Orchid Cymbidium Bicolor is widely found in Western ghats and Himalayas.
Picture above: Cymbidium Bicolor in Bhadra Sanctuary
It is a tufted robust orchid with large false bulbs and pendulous flowers. They bloom during April to July. The flowers last for more than 20 days.
This orchid is best planted in a coal, bark and moss mixture. When the buds appear, it is better to keep the pot at an elevated level, as the long blooms of flowers hang well below the pot.
Mist the orchid plants early in the morning and once in the evening during summers. The plants need very less care during monsoon. Make sure that the water is drained completely else the bulbs may rot.
This Orchid is known as Cymbidium Aloifolium, why? Check in this website – http://presam77.blogspot.com
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Hi Shantha,
these are some lovely pictures of Orchids that you have. I’m a newbie and ‘ve just got addicted to Orchids. I’m having difficulty finding resources for orchids in Bangalore. I was wondering if you would be able to help me out and share your experience and info with me.
Thanks
Satish
Hi Satish,
Thanks for the comments. I have been collecting orchids from Srinagar in Uttaranchal and Western Ghats for the past 15 to 16 years. I also buy Orchids at Lal Bagh, Indo American Hybrid seeds nursery at Banashankari and stalls sets up in Lal Bagh during flower shows. Please feel free to write in queries regarding growing Orchids, I will try to answer to the best of my ability.
Hi Shantha,
Thanks for responding back. Can you please send an email to my personal mailid: satish@dacafe.com? I ‘ll ask more detailed questions to you, as I do not want to clutter up the blog space.
Thanks
Satish..
Hi Shantha< wonderful and mind bogging!! I am also collecting orchinds for over 10 yrs.would like to know more about ordhids. i have a few phalanopsis and denrobiums , cattelya etc. where are u put up?
Hi Beena, Thanks for the comments and it is nice to meet someone who is passionate about growing orchids. I will share information regarding growing orchids in coming months in gardening section.
Regards,
Shantha
hi Shantha, thanx for the prompt reply. pl help me with my cimbidium! i have it over for 10 yrs now – and it refuses to flower. what do i do with it? also i cant wait to have peek reg growing orchids in yr gardeneing section///
Beena, please avoid watering the orchids with chlorinated water. Mist the leaves and roots of the plant early in the morning and after sunset with water. Feed the plants once in 15 days with a pinch of NPK (fertilizer) dissolved in a mug of water. Mist the leaves with the fertilizer water. Hope this helps…and check this link:
http://www.itslife.in/2008/12/tips-for-growing-orchids
Shantha
Hi Shantha I m so lucky to find u, I live in B’lore and recently got few phal orchid’s small sedlings frm Lalbagh Flowershow. They where mounted in small plastic pots. After 2 weeks roots stated rotting. I dug up the whole pot to find out that the all material specialy the coconut husk hav decomposed leaving no space for the roots to beath air(meanwhile I had found out frm google that orchid roots shud get anough root, NO stagnant water) Now i have put them back with freshcharcoal and brick pieces, but I m nt getting any bark piece… Read more »
Hi Rupa,
Bark is not very essential in the potting medium. For the time being you can add coconut husk or pieces of coconut shell into the pot. The bark is not available for sale, I usually collect when I travel to hilly regions where the bark comes off just after the rains. Right here in Bangalore you can try to snip off pieces of bark from the street trees a day after it rains.
All the best,
Shantha
HI Shantha , thanks for ur suggession, yes coconut shell is readily available. Btw 3 out of my 5 seedlings hav lost the bottom most leaf, which turnd yellow and came off, but I cud c sign of new roots emarging frm there. Now the the sedinglings r left with only 3 leaves, is it the reason that I have put them only in charcoal and brickpieces? Is there any way that I can send u snaps of my baby orchid so that u can c them and tell me how r they looking?
Thanks again
rupa
Hi Rupa,
Orchids are very hardy plants, they do not need much care. If there are new roots emerging it is a sign that the plant is alive. Do not bother too much about it. You can get some moss from any of the nurseries and stuff some in between the bricks to retain moisture.
It is always better to buy mature plants than seedlings. For a beginner Dendrobiums are the best best!
Regards,
Shantha
Thanks Shantha..!
Hi Shantha,
Awesome site. I am also into orchids (newbie) and would like to learn more about them. I was on a trip to Shimoga and picked up some wild orchids from the trees. Would like your help in identifying them and growing them too. Can you share ur contacts? Please mail me at my email.
PS: I am from Bangalore
Murali
Hi Murali,
It is good to meet someone enthusiastic about growing orchids. You must have picked orchids from the Sagar-Theerthahalli belt. The wild orchids here are varieties belonging to Acampe, Dendrobium, Cymbidium, Bulbophylum etc., They are easy to grow but do not keep the pots under direct noon sunlight. You will have to wait till July – Sept 2010 for them to bloom. I will keep posting more about orchids for your reference.
Regards,
Shantha
Hi Shantha,
Thanks for your reply…Yes, it was in the Theerthahalli belt, I was staying there over the weekend. Visited the Jog Falls, Kodachadri and Shringeri. Awesome places, especially Kodachadri. And loads of spots to visit…I would also like to expand my collection. Let me know how I could do this…
Murali
I have been collecting orchids for almost a decade and a half. My interest is wild orchids and as I wander around Western ghats, my eyes are always searching for orchids…not that I can pick them up easily…but I love to see them in the wild. Keep your eyes open when you travel in Western ghats the next time.
The hybrid orchids are available for sale at Indo American nursery on K.R.Road.
All the best,
Shantha
Thanks, Shantha. Can you refer anyone @ Indam whom I could speak with?
Regards
Murali
Murali, I don’t know anyone personally there, but there are many gardeners working there who have considerable knowledge about orchids. They also have pamphlets on orchid cultivation.
Regards,
Shantha
hello
i am ankit and want to grow orchid in gujrat in junagadh district in the protected area i.e green house and normally the climatic conditon over here is humid and the temperature is around 20-37 degree celcious. so please suggest me which type of variety should i grow? and in how many monthes it will start flowering if i will use vegetative propogation.
Hi Ankit,
Great to know you are enthusiastic about growing Orchid. If the weather is something like in Mt. Abu growing orchids would not be a problem.
Please contact a horticulturist in your region and get more information on how to grow orchids in your region.
All the best,
Shantha
Hi Shantha,
I was delighted to stumble onto this web site. It is nice to have someone with more than a decade of experience with orchid cultivation based in Bangalore. I am a newbee bitten by the orchid bug.
I just had a question about dendrobiums. I picked up some dendrobiums from thailand recently and noticed that they are planted in coconut shells. the coconut medium has rotted and the roots are deeply embedded in the very wet coconut shells. what can i do to save the plant?
Any insights would be much appreciated.
regards,
Swathi
Hi Swathi,
Thank you for visiting and leaving this note. Remove the plant from the shell carefully (it is acceptable if few fibers are sticking onto the roots) and plant it in a medium with Coal, Moss and pieces of bark. While growing Orchids always ensure that the potting medium allows complete drainage of water. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Shantha
Hi Shantha,
Thanks for your prompt advice. I tried out what you said except used coal, coconut husk chips and brick pieces as i don’t have bark. The roots were winding their way deep into the big (6inch) coconut husk and the roots were white and squishy. I might have lost some roots. Hoping the plant will recover.
thanks a ton.
regards,
Swathi
Hi all
I am sreejith sreedharan from kerala, we have nice climate here to grow orchid plants and i have a small scale plantations here. I grow orchids for cutflower, but its very hard to find cut flower buyers here. Do anybody know any buyers there at banglore, if so please give me the details. My mail id: sreejith.mator@gmail.com
mob: 09995434897
Hi, Iam growing few orchids in chennai. it refuses to bloom, I use charcoal and few bricks as media. I dont water to much and have pots with holes. Water only after 10 days or 15 days. What is the fertilizer i need to use. i have orchid boon , but have not used it yet. Any suggestions pls. Also one of my orchid has got only a stem without any roots as i have cut the rotten root. Is there any way i can make this to grow with coconuk chips or any other media so that it can… Read more »
Hi Murali,
Summer in Chennai might be a bit too much for the orchids. Please mist early in the morning and late in the evening everyday without fail. Dilute the fertilizer and mist on leaves and roots once a week.
Leave the stem as is for now and continue to water and mist. If the stem does not rot, then there is a chance of it forming new roots.
Hope this helps,
Shantha
hi,
i have bought 5 dendrobium orchids (small plants) from kerela from a farm, leaves of these plants have fallen off leaving only the stem roots are green i am not getting new shoots please help me. i am using fertilizer once a week NPK15:5:5. mixed in water. how long will it take to grow and flower and get shoots
i am from chennai and its raining season now.
Hi Dr. Harsh,
Usually plants rest during winter and do not grow much. Even though it is raining in Chennai, do not fertilize in winter. You will have to wait till June – August to bloom and sometimes it will be few years for them to bloom.
Regards,
Shantha
Hello Shantha,
Could you share your email and contact number. Would like to talk to you on orchids.
Regards,
Rejin
Hi Rejin,
Please write to itslife@itslife.in.
Regards,
Shantha
Hi, Shantha,
Am glad to have bumped into you. You are resourceful.any other place other than Indo American I can buy Orchids??
Hi Geetha,
Thanks for visiting. You can also try at Lal Bagh, though I recommend Indo American for Orchids.