Story: Orchids
Episode: 4
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane
Air Date: 11 September 2021

By now the beautiful Cymbidium Orchids will have finished flowering.  Trevor shares a couple of tips on what you can do now to ensure great flowering results for next year.

• Cymbidium flower spikes must be removed. If your plant is root bound or very full in the pot don’t be scared to break it up, a sharp knife cut through the middle will not hurt it, break it apart and give you two plants.
• Pot into a specialist potting mixture. Cymbidiums naturally grow in the gaps between branches and trunk cavities in trees, or dead logs around the base of them. So a coarse open mix is better.
• Pop the orchids in their basket adding a CR plant tablet on each side, then Pot the soil around the roots, watering it with some Seasol.
• Seasol reduces transplant shock, stimulates new root growth and it activates soil microbes to produce a soft fertiliser for developing roots.
• If you’re not sure where to put your plants, remember the sun sets in the West, it passes overhead to the north of us slightly in February and this means the southern side of your house is going to be the best-protected position.
• You do not want your Cymbidiums fully exposed on a scorching day but they do require at least 4 hours of morning sun ideally to trigger flower bud production.
• Using the right fertilizer is the key to triggering flower production. Lookout for, a high K in your fertilizers. This is vitally important for all flowering and fruiting plants.