Watering Cymbidiums and other Orchids

Watering is one of the main reasons people give up on orchids. Once you get the rhythm of watering, you will have no problems.

First, remember to water without getting the crown wet. If you overwater, get the orchid out of the pot and into open air.

Watering is tricky, especially with Cymbidiums. Depending on where you live and how humid it is, only you will know how often to water. You can buy a moisture meter for plants. People will tell you if the top 2 inches are dry, it needs watering. Not true. Most of the moisture is down inside the pot. You can easily overwater this way. Get a hygrometer for plants.

I water once per week but now that fall has set in, I am doing Cymbidiums about once per 10 days. If the roots are full and fat, they are wet. If they are white and thin, they are dry. If you use a saucer under your Cymbidiums, make sure to put rocks in the saucer or something to lift the pot up a bit, so air can get into the bottom of the pot. Also, do not fill your pot with media. Have gaps where roots are and do not pack the pot full. Let air get in between the roots.

I have found, for me, that this is the best way to water. It may not work for everyone. I know orchid sellers and growers contradict each other about almost everything. But we all live in different parts of the country with different challenges in weather and where we keep and grow our orchids. That makes a huge difference.

If you have a Cymbidium that is yellow or turning black around the pseudobulbs, remove it from the pot immediately and set it up in a large pot where lots of air gets to it. All the wet media should be spread out and let it dry. It will take three to four days. Turn the media like a pancake. You can save your Cymbidium from overwatering if you let it completely dry out.

After drying, put it in a pot and add your slightly damp media. Do not use wet media. Check it in a few days. If it needs water, use warm water and just water for five seconds all around the Cymbidium and put it up. Leave it open with little media for the first few weeks.

All orchids should be treated with this same delicate method. Overwatering is easy, especially if you can’t see the roots. Take care and enjoy your orchid growing.

Remember that orchids do not like direct light. Put them by a window, but not close enough to get cold or direct light.

I close insultated curtains when it is getting dark and cold in the winter. I have grow lights on during the day, Barrina.

Fertilize once per month in the winter.

Each orchid is different. They actually have different needs. I have had a few take a turn for the worse and I see no illness or disease. I repot, still no response. I plant them in dirt, Miracle Grow potting soil.

I have found that many of them recover and bloom. They like the soil. In nature, they are not growing in media. They are growing on trees or in dirt. This process can take a complete 6 months for the plant to fully recover. So be patient.

The above picture is of a Bllra Ysabella Lunar Eclipse. This has been growing in dirt for 6 months and has six new blooms on it. It was almost at death’s door six months ago. Leaves were yellow, dropping off, could see no illness, disease or bugs. Now it is a happy orchid again.

I have allergies to chemicals, including herbicides and pesticides. I grow 200 orchids indoors in the winter. Many of these go out into the greenhouse in the summer. So, chemicals in my house is not okay. I use these products.

Dawn Dish soap, Peroxide, Cinnamon, Rubbing alcohol

Dawn dish soap with 1 tablespoon in a spray bottle with warm water, sprayed on your orchid that has mealy bugs, will suffocate the mealy bugs. Some people put a little oil in. Do not spray on blooms if you can help it. Most mealy bugs are on the soft stems of new blooms. Do this once per week, for at least two weeks. I also take the bottle and pour the soapy water over the media and count it as that week’s watering. It kills all bugs in the media. Most orchids will go on to bloom.

 Rubbing alcohol to clean tools. If you have one moisture meter and you put it into several plants, spray off the probe and wipe clean with a paper towel. You can easily pass illness from one plant to another with your hands or tools.

 Peroxide mixed with water, ½ and ½. Use this for white mold that is powdery. It will fizz on the leaves and that is good. Use it once per week for three weeks and keep that plant and all plants with bugs or disease away from all your other orchids. This also works on brown spots and other diseases. The brown spots will not go away but they will stop spreading.

 Diseases or bugs, cinnamon rubbed on the brown spots will help stop the spread.

Orchids will bloom even if their roots are in bad shape. Check your roots at least once every six months by removing them from the pot carefully, try not to disturb them too much. If the roots look healthy and the media also looks good, repot with the same media. Clear pots help with this without removing them at all.