Cymbidium Alliance

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The Cymbidium Alliance is made up of several different alliances, including the Catasetinae, Coeliopsidinae, Cymbidiinae, Cyrtopodiinae, Eriopsidinae, Eulophiinae, Maxillariinae, Oncidiinae, Stanhopeinae, Vargasiellinae, and Zygopetalinae; however, most of these will not hybridize with each other. The alliaces that do hybridize with each other are: Catasetinae, Cymbidiinae, and Cyrtopodiinae. However, we will only be dealing with the following genera on this page, as many of the others will be included elsewhere.

This page will include the following Genera and their hybrids: Acriopsis, Cymbidium, Grammatophyllum, Porphyroglottis, Thecopus, and Thecostele.

With the genus Cymbidium, we have the standard Cymbidiums which have larger flowers and grow cooler. They come from the upper elevations of the Himalayas. They like much cooler autumn/winter and can go down to the upper 30s with no issues, this usually initiates the flower spikes. They also prefer night temperatures in the 70s during their active growth, so growing in warm to hot areas might not be successful.

 On the other hand, we have the warm growing cymbidiums which tend to have smaller flowers, bloom several times a year, with many hybrids, and can have inflorescences which are either erect or pendulous. These species come from the lower elevations of the Himalayas. Cymbidiums like a lot of light/sun and evenly moist conditions while actively growing. They do tend to have a short to extended dry to moderately reduced watering period after active growth or blooming.