Dummy's Encyclia Coch. question--all those bulbs?

15 years ago

I have had an Ency. (Pros.) cochleata for years and it is almost always in bloom. But once a pbulb has leafed and bloomed, well, there it is, forever idle, as new pbulbs appear. They don't really shrivel or look bad--they're fat and sassy I'd say--but they don't rebloom and the pot is getting bigger and bigger. Can I remove some of the bulbs next time I repot? Leafing bulbs are now appearing at either end of the clump, with the retired bulbs in between. How would I divide it?

(Obviously most of my experience has been with Paphs and Phals that don't do the bulb thing ;) .

Charlie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

richardol
15 years ago
The pseudobulbs "of a certain age" (don't call them old) are still important members of the family.

Take the whole plant out of the pot and give it a spa treatment, a nice room temperature bath with a LITTLE mild dish soap. Remove all the brown leaves and any squishy roots. Do this cleanup before doing any dividing.

Look the plant over and be sure you know what is connected to what. If you cut without knowing this you could end up with a single unattached bulb. I speak from experience.

Count from the newest growth and see if you can find groups of at least three and less than six pseudobulbs. Only after you have identified all the groupings do you do any cutting.

Repot so that there is room for two years growth, with old growth at the edge of the pot and the new growth near the middle. Use the smallest pot that allows this. Use the same medium as the plant was in before since it seems to like that.

There you go. Two (or more) plants. Keep the nicest one as your collection plant and trade the others.

Good luck.
chopster01
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, Richard. Sounds easy.

Oh, and by the way, I got the meter you suggested and it works just fine.