As the cold dark winter days finally start to disappear, everyone is thinking about the return of warm weather and bright sunshine. It is early March and while I am writing this article, I pause to look out my window. It is snowing and blowing and the last thing it looks like is Spring. I glance over at my calendar and sure enough, Spring is only two weeks away!
Spring, to many people, is visions of Crocus peeking their heads out of the last vestiges of snow or the scent of fragrant Daffodils and Hyacinths filling the air as they burst open in a riot of colorful blooms. Birds fill the air with their chirps and songs as they too celebrate the changing of the seasons. Life returns to the land when Mother Earth throws back the blanket of snow after a long sleep. Animals that have been asleep all winter hear the call and begin to stir from their dens.
The first sign of spring in my greenhouse is my turtles waking up and following me around my greenhouse asking to be fed. "What about the orchids?" you may ask. Oh yes! Many of my orchids are showing a very definite sign of spring. The flower spikes of my Phalaenopsis and the Paphiopedilums are loaded with buds ready to open in a display of beautiful blooms. There is one group of orchids in particular that are very special in the springtime. They are the pretty Cymbidiums. Many of you may have seen these pretty orchids even though you perhaps did not know what kind you were looking at. You can find Cymbidium blossoms made into pretty corsages and packed in little plastic boxes ready for sale in all the stores around Easter and Mother's Day.
Cymbidium blooms are an excellent cut flower because they can last up to six weeks. They are the most popular cut flowers in the world. If kept on the plant, the blooms will last up to twelve weeks. There can be as many as 30 blooms or more on a single spike and are usually 2 to 5 inches in diameter. The blooms come in many different colors and shades: white, yellow, orange, red, purple, and even green!
Cymbidiums make wonderful patio plants during the summer. In areas where the temperatures do not get below freezing, they can be
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