We are right in the middle of winter in our part of the world, and it means that its cymbidium orchids flowering season upon us. Many of my orchids are currently in spike and I’ll be featuring more of them in this blog.

More than any other genus, cymbidiums been subjected to very intensive selection and breeding programs, resulting in production and registration of many wonderful and unusual hybrids. Here in Australia orchid lovers are spoiled for choices when it comes to these orchids, since we have many dedicated breeders who constantly working in improving quality of breeding gene pool.

The cymbidium orchid in the picture called Death Wish “Saratoga”, its a cross between Pywacket x Disney Girl and belong in “novelty” class of cymbidium orchids. It have unusual, bold blooms with large beautiful spotted colored flowers. Its a standard cymbidium with long arching spikes. I’ve purchased it a couple of years ago and its flowering first time for me. More pictures of this blooming plant down the page.

Here is another cymbidium orchid from my collection – beautiful new hybrid created especially for cut flower production. Its full name – Eazan Shining “Royal Flare” x Death Wish “Spekled Spectre”.

The flowers are full, bronze color and have long-lasting qualities and it belongs in the “novelty” class of cymbidium orchids. It’s interesting to see how the “Death Wish” cultivator been used by the breeder to create completely different looking blooms.

At present, work on cymbidium hybridizing is being carried in several countries. As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, there are many innovative breeders in Australia, but also in the Uniting States, Holland and England. Some do this on a small scale, while others have vast planned breeding programmes covering the whole colour range and different times of flowering.

In the future, I feel, novelty type breeding should prove very interesting and will involve selections for flamboyant colour combinations which will benefit orchid lovers everywhere.

We are now at the end of our winter here in AU and it means that our beautiful cymbidium orchids started their flowering season.

For me, there are three noted defined flowering cycles. At the moment earlier blooming varieties started showing off now their special blooms, later on mid-season cymbidiums will be flowering and then right at the end of our spring late flowering cymbidium orchids will take us right into the warmer weather.

With these three flowering seasons, it’s possible to surround oneself with constant flowering orchids, especially since flowers stay on the plants for three to four weeks. By early summer, it’s all over for cymbidium flowers, but while it lasts we enjoy this special kaleidoscope of colors, textures and scents. I always bring flowering cymbidiums into the house for a short period of time to decorate the rooms and to be surrounded by these flamboyant orchids and it means to me that winter is over, even though the calendars insists otherwise.

This nice cymbidium Coraki x Kusuda Shining is especially nice cross – I purchased it a couple of years ago as a small seedling because I liked both of it’s parents and was hoping to see in it nice, clear, pleasing color and flower textures. This is the first year it’s flowered for me, showing off it’s nice, bold blooms. One can see the breeder’s thoughts and ideas and hopes when they create and select the right plants for breeding – just like an artist with a paint brush trying different combinations making alchemy creations with living orchid plants.

This beautiful cymbidium orchid currently in flower in my garden. It’s full name – Pure Lama var Golden Goddess.

Its intermediate size cymbidium with stunning pale lemon color flowers that have velvety yellow spotted lip and overall visual effect reminds me of many golden bells swaying in the wind. It’s quite prolific in in it’s flowering with many medium – sized round sculptured flowers carried on flowering stems.

Like many cymbidium orchids it’s been created for cut flower trade and flowers lasts quite a long time – giving this appearance of color, texture and scent that very pleasing to the eye and senses. Pure Lama is a beautiful orchid to have in one’s collection and I am sure we will see many more varieties of this cymbidium orchid in the future.

It’s flowers are large brown/bronze color with spotted velvety lip and it was bread for cut flower markets by one of the most innovative Australian cymbidium breeders.

Its parentage Coratea x Pearly Pepper and plants are of medium size with only a few large flowers on each spike – but what a beauty! Its fairly new release here in AU.

There is nothing modest about this cymbidium orchid – I feel that Viva Las Vegas have “an attitude” – bold, uncompromising, showy, primal energy, “like me or live me” type of plant and its very interesting for me see the hand of the breeder when he was selecting parents to came up with new beautiful creation, like an artist with a final goal in mind.

Viva Las Vegas does not dissapoint and I am sure in the future it will be popular in many gardens around the world.

This beautiful Bellara orchid currently in flower, right in the middle of our winter giving a bit of color and texture in our cold and rainy weather.

It’s variety “Tahoma Glacier” and it flowers with huge 3.5 in star-shaped blooms displaying irregular purple spots on creamy white background. It’s quite reliable and stable grower and usually sends a few long flower spikes with as many as 10-15 flowers on each spike. Its one of those hybrids that not very fussy and flowers year after year, displaying it’s relaxed large flowers, all facing different directions. One of course can stake them to present more pleasing to the eye arrangement, but I always love to see them growing in their natural way and let it find it’s own natural positions.

It likes a being warmer in colder months and quite happy to grow under the shade of the trees in summer. It likes heavy watering during our hotter months and reduced moisture during autumn and winters.

My plant is a few years old and each spring, after its flowering I divide it and give some to friends so that they too can grow this beautiful orchid and to appreciate it’s huge flamboyant blooms in the middle of winter.

One of the beautiful cymbidium species, cymbidium insigne in my collection currently in flower.

This species native to China, Vietnam and Thailand, grows in high altitudes and have many showy pale pink flowers.

Its one of the most important species in the cymbidium world, since all of the modern pink color cultivators own its origin to this special plant and it’s been used extensively by cymbidium breeders to create bold pink hybrids with multiple flowers.

The plant in its original state is a beautiful sight – my orchid just started flowering and I am looking forward seeing many more of these fragrant blooms for a few weeks.

Oncidiums are one of the wonderful genus for orchid collectors since it contains huge numbers and a large diversity of plant habits and floral features that a grower can spend a lifetime collecting and learning about them.

They currently numbering more than 750 species and these orchids distributed in southern Florida, Mexico, the West Indies, Central and South America. Their habitat range from the lowlands to high elevation in the mountains and most species grow on trees and rocks.

Oncidiums are generally regarded as being an adaptable group of orchids but even so a consideration of their area of origin can help in cultivation and help to avoid any problems. Those species from high elevation in the Andes are cool growers, while those originating in the lowlands require heat.

My oncidium Facade x Quennervaris just started flowering – its a beautiful cool growing orchid and it flowers with these special large, rather huge white flowers that have bright yellow spots all over them. Its rather a “collector’s item”, since not many plants of this cross currently in existence, but hopefully it will change in the near future so that many more growers can appreciate this beauty from cool mountains of Andes.