooler, drier rest in winter to promote flowering. If you don’t have a sunny window, many of them do just fine under lights, or with grow lights supplementing natural sunlight.

Popular epicatts include:

Epc. Rene Marques 'Flame Thrower': gets its colorful lip from Epi. psuedoepidendrum, and has somewhat tall, canelike growths.

Epc. El Hatilo, a cross between cattleya mossiae and encyclia tampensis, has various clones; they all have rounded white flowers with a magenta lip. Easy to grow, with lots of flowers per spike.

Epc. Siam Jade is somewhat similar; the white flowers have green tepals, flowers are larger than El Hatilo but fewer in number.

Eplc. Don Herman is a cross of Lc. Gold Digger with Epi. stamfordianum, which gives this orchid orange flowers, a red lip, and varying degrees of red spots on the petals and sepals.

Eplc. Pixie Charm combines another orange Lc. with Encyclia alata to create tall sprays of very fragrant light orange flowers.

Brassoepilaelia: this epicatt has no cattleya genes, but the laelia parent is in the Cattleya Alliance, so it fits our definition here. Bepil. Golden Spice 'Red Peppers' (Bl. Richard Mueller x Epi. stamfordianum) has starry bright yellow flowers covered in red spots.

Vaughnara: a trigeneric hybrid combining Brassavola, Epidendrum and Cattleya; look for crosses like 'Grapelade' and 'Sir Walter Raleigh'.

Kirchara: an Epidendrum crossed with a Sophrolaeliocattleya results in some nicely colored minis like K. Tropical Jewel.

Rothara: adds Brassavola to the Kirchara mix; a notable hybrid is Rothara Koolau “Starbright,” with the starry flower shape from the Bepi. Phoenix parent and a deep reddish color from the Slc. parent.

Adamara: Brassavola x Cattleya x Epidendrum x Laelia. Some I’ve seen look rather like encyclias, with long, thin leaves and sprays of flowers. Others, with Encyclia mariae or more cattleya in their background, have rounded flowers on short stems close to the leaves. You’ll also see these under the older hybrid genus name of Yamadaara. (For all you orchid nomenclature freaks, it seems both names were published independently, and only recently has the RHS decided that Adamara was first chronologically, so it has precedence, but the word hasn’t gotten very far yet. Confused? Read on!)

Important Note: Encyclias have recently been split up into a number of new genera like Prosthechea, Coilostylis, and Pollardia, so you will likely start seeing some of these hybrids under new names like Cattleychea. Yes, it can be annoying to keep up with taxonomic changes, but it's all part of the constantly evolving world of orchids. If you like things simple, you probably don't want to get into growing them!

New Directions in MiniVan(da)s

No, we're not detailing the 2008 auto models, we’re talking about mini-vandaceous orchids here. There’s been a growing interest in mini-catts, or miniature cattleya hybrids, and for good reason: they don’t take up much space, often flower more than once a year, come in a range of bright colors, and some are quite fragrant, too. What’s not to like? But all these reasons hold true for miniature vandaceous orchids as well, and yet they don’t seem to get the same respect. This article hopes to correct the imbalance.

Many an urbane, sophisticated city-dwelling orchid grower has looked at the giant, pendulous vanda species and hybrids grown in greenhouses and tropical climates and felt, well, rather inadequate. Those flowers, those colors, those roots! But most of us lack the space for even one full-sized vanda, much less a whole collection – and even if we did have space, their requirements of high light, humidity and open drainage put them out of reach for almost all indoor growers.

However, those who crave the colors, scents and growth habits of vandaceous orchids have a whole range of choices in the smaller vandaceous species and hybrids, and new combinations are always coming onto the market. Let’s start with some of the more commonly available ones:

Ascofinetias combine neofinetia with ascocentrum species to produce a range of colors, from red to orange to pink to white, sometimes with fragrance. Ascocentrums are mini vandaceous orchids that tolerate a range of light, leading to an easy growing plant. Some popular hybrids are 'Cherry Blossom', 'Peaches', 'Twinkle' and 'Petite Bouquet', which give any idea of their size and colors.

Darwinara hybrids combine ascocentrum, neofinetia, rhychostylis and vanda – quite a mix! They are similar to neostylis in size and flower and are usually blue to white: look for clonal names like 'Blue Star' and 'Charm'.

Nakamotoara is a multi-generic hybrid of vanda, neofinetia and ascocentrum, which gives a range of colors in plants just a bit larger than ascofinetias. 'Rainbow Gem' is one clonal name.

Neostylis 'Lou Sneary', probably the most famous mini-vandaceous orchid, is a primary hybrid of neofinetia falcata, a miniature from Japan with sprays of nicely scented white flowers (and very worth growing on its own), and rhynchostylis coelestis, a larger vandaceous grower, also with wonderfully scented flowers, usually purple and white.

Rumrillara is another multi-generic, this time of ascocentrum, neofinetia and rhynchostylis. I had a Rumrillara 'Sugar Baby'sitting in half of a coconut shell; it first flowered with two spikes and had a couple of new growths sprouting from the base. (It later perished of crown rot, but I'm definitely going to try this one again)

Ascovandoritis -- yes, you can cross an ascocenda with a doritis, and the result has excellent, ripe red color on a tall, erect spike. 'Thai Cherry' is one such cross. Expect more of this kind of cross in the future.Expect more of this kind of hybrid in the future, there's a lot of potential in mixing vanda alliance species with phalaenopsis alliance species.

Vandirea is an oddity even for this group: it crosses vanda amesiana (now technically a holcoglossum), with sedirea japonica, a miniature Asian species that looks like a small phalaenopsis. The result is supposed to be fabulous, jasmine-like fragrance with small size, frequent flowering and excellent cold tolerance. 'Newberry Jasmine' is the clonal name, if you can find it.

Vandofinetia pairs a vanda, usually one of the smaller-growing species like coerulescens, cristata or pumila, with neofinetia. 'Blaupunkt' is a beautiful, fragrant blue-white hybrid that flowers more than once a year.

Vascostylis, which crosses vanda with rhychostylis, hits the upper limits of the size boundary for mini-vandas, but the rich colors and reliable flowering can make it worth the space. Look for clonal names like 'Pine Rivers' and 'Five Friendships'.

OK, now that you’ve heard all about these little gems, how do you grow them? Well, they do need good light; these are not orchids to place in bright shade in an eastern window, unless you can supplement natural light with artificial light from fluorescents or other grow lights, or grow them under lights for 12-14 hours a day. Particularly during the winter they can take a fair amount of direct sunlight. In summer, shade them from midday sun, or grow them beneath or behind another plant to provide dappled sunlight.

During the warmer months, water them frequently and generously to drench their roots, which, though not as long and dangly as vandas, can get pretty rambunctious. Use a coarse, quick-draining mix such as coarse bark or tree fern and perlite – I’ve had pretty good luck with compressed coconut husk (“CHC”) . Fertilize “weekly, weakly” during the growing season, twice a month in winter. If you pot them in wooden baskets, they won’t need potting for a while, just let ‘em grow all over, then drop the whole plant, basket and all, into a larger basket. If growing in pots, watch for root rot, especially during winter, and always be careful not to let water sit in the crown, in between the top leaves, when the weather's cold, or crown rot becomes a very real hazard.

All that miniature vandaceous orchids need to become the new craze for indoor growers is a catchy name. Mini-vans is confusing, mini-vandaceous is too long, mini-monopodal (mini-mon?) is too technical, and mini-sarcanthinae (from the taxonomic subtribe name) is just right out. Vanditas? Vandelites? Whatever the name, these easy-growing, free blooming little orchids are worth checking out. And the next time you start coveting that gorgeous monster of a vanda, remember: it’s not size that matters. It’s flower power!