Encyclia/Euchile citrina

[Hugorchids]

first bloom this year...smells great on warmer days

[tuvoc]

Cool.

Kim

[bellini girl]

Awesome. Good growing

[WhiteRabbit]

Awesome!

[isurus79]

Good growing!!

[james mickelso]

(Sigh!) So pretty and fragrant. I used to be able to grow them down in San Diego but up here in Oceanside I can't keep them going. Don't know why. I've bought a bunch and they just slowly die. Very humbling for someone who prides himself on being able to rescue and grow nearly everything. Yours is very nice. (Sigh!)

[Hugorchids]

hi James, how cold does Oceanside get during winter?
These guys need a cool dry spell during winter. I think the trick is to keep humidity steady but during winter months but keep them on the dry side. when there is new root growth start watering. during active growth you can water them daily (assuming you mounted it)

[james mickelso]

It has the same environment that San Diego has. Just 30 miles north on the beach. I am going to try again when I get up to Santa Barbara Orchid Estates who sells them here in SoCal. I am going to try growing them on one of my rescue boards. I always grew them mounted. In SD they grew like a weed. Here they slowly wither and die. Don't know why. I might try watering them differently than my other mounts. I like to experiment.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

It has the same environment that San Diego has. Just 30 miles north on the beach. I am going to try again when I get up to Santa Barbara Orchid Estates who sells them here in SoCal. I am going to try growing them on one of my rescue boards. I always grew them mounted. In SD they grew like a weed. Here they slowly wither and die. Don't know why. I might try watering them differently than my other mounts. I like to experiment.

I also like to experiment and follow other people's experiments. Be sure to post what happens when you get one of these! It would be interesting to see what the difference between SD and your current location is in terms of growing this species.

[james mickelso]

Hi Steve, not much difference between here and SD. Both domiciles were at the beach, water had around 200-350 ppm as calcium carbonate, temps and humidity the same as well as light. So I am puzzled. These are from Mexico to central America in lowland oak forests which are hot and dry with winters cooler and more moist. High light levels. The fragrance is intoxicatingly citrusy. In my GH down in SD it would fill it with fragrance which could be smelled out on the adjacent sidewalk. At times I would have two to three blossoms on it. Pale blue/green with this bright butter yellow flowers hanging down. Very striking. I'll be going up to SBOE soon. I also know Andy's Orchids grow them and they are gorgeous. A little steep for me though. I'll keep you informed. You could grow these easily in Tejas.