Encyclia culture: Some notes on root initiation

One of the most important events in the seasonal cycle of Encyclia is root initiation. It At this time of the year, in early February I am expecting my plants to start growing their inflorescences. Most of my plants finished the growth of the new bulbs at the end of last year. A few, are doing their own thing. Encyclia Borincana started producing a new growth for an old, small pseudobulb, a newly brought Encyclia alata is showing new growth. A few roots with green tips can be seen here and there. This pseudobulb of Encyclia Renate Schimdt (Enc. Orchid Jungle x Enc. Alata) decided to produce a massive growth of roots. Locally, it is the start of the dry season, not a time I find desirable for a plant to increase its water needs to nurture root growth. But you got to do what the plant needs. Because I grow my orchids outdoors this mass of delicious, tender green tipped roots is a very tempting target for insects and other critters. To stop the roots from becoming food, I give the plant a spot application of a systemic insecticide. Systemic insecticides tend to concentrate on new growths, making then inedible to any insect that might be tempted to nibble on them. Protecting the roots at this stage is vital for the future survival of the plant. The loss of the root system of its newest pseudobulb can severely set back an orchid and might even endanger its survival. Note the length of the green part of the root. A very short green tip is not a good thing, it means the plant is not getting enough water. the lenght of the green in this orchid shows it is getting the right amount of watering to promote good root growth. Root initiation in many types of orchids is not like other plants, it can only happen a specific time of the year. So when it happens the plant has to be given the care it needs to produce a strong system of roots capable of sustain the next year growth, there will not be a second chance. On some instances a plant whose lead growth is damaged will produce a secondary growth a bit back in the stem, but that doesn’t always happens. Observing the long-term growth pattern of my Encyclia I have noted that they tend to rise slowly raise they stems away from the media. After a few years the pseudobulbs are sitting on a mass of roots a few inches tall, rather than directly on the media.

Encyclia culture: Potting with stones, getting to the nitty-gritty with Encyclia alata

                There are four ways I use stones for potting.  The most common is as a layer on the bottom of the pot, to provide weight to make the pot more stable for orchids that produce towering, heavy inflorescences that dwarf the plant and can easily overturn it.  This also helps ensure that the mix drains well.

                Sometimes I use them in the pot to have something to hold the orchid fixed in place.  I usually do this when using coarse potting media that initially provides little stability to the plant.  In this case I tie the plant to a stone and place the stone into the mix.  “A wobbly plant is a dead plant” as my friend Jose Oliveras uses to say.   The stone provides the plant with a firm anchor until its roots can get a grip on the media.

In rare cases, I use it as potting media for particular plants that are very intolerant of any potting media that when it decays starts retaining too much water or that can be turned into slush by insects bacteria or fungi and will smother the roots by creating areas that impede the flow of air.

In the case of the Encyclia alata in the photo, the orchid is growing in side of a wire basket that has a two-inch layer of pebbles inside.  As you can se the plant has been growing for a while in the basket, slowly increasing in size.   The younger pseudobulbs are not in contact with the media, they are about two inches over it.   The roots grow toward the basket and eventually enter the media.

On occasion I have used stones to hold the orchid in an empty pot.  In these cases, the plants are attached to a single stone and there is no media in the pot.   I do this with plants that produce larger, stronger root systems if the roots are allowed to grow with no media to confine them.  I used to grow Cattleya Jose Marty “Mother’s Favorite” in this way.    

Using stones as a potting media has the disadvantage that they are heavy.  The wire basket in which Enc alata is growing weights quite a bit.  However, the heavy weight has its benefits.  This Enc alata can produce a four feet tall inflorescence, with dozens of flowers.   The weight of the stones helps balance the weight of the inflorescence.

                Because stones don’t decay, you have to provide the plant with a balanced fertilizer.   During the growing season you have to really make sure this plant is fertilized regularly or the plant will produce smaller pseudobulbs that it could.   Stones are not water retentive, so the plant has to be watered often when during its active growth phase.

                Compared with the other media I use, stones are a very minor component of my orchid growing.  But they can be useful in particular cases for plants that have specific needs.    I prefer to use smooth river pebbles.    On one or two cases I have used them to cover fibrous potting material to stop birds from stealing it.

                A final note, don’t just grab any old stone and stick it in a pot.  I prefer to use volcanic rock because they tend to be chemically inert.  Some stones will react with the acids in the media and alter the pH of the mix, some plants like this, others don’t.  Never use stones that are crumbly or might leach unwanted chemicals into the mix.  

Encyclia culture: Mounting on wood. After a decade and two hurricanes, Encyclia Borincana

Encyclia Borincana

New growths and aerial root skirt

The spot where the orchid was originally attached.  

I like growing Encyclias attached to pieces of wood or to tree fern pieces because the plants can grow in them for a very long time with no need to repot.   This Encyclia Borincana (alata x bractecens) has been in this piece of teak for more than eight years.   The wood is teak, which is a very tough wood and it is still in good shape.  Many other woods would have been turned to slush a long time ago by insects, bacteria and fungi.   I attached this Encyclia to the wood piece some time in 2014 or 2015.   When mounting orchids, it is very, very important to make sure the plant is firmly attached to the mount, if it can wiggle it will die because the roots will never be able to achieve a firm hold.   

                I hung this plant inside an ornamental croton bush whose leaves provided light shade from the sun and a cooler, moister microclimate for the plant.  The bush was about five feet tall, the plant was four feet from the ground.   In September 7 a category 5 hurricane Irma passed very close to the island of Puerto Rico, in September 20 Maria a high end category 4 hurricane did a direct hit on the island of Puerto Rico. 

                The Encyclia, as well as other plants that were in the bush spent the hurricane outside since I was away from my garden and could not move them to a sheltered spot.   The hurricane ripped the leaves of the bush and when the skies cleared after the hurricane all the plants that were in the bush were exposed to full sun.  They burned and died.  Fortuitously, the Encyclia was covered by some fallen brush and survived.   Weeks later, when I finally was able to get back home, I rescued it and moved it to a shade house that had survived the hurricanes (the shade house was designed to do so, I will write about that in another post).

                The Encyclia has been slowly recuperating and growing larger after the damage it suffered in the hurricane.  It has developed a skirt of aerial roots.    Most of the year I don’t fertilize this plant.   Local rainfall is enough to cover its needs outside its growing season.  When it is growing I fertilize it weekly and water it several times a week, always making sure that the mount is dry before watering it again.

                As you can see in the photo, the pseudobulbs that were in the original attachment site have long ago decayed completely, but there is still an untidy mass of the remains of its dead roots.   I don’t remove them as they retain water and that makes the mount dry slower, allowing more time for the living roots to absorb the water.  I expect in the future that this plant will grow even larger and will start producing branching inflorescences. 

Encyclia alata culture, mounting a plant in a piece of wood.

Encyclia alata is a species that can produce dozens of small fragrant flowers.  In my garden in coastal Northwest Puerto Rico, it does very well growing outside.   It can handle the dry season with no complaint and is unfazed by the high temperatures of summer.   But there is a trick to growing this species successfully.  It demands media that drains freely and doesn’t get waterlogged.   I have a plant that has been growing for many years in a metal basket full of river pebbles.   The plant produced a tiny side growth.  I decided to mount the side growth when it had a number of pseudobulbs.   I mounted it in a piece of wood. in the lowest part of the mount so that it would eventually climb.  The plant took its time growing but it finally produced a larger pseudobulb.   It is very, very important to attach the plant firmly to the piece of wood, otherwise it will not be able to grab the wood with its roots.   The roots are growing upwards into the wood mount.  Note that the surface of the piece of wood is slightly rough and uneven.  The roots are following the contours of the piece of wood.  The plant is also producing aerial roots, some of my plants have long aerial roots along with the roots that are growing into their pots and mounts.   An unexpected problem is that the wood proved to be less resistant to decay than I thought.  What I will do when the wood decays too much? I will affix the plant, piece of wood and all, to a larger piece of wood and then allow the old piece to decay and fall to pieces, as the plant as the plant attaches itself to the new mount.   This plant is a few years away from blooming but once it has a larger root system its rate of growth is sure to pick up.   

Encyclia Renate Schmidt (Ency. Orchid Jungle x Enc. alata), one of the few plants that survived hurricane Maria in good shape.

It bloomed very well but for some reason the flowers are paler than in previous bloomings.

Encyclia alata [Bateman]Schlechter 1914

I brought this plant many years ago, at a small stall in a local Mall.  It would produce gigantic pseudobulbs, easily avocado sized.  The inflorescences were massive, at one time one produced one hundred flowers at the same time.  Unfortunately I lost it to root rot when I moved to a place high in the mountains that was way more humid than this plant can tolerate.  It differed from almost all the Enc. elata I have seen in cultivation in that the flower segments were longer, with curled back sides and the flowers were larger.

Encyclia Renate Schmidt (Ency. Orchid Jungle x Enc. alata), May 2015 blooming

This plant struggled for a few years with a stubborn scale insect infestation.  Last year, thought a combination of strategies, I was able to completely rid this plant of the pesky brown scales that had stunted its growth.  The 2015 flowers are the largest and more numerous it has ever produced.  It still has a way to go before it matches the size of the inflorescences of its parents but it is getting there.

Epilaelia Snow Fantasy x Encyclia alata, the 2014 blooming

This is this plant second blooming in my garden.  The plant still have some way to go before it reaches full adult size.  The Epilaelia Snow Fantasy is a large plant. The Encyclia parent can vary in size, I have seen both small and some impressively sized plants and I had one that would produce up to a hundred flowers in a single inflorescence.  I expect this plant inflorescences to increase in size until the plant has three or four full size pseudobulbs in a row.  It is not clear to me how large the pseudobulbs of this orchid will eventually get.   The best thing about this plant is that the climate in my garden is very well suited to its seasonal growth pattern.

Encyclia alata, a plant I brought at a local Mall in the late 1990's.

I brought this plant in a local Mall in the late nineties.  It was in a block of tree fern and had an inflorescence with about twelve flowers.  It thrived under my care and produced large pseudobulbs with in turn produced enormous inflorescences.  Sadly the fern mount decayed, the orchid lost its roots and that was the end of it.  But I learned my lesson, the second plant of Encyclia alata I brought is still alive after ten years in my garden and blooming better than ever.  I will write about that one and how I potted it after the bitter experience of losing this one on a future blog post.

Encyclia Gail Nakagaki (Enc. cordigera x Enc. alata) a second one blooms in my garden> The lip of this seedling shows a richer color than the lip of the first one to bloom.

This is the second plant of this cross to bloom in my garden.  The flowers have a richer color in the lip than the first one to bloom.  These are first bloom seedling so their full potential is still to be seen.  However I must confess that I don't buy these particular orchids for the perfection of their flowers but for their delightful fragrance.

Encyclia Renate Schmidt (Ency. Orchid Jungle x Enc. alata)

It is almost a miracle that this orchid survived and grew large enough to bloom.  I brought it as a small seedling from Kawamoto orchids around eight years ago.  Unfortunately this plant went through a streak of unremitting bad luck.  At first it grew vigorously but then its media stayed too wet and it lost its roots, this was a severe set back for the orchid.  Then it had to slowly rebuild its root system, when it was on its way to recovery it was attacked by brown scales.  I removed every single scale and treated the plant with insecticide, but the scales proved to be an stubborn foe.  Finally, last year things started looking up for this plant and it produced its largest pseudobulb to date, which by normal Encyclia standards is of a mediocre size, but nevertheless it was pleasing to see the plant do some progress.  The plant produced just three flowers, this is the first to open, certainly not an impressive performance, but hey, it's a start!

Encyclia Gail Nakagaki (Enc. cordigera x Enc. alata)

A few years ago I was visiting a friend in the town of Aguadilla and he had a large plant of this cross in full bloom.  The orchid had many flowers and their fragrance was both strong and delightful.  I was enchanted with this orchid but unfortunately it turned out not to be easily available.  But this year I found a source and brought two plants.  Amazingly the flowers of this orchid survived the trip from Hawaii almost intact.  I like the color of these flowers, but it is the fragrance that really seduced me.  The plants I got are young, they have the potential to produce many flowers at the same time.  Hopefully I will be able to help these plants achieve the impressive size of my friend's orchid.

Encyclia Borincana (Encyclia alata x Encyclia bractecens)

I few years ago I tied this plant to a piece of a teak branch,  I hung it from an ornamental bush in the garden, and that was that.  I had not been fertilized in years, it gets watered infrequently and irregularly, if it doesn't have flowers I don't look at it for months.  And yet it survives very well and blooms better than some plants that I fuzz over and cater to their every wish.  This hybrid is well suited to the hot tropical climate of coastal Puerto Rico.  It can get by entirely with the local rainfall and the dry season doesn't bother it at all.

Encyclia Orchid Jungle (Ency. alata x Ency. phoenicea)

I brought this Encyclia as a tiny seedling.  It grew vigorously and eventually turned into a large plant.  Then root rot struck and almost all the plant died.  Only a single scrawny two pseudobulb piece with hardly any roots survived the debacle.   Having learned my lesson, I potted the pseudobulbs using medium sized pieces of charcoal and a few stones so that even if the media decayed somewhat it would still remain relatively open.  The plant responded well to the repotting and has been blooming for the last two years.  This year inflorescence is larger than the one it had last year.  The plant has develop a good root system and I expect and even better blooming next year.  After I water this plant I don't water again until the media is approaching dryness.

These plants grow well in the hot coastal lowlands of Puerto Rico.  I live near the coast and the wind and humidity is favorable for these orchids.  They tolerate the worst of the dry season and, if potted in the right media, the wettest spells of the rainy season don't bother them either.  Perhaps the only thing that can be a bit bothersome is the long inflorescences which can become damaged when the wind blows strongly.

Epi. Snow Fantasy x Encyclia alata, a week after the first flower opened.

its been a week now since the inflorescence of the hybrid Epilaelia Snow Fantasy x Encyclia alata  started opening its flowers and now almost all are open.  The segments of the first flower to open have become more elongated than when the flower opened and the lip side edges have curled downwards as it ocurrs on the lip of the Enc. alata parent.  Considering the flowers have had to endure almost daily showers and some wind, they are in very good shape.   

A different clone of Epi, Snow Fantasy x Encyclia alata

This clone has larger flowers

The first bloom flower of my plant.

In the Christmas meeting of the Orquidistas de Puerto Rico, I saw in bloom a clone of this orchid that is different from mine.  The flowers are larger, the segments elongated and it has a slight yellow tint.  The plant however was larger than mine, so it may be that my plant still has some growing to do before it can produce bigger flowers.

First bloom of Epi. Snow Fantasy x Encyclia alata

This orchid combines the color of Laelia rubescens with the form of Encyclia alata in a pleasing combination.  This hybrid is (Laelia rubescens x Encyclia tampensis) x Encyclia alata.  I cultivate it the same way I do for Encyclia alata and Encyclia cordigera.  This orchid is still a young plant and it  remains to be seen how the flowers will look when the plant is an adult with several fully sized pseudobulbs.  Right now it has a single relatively large pseudobulb which is the newest one and the one that produced the inflorescence.

Encyclia Orchid Jungle (Enc. alata x Enc. phoenicia)

This orchid is a hybrid, the cross of Encyclia alata and Encyclia phoenicia.  My plant is the product of a selfing of Encyclia Orchid Jungle.  My plant strongly favors the alata parent and the influence of phoenicia is mostly shown in the enhanced color of the flowers which are more colorful than those of alata.  The flowers are very flat in the sense that the petals and sepals are all in one plane, in a side photo they are barely visible, this makes for a wonderful presentation of the flower when seen from the front.  The flower segments borders are barely recurved back in contrast with those of alata.  I had an alata in which the flower segment would curl back in the mature flower.  The flowers have a dark chocolate color at the ends of the sepals and petals but the color changes into a light green toward the base the floral segments.  The chocolate and green floral segments strongly contrast with the yellow lip.  The lip has ridges and these are decorated with maroon lines, the lip margin has a narrow yellow line along its lower end.

My plant grew vigorously and bloomed well for years but sadly most of the plant succumbed to root rot during a particularly wet summer.  All that could be saved from the root rot was a single pseudobulb.  In time this pseudobulb produced new growths and started blooming again.  The lesson here is to be alert to signs that the media in which your Encyclia plants is becoming decayed and its killing the roots. This is harder that you would think as the media can look quite good on the top and be in a crummy condition under the surface.  That’s why I am planting my Encyclias now either in pots with rock or in very open baskets that allow the roots to have an extremely good access to oxigen and that lets any piece of decayed media to fall away when I water the plants.