Encyclia tampensis - Florida Butterfly Orchid flowers are fragrant with a sweet honey scent, green, yellow, or brown, often suffused with purple...
Encyclia tampensis, also called as Florida Butterfly Orchid, Tampa Encyclia, Encyclia tampensis f. albolabia, Epidendrum tampense, Epidendrum tampense var. albolabium, is a species in the genus Encyclia. This species was described by John Kunkel Small in 1913.
DESCRIPTION OF ENCYCLIA TAMPENSIS - FLORIDA BUTTERFLY ORCHID
Encyclia tampensis is native to Florida to Bahamas. It is foudn growing on southern live oaks but also on pond apples, mangroves, Bald Cypress, pines and palms in tropical hardwood hammocks and along rivers at elevations of 0-100 meters above sea level.
It is a small to medium sized, hot growing epiphyte which reaching to 50 cm tall with elliptic to ovoid, 1-7 cm long by 1-2.5 cm i diameter, dark green pseudobulbs that are enveloped by scarious sheaths. The leaves are 1-3, apical, spreading, coriaceous, rigid, linear-lanceolate, acute, 8-40 cm long by 0.5-2 cm wide.
Florida Butterfly Orchid blooms in late spring to early summer from the apical, 10-80 cm long, simple or paniculate, 3-45-flowered inflorescence that is longer than the leaves. The flowers are 3.5-4 cm in diameter, fragrant with a sweet honey scent starting about noon and peaking in early afternoon. Sepals and petals are green, yellow, or brown, often suffused with purple. The lip is white, deeply 3-lobed, middle lobe usually with large purple spot, lateral lobes purple-veined. The anthers are yellow.
ENCYCLIA TAMPENSIS - FLORIDA BUTTERFLY ORCHID 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:
Encyclia tampensis needs a light level of 20000-30000 lux. The light should be filtered or diffused and the plants should not be exposed to direct midday sun. Strong air movement should be provided all the time.
Temperature:
In summer, the average day temperature is 27-30 °C, and the night 17-19 °C, with a daily amplitude of 8-10 °C. In winter the average daytime temperatures are 25-27 °C, and 16-18 °C during the night, while the daily amplitude is 8-11 °C.
Humidity:
Florida Butterfly Orchid needs the humidity of 80% in the period of growth, in winter and spring it falls to 60-70%. Too dry air has a negative effect on the development of the plant: its growth is inhibited, and the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out. The higher temperature, the higher the humidity should be, and the higher the humidity, the more often and longer it is necessary to ventilate the room where the plants are contained, otherwise the probability of rotting and various kinds of fungal diseases. Good air movement is essential while the plants are in leaf and growing.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Encyclia tampensis grow well mounted on pieces of tree fern or cork, but in summer this requires high humidity and daily watering. In the period of extremely hot and dry weather, fixed plants may require even several watering times a day.
However, since most growers find it too difficult to maintain sufficient moisture with this growing method, these plants are usually grown in pots using an airy, fast-drying substrate that contains substances such as perlite to keep moisture out and charcoal to keep it airy and prevent acidification. Plants should be repotted at the end of winter or early spring, when new root growth begins.
Watering:
The plants should be watered abundantly during active growth, but their roots must dry out quickly after watering. At the end of autumn, the amount of water should be gradually reduced.
Fertilizer:
Florida Butterfly Orchid should be fertilized every week 1/4-1/2 of the recommended dose of fertilizer for orchids. A fertilizer with a high nitrogen content is beneficial from spring to mid-summer, and a phosphorus-rich fertilizer can be used in late summer and autumn. Higher phosphorus content stimulates better flowering in the next season and promotes hardening of new growth before winter.
To avoid the accumulation of mineral deposits during periods of strong fertilization, it is recommended to rinse the containers approximately every month.
Rest period:
Encyclia tampensis grown in cool conditions should be kept relatively dry in winter, with occasional fogging between rare waterings. However, those grown in warmer conditions need more water and significant drying up between waterings. However, it must not be allowed keep them dry for a long time. Fertilization should be reduced or eliminated until new growths appear and watering begins more abundantly in the spring.
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