Encyclia Dickinsoniana seedling... tough to grow?

[cythaenopsis]

As some of you may have seen in my earlier postings, I bought 3 seedlings back in late July. Overall they have been doing well and showing reasonable growth. That is, except for the Encyclia Dickinsoniana.

Here's a photo taken in early October:


At this point, the Dickinsoniana is down to just 6 leaves. It would have been 7, except that a nearby plant accidentally fell on it and snapped off one of the medium sized leaves. At present there are 3 rather large leaves (two now beyond 4") and 3 smallish ones. In the beginning it had double this number.

Is this normal? Do seedlings of the Encyclia variety tend to start out with many small leaves, then as a few get rather large it lets some of the smaller ones fall away? The roots are bright green and aside from a couple of very small black spots that had appeared on the leaves that fell away, it looks fine. There's even sign of some pseudo-bulb swelling going on at the base of one leaf. But relative to the Oncidium and Cattleya seedling I have, this Dickinsoniana is languishing in showing any new leaves. At least some of the existing ones have grown a bit long. But I'm wondering if my environment is not conducive to this variety.

Any ideas?

[Gage]

Just throwing in my 2 cents. The pot looks quite a bit too large for the plant. And if that is sphag, I would say it's gonna stay wet way too long for an Encyclia. A seedling does need a bit more moisture retention than a blooming sized Enc, but still needs to be able to dry completely. So your plant's root may be suffering. Hope this helps, and hopefully someone with more experience weighs in. Good luck!

[RobS]

Gage is spot on.

Well drained medium I use mostly bark and frequently clay pots. With clay pots watering twice a week may be neccesary but even with plastic the pots should dry out completly once a week (on average).

[cythaenopsis]

Thanks for the feedback, Gage and Rob. Actually, the pot seems to be fine relative to the number of roots extending from the plant. I do try to let it dry out between watering, but maybe I need to let it stay drier a little longer? I haven't tried removing the plant to check for root growth below... maybe it would be a good idea to see if there's any rot going on? Near the surface, all of the roots are either bright green or beige (no black).

I've been using sphag for all of my seedlings as without it they appeared to dry out much too fast. The oncidium and cattleya seem to be happy with the medium, but they're in clay pots that help dry out a little faster. But perhaps the encyclia requires a little more dried out time since it's in a plastic pot?

[cythaenopsis]

I decided to pull the plant. I gently separated the moss from the sides of the pot and was able to lift it out. There were a few roots dangling, and they all seemed healthy. No trace of black spots anywhere. The moss below was slightly humid, but not wet (I had watered the plant with a drench about 3 days ago). I guess I'm doing alright so far then?

[Gage]

Originally Posted by cythaenopsis

I decided to pull the plant. I gently separated the moss from the sides of the pot and was able to lift it out. There were a few roots dangling, and they all seemed healthy. No trace of black spots anywhere. The moss below was slightly humid, but not wet (I had watered the plant with a drench about 3 days ago).

Glad to hear the roots aren't rotted! Whatever your pot/medium combo, I would go for something that will be bone dry in 3 days or less. Maybe bone dry two days after watering, and then let it sit another day before watering again on the 3rd day. Again, just my 2 cents. Definitely take everyone's advice into consideration, but don't forget to listen to your gut.

[cythaenopsis]

Thanks, Gage. Yeah, I think I'll continue with the sphag for now... but I do plan to switch to a bark mix when the plant matures a little more.

I have no experience growing an Encyclia and there appears to be a range of opinions about them on various websites. I see plenty of info about optimal conditions and preferred humidity, but not much at all about how they grow... what to expect as a plant matures from seedling into a few years. The leaves that are present do seem healthy and several are showing larger pseudobulbs than when I first got the plant. So, at least something is going right so far...

[gnathaniel]

You may want to look up some habitat info for the species (the Bakers' culture sheets are great for this) to see how your temperature, moisture, and light compare to wild conditions. Daily and seasonal cycles are often very important but can be hard to figure out without access to habitat data.

I also find that some plants just 'sulk' for a while when brought into a new space, especially when going from a greenhouse to a windowsill (which is primarily where I grow). The time of year can affect this, and sometimes they just need extra time to acclimate and get back on a normal growth cycle.

Your plant looks and sounds healthy, though, and your current watering regime seems to be suiting it fine so I'd say you're on the right track. A couple of things I've found to give seedlings a boost are more air movement (be careful not to dry the plant out too much) and bottom heat from a seed-starting heat mat. Hope this helps!

--Nat

[Gage]

I'm no Encylia expert. But I do know that our native Encyclia tampensis has a MAJOR winter rest with only occasional rain, LOTS of air movement, and LOTS of sun (full sun in many cases).

[cythaenopsis]

^ Good to know that! So, should I back off on the water a bit more as the plant enters into the winter season, even though it's a seedling?

Nat, I will pay more attention to air flow. I've been giving the plant more sun since about a month ago, as I was originally treating it more like a phal. It now gets good full sun for 2/3 of the day, without overheating. I was closing the window at night, but perhaps it would be good to have it on it's own window for nighttime breezes, at least until the temps drop below 50F.

Also, I haven't been using any fertilizer. I had originally bought an Orchid designated one by Miracle Gro, but learned from board members that it isn't very good (something about the nitrogen delivery). Should I avoid any fertilizer during the winter, then later introduce it in the spring?