Question
hi jim, i live in the philippines and i recently bought grown cyms. it usually rains from may to sept, all other months sunshine is great. is it ok for the cyms to be soaked in the rain or do i have to bring them to shade during the wet months? thnx for this very helpful site.

Answer
Hi Florabel,

It would be a good idea to protect the cyms from too much rain.  The potting media they are in should become almost dry between waterings, if kept constantly wet the roots will soon become rotten.  If you have a place that is protected from the rains and mostly sunny, that would be the ideal place for them.  

In order for Cymbidiums to grow and bloom well, they require quite a bit of sunlight, enough where the leaves are a light to medium green color.  Temperatures between 40 to 85 F along with humidity above 40%.  In fact, many cyms require temperatures below 50 F for several weeks in the fall in order to initiate the bloom cycle.  

With so much rain there, when it comes time to water them, you probably could move the cyms to where they would be rained on during the day then move them back.  

Hope this helped.  Good luck and good growing.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.