Question
I have been told that it is possible to plant cymbidiums in the ground.  Many experts advise against it and say they will never flower.  Is there a secret?  Can I dig a large hole, fill with orchard mix and plant the cymbidiums?  Should I keep the plants close together?  I heard they like to be crowded.  Or how about digging a hole in the ground and putting in the cymbidium still in it's plastic pot?  I understand it's the soil that is the problem right?  I live in Kentfield in Marin.  Your help would be most appreciated!--

Answer
Hi Fran,

Well, I don't want to go against those experts you've talked with but it is possible to grow cymbidiums in the ground.  In fact, a long long time ago, back in the 1930's and 40's that is how some large commercial growers grew them and they got them to bloom.  Can you imagine that?  It was not until the 1950's when orchid growers began to regularly put cymbidiums into pots with various potting media, then in the 60's they found that bark chips worked pretty good and was relatively inexpensive to use.  Today, there are some other commerically available media some growers use to pot their cyms, some are better than others depending upon your growing conditions.  

Now that I've gotten the little history lesson done with, I'll go into how-to plant them.  Living in Kentfield, you get quite a bit of rain so drainage will be important.  Probably the best way to plant them would be in a raised planter bed about a foot or more deep.  You can fill it with sandy loam or similar dirt or even orchid bark, dig some holes and place the cym into it and back fill the hole, firming the soil just enough so the cym will stand up on its own.  

Yes, cyms do prefer having their roots crowded so if there is quite a bit of space between them, it may take several years or more for them to produce blooms.  Or you can do as you suggest, put it pot and all into the hole.  

One thing, if there are name tags associated with your cymbidiums, it would be a good idea to keep them with the cyms when you plant them - whether with a pot or not.  If there are no name tags, don't worry about it and just plant away.  (grin)  

By the way, I planted a bunch of cyms in my yard many years ago.  It took 3 years before they bloomed.  One major problem I had was snails and slugs!  They devoured over half the flower buds before I put snail bait out!!!  

Hope this helps.  Good luck with whatever you decide.  Let me know how they are progressing from time to time, e-mail: [email protected] .  Just be sure to put Cymbidiums on the subject line or I might delete it.  OK.

Jim Kawasaki  
San Jose, Ca.