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Specific additional cultural information
7Philip C. Tomlinson © 1998
For basic cultural information, refer to the Cattleya
Culture page. Seasonal cultural information is also included with that data.
The following page details specific cultural pointers for the genus ENCYCLIA and EPIDENDRUM, and should
be read with the basic information presented elsewhere.
ENCYCLIA culture
For a discussion of the general cultural requirements for encyclias, refer to
the discussion on cattleyas. Those notes indicate
the seasonal culture applicable to these plants. The following is intended to supplement those general notes with
specific requirements for encyclia. The plants naturally occur in the Lowland
Forest and Monsoonal Foothill
Mountain habitats, and the general discussions on these habitats can
be usefully referred to.
In the main these plants show a relatively marked growth cycle. While in
active growth during the spring and summer, they require plenty of water, and they must be kept in a warm
position. Good humidity levels must be maintained at th is time for optimum growth. They require medium
shade.
Those species with hard pseudobulbs grow in typical cattleya conditions. Once
the seasons growth is completed, in the autumn or winter, dryer conditions can be provided. The softer stemmed
varieties should not be dried off, however, to the same severity. With the plants more or less dormant over
the winter, temperatures down to 10 degrees celsius can be provided, provided the plants are kept dry.
EPIDENDRUM culture
Plants of epidendrum range from the very small to large, and may be erect or creeping.They are a comparatively
large aggregation of species, and while general recommendations can be made, some care
needs to be exercised. Plants are both pseudobulbed and with reed type stems. The natural
habitats can be usefully referred to - Lowland Forest and Monsoonal Foothill Mountain habitats.
The small creeping species grow best in small shallow pans or can be mounted on tree fern or cork slabs.
The pseudobulbed species should be grown in well drained pots, and they must be able to dry out when the
pseudobulbs mature. The reed stem species can be grown in pots.
All require medium light levels, high humidity, and some warmth, although this can be seasonally
adjusted - most during the warm summer growth phase, and least during the winter months. The reed
stemmed varieties must be kept moist all the year, but the pseudobulbed forms need to be grown dryer and
cooler during the winter - after the pseudobulbs have matured and up to the point where the new growths are broken
in the spring.
Ideally intermediate temperatures would be maintained during the winter, although the pseudobulbed varieties
can be grown cooler while they are dormant provided they are kept dryer. . .
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8.9.1999 