Encyclia...potting Media??

[fisx]

I have a bunch of species and hybrid Encyclias growing in my small greenhouse here in Northern Wyoming. I have experimented with a lot of different mediums and mounts and here is what works best for me. The winner is tree fern fiber pots. My best specimen size plants [E. alata, cordigera, bractesens, parviflora, oncidioides, diurna, ambigua, and others] all thrive in these. With my misting system mounts work OK too but don't seem to produce as many new growths. Encyclias don't seem too be fussy about any medium as long as is is extremely free draining. Net pots work well filled with 1/3 coco husk, 1/3 diatomite, 1/3 tree fern fiber. The only potential downside to these mediums is that they require frequent watering: as often as daily in the summer. Like all epiphytic orchids soggy mediums quickly kill Encyclias.

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[Ray]

LECA = lightweight expanded clay aggregate

Non-s/h. Just a regular plastic flower pot with lots of air flow. I have also grow encyclias in s/h culture.

[Don Perusse]

As they say, "whatever works for you" but we all like to know a starting point. I have two: 1)Encyclia Randii which is mounted on a tree fern block then placed in a hanging wooden basket. I agree with the quick drying out approach. 2)Encyclia Nursery Rhyme which is in a clay pot with coconut chips, little charcoal, & perlite. Both are doing very well and both are regular bloomers.

[Ross]

I found Encyclia likes to be mounted or in some situation like Ray says will allow the roots to totally dry out overnight. I have two different Encyclias (tampensis species and a hybrid) that I have experimented with. The plants that have been in coarse bark in a pot did ok, but not great. The ones mounted directly to a slab of bark (I use Southern Live Oak) take right off and grow great for instance: This is a well-established plant on oak bark.

[Spider]

I have an Encyclia cordigera semialba thats growing well in a mixture of epiweb and coconut chips. It is sitting in a thick clay pot with big holes.

[GreggC]

I just use medium bark, and my 'Nursery Rhyme' is doing very well.

[euplusia]

More info here:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cordigera.html

[silken]

I have Encyclia cordigera and I potted it similar to all my Catts, which is in a clear pot in medium bark. I let it be pretty much dry before I re-water. Thru the clear pot I can see a lot of long healthy roots.

[Tsuchibuta]

I've had great luck growing them in medium/large coco husk chips with a bit of charcoal. Once I over watered during spring and the bulbs swelled so much they split on me (4 different plants too...) They still are growing fine, just have a bit of cosmetic damage.

[orchidsamore]

I grow hundreds of Encyclia, they are some of my favorites.

What to pot them in is the wrong question, how to pot them and 'why' is more important.

First the 'WHY'. Encyclia like to grow dryer than standard Cattleya even though they are in the Cattleya alliance. They tend to have shallow roots so a normal pot can cause problems.

Most of the answers in this tread fit into these two 'WHYs'.

LECA works well because it is a dryer mix and the plant can grow on top even with shallow roots.

Tree fern is excellent for the same reasons.

Mounting is good for any orchid and since it is dry and roots grow outside the medium. When mounting an Encyclia do not use moss or use very little moss. mounting is my favorite medium because it looks so good and natural

All the other mediums mentioned will work, but do not make it too deep as the medium will not fry out at the bottom.

For young plants and seedlings, sphagnum is OK as seedlings need to be wetter than an adult plant until the pseudobulbs get large and firm.