Epi care and cultivation

[Vivienne]

Hi everyone

I picked up my first ever Epi yesterday. Would love to hear opinions... is this a candidate for cutting and mounting (to increase my stock)? Is it better left as it is? The one stem has lots of aerial roots.

Epi. Hokulea

[fred]

cutting please dont cut this plant its awesome

In time your plant will grow kieki,s when the kiki,s grow roots you will be able to take them off and mount them or put into a pot.

your Epi is also known as a crucifix orchid due to the flowers looking like a crucifix cross.

thank you for the pic






just 2 of my Epi,s to show you

[Vivienne]

Thanks Fred - it is pretty awesome so I'll leave it as is and await some keikis. Good advice!!

You're the best!

[fred]

you can see with the pics i have posted that i have not taken any of the kieki,s off.

I find Epi,s an easy orchid to grow.

[BillC]

Vivienne, saw this and thought of you :

Epi. Hokulea 'Lava Flow' The nice new red clusters are now flowering at about two meters height. The plant stands next to the sliding door, ...
www.kammlott.net/April02.html - 10k - Cached - Similar pages

I wonder if it will get to two meters while it is mounted? Looks so pretty just the way it is. Bill

[Vivienne]

WOW WOW WOW! That would be a treat - 2 meters tall. But I don't think this wee bit of bark would sustain that. The roots are already going through the bark to the back.

Good thing the cieling in my atrium is 12 feet... plenty of room!

I have so many questions about this plant. Obviously the blooms come out the top of the stem. After it blooms what happens? Does it need new growth for more blooms or will it rebloom from the same stem? Does it grow a set of leaves, then rebloom? Should it be cut back after blooming?

DUH - I should go find a culture sheet. Silly me!

Thanks for sharing that pic BillC - how exciting!

[kmarch]

Vivienne,

You've givenme the biggest shock and then relief of the morning when you said you wanted to split your Epi () but then decided not to (Whew...).

I'm glad you decided to let it grow on. It will put up a new cane each year, more than 1 per year as it gets more mature, and after a copule of years you will end up with a nice clump and about half a dozen heads of flowers.

I once visited Andy's Orchids in San Deigo and he had hedges of these growing around his property. They are stunning when allowed to growonto big clumps.

Enjoy it! it's a great little orchid!

[BillC]

Vivienne, saw this and thought of you again; you may be able to find something useful in the article. Bill

Epidendrums are one of the most rewarding orchids to grow. They can tolerate temperatures of extreme heat and go down to freezing as well as direct sunlight and general neglect and still reward their grower with lots of colorful blooms, often year-round. This is why they are referred to as the everblooming jewels of the garden. Reedstems account for only a few of the 1000 species in the epidendrum genus. They are distributed from Mexico through Brazil, occuring at elevations ranging from sea level up to 8000 feet and are usually growing terrestrially in a damp humus.

Light
This orchid likes bright filtered light, although it's been known to tolerate long periods of direct light. If your epidendrum isn't blooming it likely needs more light. if the plant's foliage is truning red, you may want to give it less sun.
Temperature
Day temperatures on the 70's and 80's (F) are perfect but even higher temperaturesc up to and over100º are not harmful. Night temperatures down to 32ºF are fine.

Water
Watering, like with all other orchids, is done as needed. Under our conditions watering once a week with occasional wetting down during warm times is sufficient. To determine the best time to water, simply lift the pot and note the weight; you want to water the day before the plant would be completely dry.

Fertilizer
Regular feeding promotes good growth. Use a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 7-9-5 or one a little higher in nitrogen (10-5-5). A yearly application of a slow release fertilizer suchas Osmocote is a convenient way to fertilize.

Repotting
We pot our epi's in plastic pots using fine fir bark. Clay pots also work. Many people grow them successfully in the ground with well-draining soil.

SANTA BARBARA ORCHID ESTATE
1250 Orchid Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93111 +++ 1-805-967-1284 +++ www.sborchid.com

[Vivienne]

Thanks BillC - I'm really looking forward to my future with this epi. Might have to add a few more to my collection. shhh don't tell the kids. They think I have enough.

[fred]

there are nice colours i have a red, white, mauve and a yellow.

dont worry about the kids.

go girl