Eulophia petersii

[avian]

Was surprised to see a few of these on sale at the Cactus and Succulent Society of America show and sale which is going on this weekend at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA.

Any recommendations regarding care? Was told that it's a very hardy plant and deals well with extreme temps. Only two pseudobulbs and looks like it has bloomed previously.

Read that it should be watered every two weeks in the summer and then give it a winter rest so that it will flower.

[estación seca]

We probably have the same clone. Mine is in flower now. If you search OB using the name plus my username you will find suggestions I have given.

Eulophia is related to Cymbidium. Their roots are identical: large, white, spongy and extensive. Spikes and leaves are attached to pseudobulbs similarly. This gives a clue to their care. Eulophia petersii is a terrestrial plant growing in habitat between rocks in soil, not in leaf litter.

C&S people don't grow it well because they keep it in tiny pots and don't water enough. Many complain it hardly grows and never flowers. It is succulent to survive a long, warm and dry winter. But it wants a big pot, a wet summer and lots of fertilizer. If given these it fills a pot rapidly and flowers reliably. It should be constantly pushing 2 growths per pseudobulb all summer. I get 3-4 generations of pseudobulbs per summer but it's often hot here from March to November.

You probably bought it in a 3.25" / 8.25cm square pot in pumice. You should move it to at least a 1 gallon pot or larger. Very much larger is better; the bigger the root system the faster the plant grows. They do very well in low, wide dish type containers. I use a 50:50 mix of local decomposed granite soil and perlite. I keep mine moist to soggy wet all summer. I water it every day when temperatures are over about 100 F / 38C. Like other orchids don't let it dry out during its growing season, or it will stop growing. I fertilize with ammonium sulfate 1 Tablespoon / 15ml granules per gallon / 3.78 liters of water once a week. My local soil plus tap water has all necessary nutrients other than nitrogen. If I were using pure pumice or other inorganic medium I would use the same quantity of 20-20-20 with micronutrients. Tap water is fine for grassland terrestrials; don't waste pure water on them. Without heavy fertilizing they don't bloom.

Give it as much light as possible. It probably takes full sun in coastal California but you will need to move it slowly. I think most Californians use 40%-60% shade cloth for it. That's too shady. The tight succulent look comes from high light, not water starvation.

In winter keep it dry and give as much light as possible.

Here it is in spike. I'm on my phone so I can't rotate it properly. The dish is about 16" / 40cm diameter. It's making 4 new growths. My old plant froze a few years back so I'm restarting. It completely filled this dish.

[stonedragonfarms]

Estacion, how cold do you let it get in the winter [ie will it tolerate a cold or alpine greenhouse?]

[estación seca]

It is fine above freezing, 32 F / 0C. I lost mine when I was out of town and we had an unexpected freeze.

[avian]

Thanks for the information, Estacion.
It came in a 1 gallon pot. Looks like a mixture of pumice and some kind of soil mix. Was going to put it in the shade first and let it get acclimated and then move it under 40% shade cloth. I'm hesitant about putting it in full sun with little to no relief. I'm assuming it was in a greenhouse at the Huntington.

Will probably water daily but will depend on how moist it remains after watering. I have 20-20-20 Grow More and was going to use that for fertilizing.

How long is the spike? One vendor told me that it can get as long as 6 feet although Huntington "expert" (mainly for succulents) told me that the spikes are generally about 4 feet long.

How deep is the dish you are using?

[Roberta]

I have it growing in pure gravel (1/4 inch) and it's doing fine. Last winter I didn't move it away from the sprinklers so it got watered, and it is growing better than ever. I have also given it some time-release fertilizer (which will last through the warm weather) The gravel, of course, drains very well. It has bloomed once, 4 feet sounds about like what I got, but I have seen these in shows with much longer spikes. They grow slowly. Full sun. Its growth habit is more like "cactus" than "orchid". At the Huntington it probably grew outside. Winter lows to near freezing should not be a problem... if very cold weather is forecast, definitely keep dry. (When we get temps down to freezing they don't stay that low very long, and days warm up even when winter nights are cold) I have lived inland fairly close to where you live, and have never seen frost be prolonged enough to hurt Eulophia petersii, if it is dry.

[estación seca]

My spike is 41"/104cm long, with a few inches yet to extend.

With 2 pseudobulbs I would leave yours in that mix in that pot until it's almost outgrowing the pot. You could anticipate moving it next spring. That will give you time to pick a container and potting mix you like. If you have access to pumice it's an excellent choice. I chose perlite because my container is so large, and pumice would have made it even heavier.

My container is stoneware glazed on the outside, 16"/40cm in diameter and 13"/33cm deep. The potting mix is 10"/25cm deep. The previous plant completely filled this pot with roots.

I chose the container based on the largest container/plant I'd be able to pick up because I eventually want to take it into a show or judging. Most people would not be able to pick this up.

I'll reiterate this doesn't begin growing until it's sensed plenty of water for a good while. Once it begins growing it will keep growing so long as it's warm and it gets water. If you let it get dry in summer it will mature current growths and stop growing. After this it will not grow for some time, weeks to months, even if you water again. By that time it's probably Fall. So don't let it dry out all summer. I can't talk the cactus people into doing this. They have a fear of overwatering.

[avian]

Thanks again for the advice. I'm making sure that it gets enough water and does not dry out.
I have plenty of pumice. I use that for some of my orchids as well as cacti and succulents. There's a local store here where one can purchase large bags at reasonable prices.
Wish they carried Orchiata. I'm running out of that.

[estación seca]

Sunset Valley Orchids in Vista sells Kiwi Bark.

[Roberta]

Yamada in Gardena carries Orchiata (that's where I get mine) I don't know of anybody closer to you. But even with the price of gas, cheaper than shipping cost of online purchase.