Cymbidium Orchids can be easily grown as house plants - Cymbidiums are some of the best orchids for the beginner.
Flowing spike of a lovily Cymbidium Orchid
The Cymbidium, A beautiful, easy-care orchid for the home.

Growing orchids is not difficult if you pick the right varieties.

My orchids spend the entire spring and summer outside. As the nighttime temps drop into the mid 40’s,  I move the Cymbidium pots into our home office space. They spend the cooler months in east facing windows. The area is kept cool with heat only coming on when the building temperatures drop to about 55 degrees. They are watered very sparingly ever 3-4 weeks. No fertilizer is used during this rest period.

My plants reward me by producing multiple spikes in the early spring. I generally move then outside about the time these blossoms are opening.  The blossoms will last 6 to 8 weeks and I am given these beautiful flowers for little or no work, except routine watering and a monthly dose of fertilizer  their growing season..  Plants are repotted every couple of years and I have repotted and split larger specimums into several pots.

This specific orchid plant has been one of the least finicky plants I have ever had. Even though there are optimum temperatures stated, My orchids are raised tough. In other words they’re environment is what it is. Our summer daytime temps often reach the reach 100 degrees or over with extremely low humidity. To off set this, I water their area more often. This includes the ground under their bench, the shrubs and shading trees daily. This produced a nice steamy tropical area for them.

Basic care and needs of a Cymbiduim - Preferred temps are between 55 to 70 degrees. Lower nighttime temperatures are required while spikes are developing. (Around 60 degrees is recommended)

Watering should be done from the top and allow excess to drain away. The potting medium should just dry between watering, fertilize with 1/2 strength general purpose or orchid fertilizer every 2 to 3 waterings.
The potting medium should be watered ever 4th time with plain water to prevent any build up of fertilizer.

Re-Potting: Re-pot plants when they start to outgrow their area. This should be done in the spring after blooming.  When dividing plants make sure you have at least three or four of the pseudobulbs per pot. At this time remove any dead or badly damaged leaves and any dead or leafless pseudobulbs.
Use an orchid potting medium.

There are basically 3 different size ranges for this plant, small or dwarf, moderate and large. For the average grower the smaller varieties are better for the home. If you have an area to keep the larger plants such as a green house or large bright room where you can control temperatures then you may like the larger varieties, if not stick to the smaller types.

You may find Cymbidium Orchids in the local building and home supply stores, and there are numerous breeders throughout the country that have large varieties to choose from. The internet provides a wonderful source of plants and information for the new orchid owner.

When buying orchids it is wise to buy as large and healthy specimens as possible. These plants are not fast growing and the difference in price is well worth it.