Encyclia Rioclarense, a hybrid of Enc. cordigera and Enc randii

Encyclia Rioclarense

This hybrid of Encyclia cordigera and Encyclia randii has adapted well to my garden.   It is grown under shade cloth that gives it protection from the sun while allowing bright to pass through.  It is grown in a pot full of coarse media composed of limestone rocks, charcoal, bark, river pebbles and Styrofoam peanuts in the bottom of the pot to improve drainage.    It is watered twice a week.   The new pseudobulb it produced under my care, is much larger than the ones it had when I purchased it.  It has produced a few flowered unbranched inflorescence.  I expect that as it gets older and have several mature pseudobulbs it will produce larger inflorescences.   

Encyclia cordigera [HBK] Dressler 1964, a particularly fine flower

The flower of this plant is among the largest I have seen in a cordigera orchid.  The pseudobulbs are large and husky.  The plant is the property of a friend, he has cultivated it to perfection.  The plant was brought on a local vendor, but appears to be the product of a cross of superior plants.

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 cordigera [HBK] Dressler 1964, the typical form of the species, sometimes sold as a "semi alba"

In Puerto Rico, this species poses no challenge to cultivate.  It can tolerate drought and grows best if it gets a few hours of full sun every day.  Note that is its growing in a basket that hardly has any potting material.  The bane of this species is root loss due to overwatering.  I just doesn't tolerate media that remains wet.  I grow my plants high in the orchid house, just under the shade clothe where they get the brightest light.  Good fertilization while in active growth is the key to large pseudobulbs.

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 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 cordigera var alba

Photographed at the 2014 Ponce Orchid society show in Ponce, Puerto Rico.