Epicattleya care?

[arleneg]

Last month, I bought an Epicattleya. Is the care for this the same as cattleyas?

TIA

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I need to know if this is a Cattleya crossed with an Encyclia or an Epidendrum. Encyclias used to be called Epidendrum and the hybrids with Encyclias are still being call Epicats. Is this a reedstemmed orchid, or a compact bulbus plant? Cynthia

[arleneg]

Cynthia, the label has Epc. So I looked it up and learned it stands for Epicattleya. It's a reed-stemmed orchid.

Btw, thanks for the tidbit on Cycnoches.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Good. I particularly like reedstemmed orchids. Reedstemmed Epis can take a great deal of water and the first generation hybrids with Epis generally take on all the same cultural needs: Very high light (more than Cattleyas will make them grow shorter), moist at the roots. Epis can take a wide temperature range,but you may not want to let the hybrid get quite as cold as the wild Epis, which can take a little frost. The biggest difference between the pure Epi and the Epicatts is that pure epis have no blooming season and can be in bloom all the time. Epicatts have a distinct bloom season, which is the down side to this cross. Hopefully tho, you will have bigger flowers to make up for the downside. Do you have a name from the label? I would like to see if I can look up the parentage. Cynthia

[arleneg]

It's Epc. Haiku Twinkle 'Red Elf'.

During the heatwave a few weeks ago, I was watering my orchids every other day. Now that the weather is back to normal, or close it, I've been watering them every 2-3 days. Should I water the Epicat more often?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

OK, this is really interesting. Your hybrid is really an Eplc. It is LC Trick or Treat crossed with Epi ilense. Trick or Treat is a plant with small orange flowers and was/is a very popular hybrid. But ilense is a very unusually Epidendrum. It looks like a common, but not overly tall, reedstemmed Epidendrum, but carries its blooms on a dangling spike. It looks like flowers hanging on the end of a fishing pole with a foot or two of fishing line out. I have never grown ilense, so I can't be sure if it is like most other reedstems in culture. My best guess is to water your plant about like a Phalaenopsis or just a little bit oftener. You might want to look on the internet for the cultural requirements of Epidendrum ilense. Cynthia

[arleneg]

Cynthia, thank you for looking that up and sharing a bit more info. I will surely look up on Epidendrum Ilense.