Encyclia altissima

[Dallasgarden]

I bought this via online a year ago and what was delivered is a very small pb mounted on some bark. This spring the two old pb's dropped their leaves and now I only have the one new pb with a 7 inch leaf on it. The roots are very exposed and although seem alive there is no new growth. I water daily but it hangs under a yaupon in my yard and dries quickly. Does anyone have experience growing this guy in hot climates like Dallas Texas? It now has 7 small pbs (all firm) and only one with green leaves...any help would be appreciated.

[Dallasgarden]

Just kidding. Surely someone has experience with this plant!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

If the pb are full and firm, then it is getting plenty of water. Do you think a bug or something may be eating the leaves? If it is growing pbs and roots, it should grow leaves as well.

Cheers,
BD

[Dallasgarden]

Brutal Dreamer,
It did grow two new pb bulbs last summer but the entire plant is extremely small. The bulbs are about half the size of a dime! I don't know if someone sold me an extremely young plant or if this plant is a miniature. I haven't lost roots, but I don't see any new green growth...I wonder if it's drying out to fast.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Brutal Dreamer,
It did grow two new pb bulbs last summer but the entire plant is extremely small. The bulbs are about half the size of a dime! I don't know if someone sold me an extremely young plant or if this plant is a miniature. I haven't lost roots, but I don't see any new green growth...I wonder if it's drying out to fast.

Maybe that is the issue. Try putting some sphag around the roots -not tight, but to block some of the light and hold moisture a few hours longer. Adjust your watering schedule so that it doesn't stay wet overnight. Good luck, man. --Hey, post up a photo of this one. Maybe we will see something that could help identify the problem.

Cheers,
BD

[Dallasgarden]

BD,
Here is the best picture I could take of it. The roots look dark because I use fish emulsion from my pond to water them and pieces of the algae sometimes stick. I'm kind of embarrassed to post this picture, but really the plant didn't look any better when I got it...although it had two leaves. It came from Florida so perhaps you're correct that I should tie some moss around to retain more moisture....we've got dry air in Dallas. Everything I read says that these encyclias are large but this one isn't...the newer bulbs are in back and look smaller than last year's growth...

[Lambert]

E Altissima, it is a VERY slow grower. they need very low humidity during the day, bright light, good air circulation and VERY LITTLE water with temperatures ranging from warm to hot. Your plant looks like a really young plant. I have e inaguensis, also from Turks & Caicos islands and it likes it really dry, I have realized that too much moisture could send it downhill very quickly. From what I know, E Altissima likes it even drier than that!

[Dallasgarden]

Lambert,
Sounds like a perfect plant for Dallas!
I usually keep it hanging under a Yaupon Holly. It is up hight where it gets bright filtered light. I spray it in the morning to make sure it dries through the day....here, in Texas, things dry quickly (today it's 90 degrees and at night it only drops into the 70's) Do you think I should add some moss or just be patient?

[0rch1dman]

I am totally a newbie, but I have to say, as a botanist, that it must be hard for that plant to photosynthesize without leaves. The bulbs and roots do not appear to contain chlorophyll. That being said, plants are amazingly resilient and often bounce back from the worst of conditions.

[Dallasgarden]

Actually, there is one leaf on there! But really, bulbs contain energy and some backbulbs actually set off new growth...it's usually a slow process but they can. This particular plant only had two leaves when I got it. It grew a new one last summer and dropped the two old ones over winter.