Question
Hi Jim,  Can you tell me are orchids & cymbidiums the same or is there a major diffence?  Someone once told me that orchids grow in hot climates & cymbidiums in cold.  Is that true?

Answer
Hi Chris,

Well, I don't how to say this nicely so here goes!  The person who told you that doesn't know what they're talking about.  Let me briefly explain some things about orchids and you make up your own mind.  OK.  

Cymbidiums are a type of orchid and within the cymbidium family of orchids there are over 40 different species and countless thousands of hybrids between species, etc.  There are cymbidiums that originally came from the slopes of the Himalaya Mountains (gets a little cold at times) and others that came from the jungles of Viet Nam and other Southeast Asian tropical to semi-tropical countries.  As you can imagine, coming from such varied environments, some are tolerant of cold temperatures while some not so tolerant.  

As for the other orchids, there are in excess of 30,000 different species of orchids (cymbidiums included) on this earth with more being discovered each year.  The number of hybrids between various orchid species are well over 100,000.  Orchids have been found in semi-arid deserts, steaming jungles, tropical forests, high elevation mountainsides at or near snow line and even near the Arctic Circle.  Orchids also come in varying sizes depending upon species, from very small (thimble size) on up to well over 8 feet tall and there are even some that grow like vines that can extend out over 50 feet.  

Lastly, the person who told you orchids love hot climates and cymbidiums love cold was probably being very general in their statement.  Many of the commonly grown orchids do prefer warm temperatures and many cymbidiums need a cool spell to initiate the bloom cycle but as you've seen, they are not all the same.  

Well, now you can tell the person who told you what you found out.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.