We ended the year 2019 with an edition of the cut Cymbidium variety "Margot". Orchids are very popular worldwide at people's homes or as a present for a special occasion. The orchid offers  a large selection of many different types and colors. To make people more aware of this, we really felt we had to showcase the Cymbidium as a flowering plant at the FloraPodium. We visited Leo and Trees from LZ Orchidee, where we were  welcomed warmly and heard great stories about the Cymbidium.

A little bit different

The Cymbidium is originally a cold orchid. Most Cymbidiums come from the Himalayas where they grow at an altitude of 1500 to 2200 meters. They grow on dead trees and rock walls in Taiwan, Vietnam and China. The Cymbidium Cascade is still close to its botanical ancestors and symbolizes friendship and respect.

Today there are more than 1,000 types of Cymbidium, available all year round. However, not many varieties of the Cymbidium "Cascade" are on the market. The Cascade Cymbidium, in contrast to many other types of orchids, is an earth orchid. This means that it extracts the food from the earth and not from the air as many epiphyte varieties do.

No plant for the warm living room

The Ice Cascade blooms once a year between 3-10 weeks depending on the temperature. The plant can be decorative for many years with beautiful flowers during the winter months. The best temperature to keep the plant in is between 13 degrees (flowering 12 weeks) and 23 degrees (3 weeks). It is a strong plant that likes to grow in a light and colder environment in a conservatory, hall, bedroom, living room or garden. The plant is also extremely suitable for outdoor use in the garden. As long as the outside temperature does not fall below 5 degrees, it can enjoy a prominent place in the garden and you can enjoy the beautiful waterfall of flowers for a long time.

Creative

Trees from LZ Orchidee is a very creative person. In addition to the work in the nursery, she also gives workshops in the designated area during the winter months. Flower and mosaic workshops are held here. This beautiful large room, in a homely atmosphere, provides a lot of peace and inspiration. With her creativity, she is also responsible for the webshop. It is also important that beautiful photos and atmospheric images are used for a satisfying and fresh result. The webshop is therefore completely up to date with beautiful photos and lots of information about the Cymbidium. But the Leo and Trees are also very creative together. They developed a special construction with rings to hang their plants for a trade show, making them stand out and showing them at their best. These rings are now also for sale .

Suitable for a winter bride

Are you a fan of snow, cold days, parties and therefore lots of fun? Then we really recommend a winter wedding! Wedding planners often have more time in the winter and all locations are styled in the most beautiful atmospheric lighting. A winter wedding naturally requires a winter flower! A "Cascade", the name says it all: a waterfall of flowers that is extremely suitable for use as a flower branch in a bridal bouquet. For several years now, Leo and Trees have been selling the Cascade Cymbidium as a cut flower. This year they want to expand the sale on a limited scale.

With proper care, your Cymbidium will reward you for years with beautiful flowers in the winter months. Leo finds it very important to inform the consumers / end customers about the special care they need. They have therefore designed special stickers that they attach to the plants. They find it important that the plants are cared for as well as possible, because the older the plant, the more beautiful and fuller it becomes. On the website of LZ  Zwinkels: https://www.lzorchidee.nl/en/info/care-tips  you can find detailed care tips about the care of the plant. Here we summarize the most important ones:

• Place the Cymbidium in a light place in a room or conservatory.
• The ideal temperature during flowering is between 13 and 20 degrees. At 13 degrees the plant can flower for ten weeks, at 23 degrees this will not be more than three weeks.
• Avoid a location near the heating. If your plant is in a south-facing window, be careful not to burn the leaves in the spring and summer due to the direct sunlight.
• The Cascade Cymbidium needs more water than many other orchids, because it is an earth orchid and not an epiphyte. You can treat the Cascade Cymbidium in much the same way as other pot plants.
• The Cymbidium requires very little fertilizer in the winter months. In the spring, when the plant has finished flowering and new shoots develop, it is recommended to fertilize regularly with a mixed fertilizer that contains sufficient nitrogen (N).
• If the plant is almost bursting out of its pot, it is time to repot the plant. Pick a high pot, because the roots of the Cascade Cymbidium grow best here. Use an airy mixture, but certainly not an ordinary orchid mixture because it will not retain enough water for Cymbidiums.

In the year 1995, Leo and his wife Trees switched from growing vegetables to growing cut orchids. At a fair they came across a sample of the Cascade Cymbidium and it was love at first sight. So in 2005 they started growing this variety on a small scale. When they were told in 2007 that they had to leave their old location, the decision was quickly made: they switched from a 20,000 square meter nursery to a 6,000 square meter nursery, exclusively focused on growing Cascade Cymbidiums.

The process

At the moment there are around 30 different types of Cymbidiums at the nursery, of which 12 are now suitable for sale. After all, it is quite a challenge to get them in bloom once you have bred them. It takes 5 years before you are rewarded with a flower.

At the nursery there are 43,000 plants per year in the growing process, 39,000 plants in the final stages of the growing process and around 38,000 plants ready for sale. The plants are harvested when approximately 1.5 branches are in bloom. The main species is the beautiful white Ice Cascade, but there are many more colors to be found at the nursery. All these flowers bloom at different times. Just like the Vanda, the cultivation of this orchid cannot be controlled. This year they grow around 70% of the plants in white and 30% in different colors. The goal is to sell more colored plants next year so that the distribution becomes 50/50.

Close to nature

The product is close to nature, not in the least because of the way pest control is being implemented. Because the plant originally grows in cold places, little energy is needed to grow the product. In addition, biological controllers are used for the trips, scraps, caterpillars and sciara!
LZ Orchidee is the only grower of Cascade Cymbidiums in Europe. Leo and Trees hope that these special plants, will also become as well  known to the larger public in Europe as they are now in Asia. Or as Leo puts it nicely: "This orchid is so special because of its natural character. When you see it, you immediately understand why it is a symbol of friendship". All new varieties of Cascade Cymbidiums grown at LZ Orchidee have names that have to do with friendship. All new varieties are bred by Leo and Trees themselves.

FloraPodium, 20 January 2020