Im about 5 mi north of Portland in Vancouver WA so maybe what I sayn is useful. Also new to orchids, bought a fairly large cymbidium late winter. I had it in full sun all summer and fertilized until late Jult. It did grow a big new pseudobulb and several smaller ones and for the past month or 2 has the start of 2 flower spikes. They are about 1 to 2 inches, thick and reddish brown instead of the green of new leaf spikes. Their growth is so slow I have to look at photos from a month ago to see progress. Im leaving it outside until it gets into the low 40s or high 30s, as some authors recommend. No fertilizer for the past couple of months, and water only about every other week when it starts to feel light. It is protected from rain, on the South side of the house. It seems to like this treatment. I did the same thing with some Yamamoto Dendrobium nobile which are also said to need a chill treatement, and they now have flower buds too. One of the Dendrobiums seems to have some rot at one growth tip and on mold on one flower bud, Im dismayed about that, but that one was less protected and did have some rain exposure. Maybe this is helpful, but Im new to so who knows?

Thanks Arthurm for your advice, I have a Mary Green 'Spring wind' and it is not pendulous (think thats what you mean by "trailing"), It generally has quite short spikes with peach/pink flowers. I too don't grow too many cymbids any more either due to the space they generally require, but a nice one with 24 blooms or so is always quite something to see. I also learned another trick in that i don't have time to go turn turntables every day, i rather suspend the plant from the roof on a fishing swivel, and any wind does the turning for me. Unless i'm repotting i don't go to the shadehouse more thantwice a week. Strange this as i thought i would have lots of spare time when i retired, but then the grandkids arrived in the world!!

Ingrid: I can't help you as I am new also to cymbidiums. So my partially shaded outdoor deck was perfect for cymbidiums, according to arthurm. Yes, outdoor overnight temperatures here would rarely be above 17C (~63F) after the middle of August, so the plant had about 3 months of evening temps in the 27-63F range late summer to mid-autumn. Frankly, this past summer was so cool we only turned on the AC 3 nights. I did find the tag for the orchid, but all it says is that it was grown in Santa Barbara and the hybrid name is left off, i.e. the tag is generic. Thanks, Westerlay orchids. Just to clarify: I have approximately 5 months of frosty weather to deal with, and lots of things don't like being indoors for such a long time. For example, dahlia bulbs will shrivel up in that time frame, so I dig them up in late November (often thru a frozen layer) just to shorten the indoor time frame. I am not stating that the treatment is something dahlias like, just that it increases plant survivability. Likewise with the cymbidium, the longer it can stay outside, the less time it has to be in 25% humidity indoors.

What a gorgeous Cymbidium! That excellent photo of it could be on the cover of a magazine.