It’s time to change your feeding program for cymbidiums — our common outdoor orchid.
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During spring and summer months, a high-nitrogen fertilizer should be used. However, you should not use a high-nitrogen product during the fall and winter. The San Francisco Orchid Society recommends using a formula with low nitrogen and higher potassium and phosphorus (NPK 10-30-20). This will promote more and bigger blooms. Feed your cymbidiums monthly until flower spikes appear in early spring. You’ll have a dazzling display of long-lasting blooms.
Your plants may need protection from frost this winter. Temperatures below 40 degrees may damage or kill orchids. You can bring them into your home or garage. Or it may be enough to set the pots close to your house under the eaves.
— Katie Martin, UC Marin Master Gardeners