Eulophia speciosa is native to the tropical eastern Africa, extending far south to the Cape Province in South Africa. In South Africa, these plants are found in the following provinces: Southern and Eastern Cape, Transkei, Natal, Swaziland and Eastern Transvaal...
Eulophia speciosa also called as The Beautiful Eulophia, Cymbidium giganteum, Cyrtopera gigantea, Epidendrum giganteum, Eulophia austrooccidentalis, Eulophia brevisepala, Eulophia caloptera, Eulophia coutreziana, Eulophia dispersa, Eulophia granitica, Eulophia homblei, Eulophia leucantha, Eulophia sapinii, Eulophia speciosa var. culveri, Eulophia volkensii, Eulophia wakefieldii, Limodorum giganteum, Lissochilus brevisepalus, Lissochilus calopterus, Lissochilus disperses, Lissochilus graniticus, Lissochilus hereroensis, Lissochilus homblei, Lissochilus leucanthus, Lissochilus rendlei, Lissochilus sapinii, Lissochilus speciosus, Lissochilus volkensii, Lissochilus wakefieldii, Satyrium giganteum, is a species of the genus Eulophia. This species was described by Harry Bolus in 1889.
IDENTIFY EULOPHIA SPECIOSA
Eulophia speciosa is native to the tropical eastern Africa, extending far south to the Cape Province in South Africa. In South Africa, these plants are found in the following provinces: Southern and Eastern Cape, Transkei, Natal, Swaziland and Eastern Transvaal. They usually grow in old, still sands, coastal podzolic soils, in reddish to light-brown sands, clays and lateritic soils. They form local colonies of up to 50 plants in open, rather sheltered places in coastal bushes, in valleys covered with steppe bushes, among barbed bushes of low steppe vegetation and grassy mountains inland. These plants occur at altitudes from sea level up to 1000 m.
It is a large to giant sized, hot to cool growing terrestrial, which reaching 40-90 cm in height, with chains of irregular shaped, underground, up to 60 cm long pseudobulbs and carrying 3 to 6, arising after or with the flowers, fleshy to succulent, conduplicate, up to 100 cm long leaves.
The Beautiful Eulophia blooms in the late spring and early summer on a very long, 10 to 30 flowered inflorescence with very long lasting, fragrant flowers. The flowers are 2.5-3.6 cm in diameter, green petals of the outer whorl, bright yellow petals of the inner whorl and a yellow lip, which has whitish side plots, and in the middle of red spots and lines. The small petals of the outer whorl are approx. 0.8 cm long and 0.3-0.4 cm wide. The inner whorls are much larger, spaced, and up to 1.8 cm long and 1.6 cm wide. The lip is almost as long as the petals of the inner whorl. The straight, visible rod is approx. 0.6 cm long.
EULOPHIA SPECIOSA CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Eulophia speciosa needs a light level of 20000-35000 lux. The plants adapt to light conditions, but the light should be dispersed. If they grow at a high level of light, make sure that the leaves do not burn. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time.
Temperature:
It is a plant with moderate thermal requirements. The average temperature in summer is 24-26 ° C and at night 14-16 ° C, which gives a daily difference of 10-11 ° C. In winter the average day temperature is 17-18 ° C, night 8 ° C, with a daily amplitude of 9-11 ° C.
Humidity:
The Beautiful Eulophia needs the humidity of 75-80% for most of the year, in the dry season it drops to 60-65% in the dry season.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Eulophia speciosa are usually grown in pots filled with an exceptionally loose substrate. This is especially important because these plants do not tolerate the damp ground around the roots. The substrate consists of 1 part of oily clay, 1 part of well-fermented manure, 1/2 part of cut osmunda fern fibers and 1/2 part cut by woody fern. Some also recommend the addition in various amounts of pine bark, compost, high peat, perlite, coarse sand, pumice and charcoal. The composition of the substrate should be determined by everyone cultivating these plants depending on the growing conditions and the possibilities of watering. Due to the fact that these plants do not tolerate degraded substrate, they should be repotted before the substrate begins to decompose.
Watering:
Rainfall is low to moderate throughout the year. The dry season lasts from late spring until the beginning of autumn. The cultivated plants should be strongly watered during active growth, but the substrate must quickly drain water and dry between watering. When new growths mature and flowering is completed, the amount of water should be reduced. Another reduction in its quantity occurs when the leaves change color and fall.
Fertilizer:
During the period of strong growth, the plants should be fertilized every week with 1/4-1/2 of the recommended dose of fertilizer for orchids. Many growers recommend using in autumn (when the growth slows down and new growths have reached maturity) a fertilizer with a reduced nitrogen content and increased amount of potassium. This results in stimulation for better flowering in the next season and promotes hardening of new growths before the resting period.
To avoid the accumulation of mineral deposits during periods of strong fertilization, it is recommended to rinse the containers approximately every month. Rinsing is particularly important where the water is highly mineralized. First, normally, the plant should be watered to dissolve the accumulated salts, and after about an hour, rinse the substrate with water equal to twice the volume of the container.
Rest period:
Although in the winter the precipitation in the natural habitat is relatively large, the Eulophia speciosa should be grown only occasionally and keep the plant dry until new growth appears. Fertilization should be eliminated until spring, when more frequent watering is resumed.
First of all I would like to thank you for your very informative blogs. Where I have not been able to find info on certain orchids, you are usually have it and are my go to every time. You are very thorough. I do have a question on watering E. speciosa, and the rest period. If the dry season that lasts from late spring until the beginning of autumn, and fall is the rest period, is the growing season spring to fall? and even though is the dry season it should be thoroughly watered, correct?
ReplyDeleteIn South Africa, the rainy season is in the summer which is November through to March. It getting quite cold in winter (May-August). It's pleasantly warm and sunny in spring and autumn, and often hot in summer (November to March) with frequent rains to cool things down.
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