Cymbidiums For All Reasons

There are few places in South Africa where cymbidiums won’t grow – they are tough and can handle fair amounts of cold, even with some light frost.

- Tinus Oberholzer

The plants can even handle hot summers. It was always thought that cymbidiums couldn’t be grown and flower along South Africa’s east coast, but with careful selection you can find a few cymbidiums that will even flower in places like Richards Bay.

Cymbidium plants have oval to rounded pseudobulbs that sit just above the substrate, and long grass-like leaves that arch towards the tip. The flowers come in a range of different sizes and may be carried on upright, arching or even pendant stems. In general, the miniature and intermediate type of cymbidium hybrids are the first ones to start flowering during autumn. The biggest group of cymbidiums tend to flower during winter, and in spring the large-flowered hybrids as well as the pendulous types start flowering. Cymbidiums are popular as pot plants as well as for the use in the cut-flower trade, and the long-lasting flowers will keep just as long if cut and placed in water in the home as they would on the plant.