The Green Hornet orchid (Prosthechea cochleata, formerly Encyclia cochleata ( this is how my plant was tagged ), Anacheilium cochleatum, and Epidendrum cochleatum) is a medium sized orchid that grows faster than other types of orchids. The green and black blooms are octopus-like and are attractive when in full bloom even if the fragrance this time is less. I find this orchid ideal for indoors windowsill growing when I was still a newbie.
Green hornet orchid requires a lot of moisture at the roots, especially during flowering seasons. I have neglected this last spring so I got the edges of the leaves browning. When the pseudo bulbs (swelling at the base of the orchid's stem where the nutrients and water are stored) grow bigger, I gradually decrease watering. In the height of summer I water every other day.
I relocated this to indirect sunlight on the east facing window where it gets morning sun, not the hot afternoon sun.
I feed it K-lite fertilizer with seaweed mix weakly weekly during spring until early fall. When late fall sets in, lighter fertilizing once a month is enough to sustain its nutritional needs until the end of winter.
This needs repotting after the blooms are gone. I will soak the plant at the roots with luke-warm water from the sink for about 10 minutes to protect the roots from any damage. I plan to use a wooden basket this time, since I want to grow the plant for several years to come. This is in clay pebbles at the moment but I will be using well -drained potting medium of coarse bark, lava rocks, pieces of broken clay, tree fern shards, and hardwood charcoal. I will divide the plant and remove all dead roots from the divisions, then put them aside to allow new roots to emerge. After repotting, I will water and fertilize the plants as usual….and place the repotted plant under slightly lower light for a couple of weeks.
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