New Encyclia Tampensis Dying Pseudobulbs

[FL_Orchid_Collector]

I got one from Andy's and it doesn't look great either, it lost the smallest of three leaves, which was yellow, on arrival and I haven't seen any growth in the month I've had it EXCEPT it has been expanding roots a lot and it's one of the thirstiest orchids I care for - I don't know WHERE the water is going, except just to make new roots?

I'm kicking myself too, I saw a strange white thing today on the mount that I thought looked like some kind of fungus and I pulled it, not recognizing what I was looking at, it felt squishy and a little papery, and as I pulled I realized it was attached to the pseudobulbs and was actually a strange root. I had damaged it a lot but there's at least one new actively growing root still. The roots it came with were thin, stringy, and bright green, these new ones are white and fluffy is the best way I can describe them, almost like the dry velamen on a dead root. I can't believe what I did, I may have destroyed half the growth of the past month and when it was already stressed from re-mounting. Can anyone who knows Encyclia tampensis confirm whether those are normal, healthy roots?

To OP, maybe we can compare notes on how our Encyclias fare, but I'm not necessarily trying to flower this, really I want to stick divisions in trees around here and see if they grow.

[Roberta]

A reminder... orchids grow slowly. A month is nothing in the life or progress of an orchid. See what it does over the course of a year or so, and when it does it... different orchids have different cycles. To learn about your orchids you need to first learn how to observe. Don't cut stuff, don't rush to unpot... see what the plant does. In time you will learn what is and is not normal. You can't short-circuit the learning process. Sorry, orchid-growing usually does not favor instant gratification.

[SG in CR]

I don't have E. tampensis, but I do have E. ceratistes and E. stellata growing wild on my property. They seem to be fairly closely related. I've brought some pretty rough looking ones back to house and they've all recovered pretty well.
From what I've noticed is they don't like to be wet for extended periods of time but can handle weeks without rain without much of a problem. So best to err on the dry side, especially if rot is a concern. They can handle full sun thought they are happiest with very bright indirect light. I don't see these species at higher elevations much. I think they have a strong preference for warm to hot temps. If they are looking rough but not sending out any new growth, be patient. They have a specific time of year when they produce new growth and even under good conditions they will wait till that time of year to do so. I've had a few that I though I was going to lose because I tied them to a branch and for nearly a year they did nothing, then out of nowhere they decided to make a new growth that was accompanied by very vigorous root growth.