Unlike phalaenopsis, for example, LZ Orchid's cascading cymbidiums can withstand the cold extremely well. But no matter how often Leo Zwinkels tells them that, it just doesn't stick. "I have a regular buyer who has been to my garden as many as 20 times, and every time he stands in front of the shed and sees a few plants, he says, 'Wow, those plants can go outside?'"
Unknown makes unloved, Leo Zwinkels knows, "because an exotic orchid that can handle lower temperatures very well and with hanging branches, what to do with it?" In his own words, not only the consumer is the unknowing party, but even the trade, garden centers, and florists are not familiar with it. To change this, he is therefore organizing an open day, on 21 January, at his garden on Kerklaan 116 in De Lier.
Unlike most houseplants, the cascading cymbidium is actually better suited to cooler spaces. If you put it in the living room, it will bloom for about three weeks, but if it is placed colder, it will be three months. "Sometimes I get calls from people who are really surprised. They have neglected the plant, so to speak, and left it outside on the terrace, and the following year it grew many branches and many flowers. It won't survive a real winter, but even a few degrees of frost once is not an insurmountable problem."
LZ has organized an open day once before, in January, just before Covid. "That was great fun, and a lot of people came. Of course, that was also because we had just moved. Then Covid hit. We started with a bit of home sales, which is nice because it does give you a good story. But of course, awareness has to be wider. So we have been carrying the sticker 'cool loving orchids' for a couple of years now, and we hope that an initiative like this will make a difference."
Unlike most cut cymbidium growers, LZ only grows varieties that hang around. After all, with high energy prices in mind, cold cultivation is nice. There is also no need for lighting; only in the propagation period, when he receives his plant material a bit late, Leo sometimes wants to switch on a few lights to get a bit of speed into it. Cultivation itself is not easy, by the way; when exactly a plant will flower remains difficult to predict. "This year, I was fortunately pretty on time, but there are also years when I'm six weeks late. That shortens the season, which for me, should start at about the beginning of October because flowering stops around mid-March. In that respect, every year is a surprise."
So, in short: Come along, on Saturday, 21 January, to Kerklaan 116 in De Lier.
For more information:
LZ Orchidee 
Kerklaan 116
2678 SZ De Lier
T: +31 (0)6 22233102
info@lzorchidee.nl
www.lzorchidee.nl