New to the world of Epidendrums

[Julia]

Hi I just recieved some Epidendrums from a lady I know who has LOTS of them and need to know how do I grow them??? She had some in a bucket of water doing great and then some in planters with bark and stakes. I recently put them in containers and watered them let sit for 2 hrs and drained water out, which is what another friend of mine said to do BUT the roots look like they are drying and shriveling up so I put more water in them. We live in Pala, California and it gets really hot here and really cold (snow on mountains surrounding us during the winter season, we get about 23 degrees and summer get about 110. I have misted the leaves because they looked dusty (another feature we live with dust and dirt lol)
Any and all advice I get wil be appreciated I have a pink, red and purple anyway that is what I was told they haven't bloomed yet lol

Thank you in advance and I am glad I found this site
Julia

[JoeW]

Julia, welcome to OrchidTalk!!

Well, when it comes to Epidendrums, truely, it all depends. Do you know what kind you have? There are over 1000 species. These may be epiphytic, terrestrial or lithophytic. So, it is difficult to make generalizations. (For me anyway). There are a lot of experts like Gin and Orchid-man, here on the Forum who can do better, especially if you can post a picture of the orchid. Joe

[Ron-NY]

welcome Julia...yes it all depends on what you have but by your color descriptions I suspect you may have reed-stem Epidendrums. If you could post a pic of the plants we will try to assist.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I'll just add a 'Hi Julia' as well and await a photo. Welcome.

Cheers,
BD

[bench72]

Hi Julia, Welcome to Orchidtalk.

If you have the reed stemmed epidendrums, they are pretty hardy. Are you growing them indoors or outside in the garden?

If the roots are drying too fast, you can mist them as well.

By the way, what kind of potting mix have you used to pot them in the containers?