Encyclia Care & Some Blooming Encyclia Pictures

As you may have noticed I went through a bit of an Encyclia phase last year, scooping up any new species I came across, along with some hybrids. I've learned a few things about caring for them since. If you've got some tips to grow these beauties to share too, let me know below!

Encyclia maderoi

Encyclias like to dry out between waterings, a lot like growing Cattleya orchids. Encyclia are native to South Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, and down through South America and in their natural environment they experience a dry season, but the humidity stays on the high side year round. Water heavily, then let it dry out completely before watering again in the spring, summer, and fall.

Rot is always the enemy here in Florida. Although we experience less extreme wet and dry seasons here, during our rainy season it would make sense for the weatherman to just say 50/50 chance of rain, at some point in the day, every day. So I make a point to keep good air movement,have nothing blocking the wind for them. I leave them totally dry through much of the winter months when it gets cooler here. I'm heavily considering mounting them for the future. As long as the lead pseudobulb isn't shriveled, you're watering enough. More people kill these through over-watering than under, which is why I'm leading with this care tip.

Encyclia guadalupeae

Encyclias like high light. I let mine get direct sun for hours a day, a few in the morning, a few in the afternoon, only somewhat protected from midday sun. If your Encyclia isn't blooming, try giving it more light. Adjust it to higher light slowly though, as just like with any other plant, it can burn with direct sun if it isn't used to it.

Encyclia cordigera

These are some of the easiest species I've cared for so far. Nothing is easier than to just find a good spot for them outdoors when the weather is warm and for the most part, leave them alone.

Encyclia tampensis

Better-Gro Bagged Orchids No Longer Sold At Lowes :(

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Florida? Seriously, it is the best for finding cool things in at regular, seemingly run of the mill garden centers. Many of this year's hauls came from Lowe's or The Home Depot. Unfortunately, I just read on Better-Gro's Facebook page, that Lowe's went with a different supplier for orchids and they won't be carrying Better-Gro bagged orchids anymore.

Although Better-Gro says they are working on "expanding their relationship" with Home Depot instead, I have only seen them show up in one store here that I haven't seen these orchids carried in the past. I'm kind of more upset than I thought I'd be about this. We went from an abundant supply of cool orchids all the time, to 2 Home Depots in the area carrying them. Sucks big time, and that's the nicest way I'll put that.

Cat inspection of a Lowe's haul at the old apartment

The following are Better-Gro orchids purchased this year only, well below average of my typical year's purchases of these orchids as I think the hiatus I took was the entire summer through fall, about 6 months? I'll apologize in advance, as the photos on this post have no theme, and some of them just aren't any good. I didn't take pictures specifically with this post in mind at the time so some are also iPhone photos. I just wanted to show you why I'm disappointed these won't be available at Lowe's anymore.

This "Bag Baby" orchid is C. Caribbean x lawrenceana. I couldn't find a single picture of the bloom on the internet, but it sounds like it might be a cool flower. It is an H&R cross, so maybe I'll email them for a picture to see if this is something I'm willing to grow out. I'm hoping the flower has that lawrenceana shape to it, but if nothing else we'll be surprised.

C. Caribbean x lawrenceana bagged Better-Gro orchid

This year I also picked up Myrmecophila tibicinis. Please excuse the Monster can. The photo was taken with something a friend would recognize for scale (LOL.) An entirely different purpose than showing it off here.

Myrmecophila (Schomburgkia) tibicinis

I'm also trying to rescue this Oncidium ampliatum. It looks like it had been sitting around a while, it's dehydrated. New roots are starting and it should recover nicely. I'll have a better picture of it in 2015.

Oncidium ampliatum

Encyclia steinbachii below (mislabeled steinbachiana, because it probably originally came from H&R and that's what they mislabel it as?) was in bad shape too, but it's turning around quick. Look at all them roots!

Encyclia steinbachii

Encyclia guadalupeae, in new-shipment-great-shape. Got this one 2 days ago at The Home Depot that just started carrying Better-Gro bagged orchids. HOORAY for this Home Depot!

Encyclia guadalupeae

I especially couldn't resist these species orchids for so cheap. These are all really great species, purchased for about $12.98 depending on the tax in the area I bought them.

Lately we've been making many, many, trips to Lowe's. There's one fairly close to to our new home, and we're re-painting, re-landscaping, and re-whatever-else needs-work here. People tell me that never stops when you own a home, so I guess Lowe's will be losing out on my money this coming year. I tend to agree to run errands to pick stuff up for the house under the guise of being helpful, but in reality I don't pass up an excuse to go see if they have any new bagged orchids. Oh well.

And yes, I realize with the internet and all of Florida's orchid shows, there is almost any orchid I want ever, shipped to my door, pretty much whenever. It just isn't the same as digging through the bags in the display at a local store. It's like a treasure hunt for adults, sorting through for cool species or hybrids to take home that day, in hand, for super cheap so there isn't even any guilt that I've spent too much of our money on plants again.

Edit: Update 2016. Occasionally I see these at Lowe's. With far less stock and far less frequency, so maybe it turned out to be a cut back, who knows. Still disappointed it's mostly unlabeled generic Phals, and the occasional unlabeled Vanda 90% of the time anymore :(

"Bag Baby" Orchid Rescues

Better-Gro® orchids are the ones you see all the time in the big box stores. Usually they are Cattleyas, ones that grow too large and flower too fluffy for my tastes so I pass them up. Online you'll see them referred to as "bag babies," (they're seedlings and come in a mesh net bag or a plastic sleeve bag. I like the nickname, it's a cute one.) These aren't bad purchases if you can get to them before the employees drown, dehydrate, or otherwise kill them.

Every one in a while something different shows up in one of those tiny plastic bags. For example my Rhynchostylis gigantea 'Peach.'

R. gigantea 'Peach'

I bought this one 3 years ago, with 4 leaves about 1/2 the size they are pictured. It was in decent shape and has steadily grown well for me. Patience is a virtue, but it appears to be close to blooming sized now......right?

Then over the winter someone on a forum found Myrmecophila tibicinis at his local Lowe's and was kind enough to pick one up for me. It turned out to be 2 in 1 pot. The roots were shot, so they're both spending this summer growing new ones and probably won't really take off until next summer.

#1

#2

There was also a broken tag in the bottom of the pot that said Myrmecophila albopurpurea, so there's the possibility that one or both is actually albopurpurea. It'll be a few years before we find out.

More recently was Encyclia cordigera x self. It was on sale and looked pretty bad, but for the price I figured I'd take it home and try it.

Repotted

It was dry as a bone when I unpotted it about 3 weeks ago. All the roots were dead. Only one thing to do at this point, pot it up into sphagnum moss, add a little rooting hormone, and hope for the best.

So far so good on this project. Below are two little starts I noticed. One has the beginning of roots on it.

Yay, not dying!

Looks like a new start had previously rotted out, but there's still life in it and it's growing.

I'm a sucker for cheap rescue project plants. If it's something I like and wanted to get anyway, I'll take a chance, even if it looks as bad as the Encyclia does.