Seeing as nobody answered your first post I will give it a stab even though Cymbidiums are not my expertise.
To buy miniature Cymbidiums I would go to: Cal-Orchids - Jim & Lauris Rose - http://www.calorchid.com/ - I have gotten excellent plants from them. I really have been happy with Jim's selection of plants for me. Casa de las Orquideas - Loren Batchman - http://www.orquideas.com/ - I have been very happy with the Cymbidiums I bought here, They are doing quite a bit of their own hybridizing, crosses here you can't get elsewhere. New World Orchids - http://www.newworldorchids.com/ - Glen Lehr - this is the place I would go for Chinese Cymbidiums Santa Barbara Orchid Estate - http://www.sborchid.com/ - I have not bought recently from SBOE but they are world famous for their Cymbidium breeding program. Mini-Cymbidiums are not real popular in the midwest because generally the name mini refers to flower size, not so much to plant size. The plant size is much smaller than the big standards, but even at half the size they are substantial sized plants. Most of the mini-cymbidiums need to mature to at least the 1 gallon nursery can size or about a 6 inch pot to start blooming. They have wonderful colors, many have pendant stems that are fantastic in baskets, but they are large plants. There is a category of breeding called the Ultra-Miniature - which is truely a dwarf plant, most of these are hybrids based on Cymbidium floribundum, C. pumilum, C. sinense, C. goeringii, and a few other species. These can start blooming in a 4 inch pot. Chinese Cymbidium Species - many of these species are true miniatures You mentioned having to turn down the heat. Did you know many of the Phrags, sepecially lindleyanum, kaiteurum besseae, schlimii, boissierianum, caudatum and a few others really come from intermediate to cool habitats, you could grow all of them and their hybrids right with the Cymbidiums. Phrag lindleyanum in particular enjoys temperatures in the low 40's F (4 C) at night with days being around 60 F (+16 C ). Phrag Andean Fire should do wonderfull in a Cymbidium house. Phrag longifolium comes from such a wide range of habitats that it may prove to be quite temperature tolerant. Test them and see. I would also consider Odontoglossum intergenerics and Masdevallia as cool tolerant orchids. Hope this helps Leo _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
