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 culture: On getting plump pseudobulbs

Encyclia Rioclarense

Encyclia Rioclarense

Encyclia bractecens

              To grow Encyclia orchids to their best potential, you need to be familiar with their growing patterns in the wild.   The Encyclia that are available in the market come from tropical climates in which there are two seasons instead of the familiar four.   These seasons are the dry and the wet season.   When the year starts, plants have mature, full grown pseudobulbs that will produce flowers in the dry season.   When the wet season arrives, the plant will initiate new growths.   To get the best out of your plants you need to make sure the plant is regularly fertilized and watered when it is producing new growths.   Personally, I don’t apply fertilizer to my plants when they are not producing new pseudobulbs.

                New growths arise from the base of the newest pseudobulb, some species on occasion produce two growths from the lead pseudobulb, but this varies from species to species.    This new growth will initially elongate until the leaves are at their full length, then it will start to get fatter.   It is at this stage that I give my plants regular doses of fertilizer.  I fertilize them weekly with 20-20-20 fertilizer.  I use a teaspoon of fertilizer per gallon.   It is important not to over do the concentration of fertilizer, this might burn the new roots the plant will produce.  On plants that I know are particularly heavy feeders I put bits of very dry cow manure in tiny metal baskets over the roots so that when I water, a slight amount of organic fertilizer reaches the roots.  But never put the manure in contact with the roots or allow it to clog the pot when it decays.  Some people use small bags of slow-release fertilizer for this purpose, but I have never done this. 

                Encyclia plants like strong light but not full sun.   Some species develop a reddish tint on the leaves when it is getting the right level of light.  This is completely normal.   Deep green leaves are indicative of too little light, this will produce weak growth and the plants will not bloom.

                I pot my plants in a coarse mix of stones, bark, charcoal and bits of Styrofoam in the bottom of the pot to improve drainage.  Some species are intolerant of even the slightest stale and decayed media.  Those I cultivate in metal baskets so that the roots always have access to oxygen and that any decayed media will be washed away during baskets.   In my experience some species are intolerant of media that becomes waterlogged.  For that reason, I grow my Encyclia alata in basket of river pebbles.   Some plants I grow mounted on logs or of fern plaques.   I do this mainly for aesthetic reasons since I like the way the inflorescences and flowers are displayed when they orient in a horizontal manner or hang under the plant.

                Temperatures in my area vary little during the year.  Most of the year, temperatures go from around 75F during the night to 85F during the day.   In January and February temperatures can dip into the sixties briefly and in the height of summer it can get up to 90F.   Plants that come from cool, wet high elevation cloud forests don’t do well in my garden.

                A thing that has to be kept in mind is that different species and hybrids have different adult sizes.  Encyclia bractecens pseudobulbs, even at they largest, are much smaller than a full sized Encyclia cordigera pseudobulb.  You need to do some research to get to know your plant so you can gauge your success or lack of.     Then there is the issue that some hybrids can produce many new growths that instead of blooming produce more growths, so you end up with a large plant with a multitude of small pseudobulbs that never bloom. 

In the photos you can see the huge difference between the pseudobulbs Encyclia Rioplatense had when I brought and after one growing season under my care.   You can also see the media is coarse and the roots grow over it.  Encyclia bractecens is growing on a fern plaque.   An important final note, when the pseudobulb matures it will produce many roots at the same time, these have to be protected from snails and insects, the loss of roots can weaken a plant prevent it from growing large.  If the orchid roots are damaged or lost repeatedly, the plant can eventually die.

Catyclia Middleburg 'Maj' x Encyclia bractecens, its first blooming after the hurricane. I wish I had brought more of this cross, the color is very eye catching.

Encyclia Borincana (Encyclia alata x Encyclia bractecens) how I grow it

This plant thrives tied to a piece of wood.  I grow it outside, it is hanging from the branches of a small shrub in my garden.  It only gets watered during the worst of the dry season, otherwise the local rainfall is enough for its needs.  Tree fern can also be used, but in this case I used the piece of teak wood because it was free.  The plant has been doing well mounted this way and has developed a healthy root system.

Encyclia bractescens (Lindl.) Hoehne 1952

I brought this small Encyclia decades ago.  I has not failed to bloom every year between April and May.  I have two plants, both attached to pieces of tree fern.  This plant grows well in the hot, sunny conditions of coastal Puerto Rico.  I have it just under the shadecloth where it gets the brightest light possible without exposing it to direct sun.

The only problem that I have had with this orchid is that it loathes media that is too water retentive.  I had a wonderful specimen plant that would produce hundreds of flowers at a time.  I lost most of the plant because the tree fern plaque in which it was growing decayed so much that it started retaining water to the extent that it would dry very, very slowly.  This caused rot in the center of the specimen plant, I had to cut it in pieces in the process of removing the decayed and rotting parts.

This orchid needs frequent fertilizer applications when it is producing its new pseudobulbs.  If this is not done the pseudobulbs might not reach their full potential.  Given that this plant do best in small mounts that don't retain much water, you have to work out on your own which schedule of watering will produce the best growth.  I have seen plants of this species being grown on terracota mounts with absolutely no media.

Catyclia Middleburg 'Maj' x Encyclia bractecens

First bloom for this Encyclia cross in my garden.  Do I have to say I am happy?  Conditions where I grow this plant are challeging for most orchids as it is a windy place where temperatures can soar into the nineties and humidity can be low.  But Encyclia crosses take the wind, the heat and the drought without complaint.  I am mighty pleased with the color of the flowers of this first bloom seedling.  The Enc. bractecens parent does exceedingly well in my garden, because of this I expect that this plant will thrive in my garden.

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.