ORCHID SPECIES CULTURE
Charles and Margaret Baker

Encyclia prismatocarpa (Rchb. f.) Dressler

AKA: Epidendrum prismatocarpum Rchb. f. 

ORIGIN/HABITAT: Costa Rica and Panama. In Panama, plants are found in
Chiriquí Province at 3950-4450 ft. (1200-1360 m). 

CLIMATE: Station #78793, David, Panama, Lat. 8.4N, Long. 82.4W, at 89 ft.
(27 m).. Temperatures are calculated for an elevation of 4200 ft. (1280
m), resulting in probable extremes of 86F (30C) and 46F (8C). 

N/HEMISPHERE    JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC
F AVG MAX        77   79   80   79   76   74   74   74   74   72   73   74
F AVG MIN        53   54   55   58   57   57   57   57   56   56   56   55
DIURNAL RANGE    24   25   25   21   19   17   17   17   18   16   17   19
RAIN/INCHES     4.0  0.4  1.0  3.1 10.9 13.8 11.3 12.6 12.2 18.9 10.2  4.5
HUMIDITY/%       78   67   68   77   85   88   88   88   88   90   89   86
BLOOM SEASON    N/A
DAYS CLR @  7AM  13   13   18    9    2    2    1    1    1    0    1    6
DAYS CLR @  1PM   5    9   14    3    0    0    1    0    0    0    0    0
RAIN/MM         102   10   25   79  277  351  287  320  310  480  259  114
C AVG MAX      25.0 26.1 26.7 26.1 24.4 23.5 23.4 23.3 23.3 22.2 22.8 23.3
C AVG MIN      11.7 12.5 13.0 14.7 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.0
DIURNAL RANGE  13.3 13.6 13.7 11.4 10.3  9.4  9.3  9.2  9.7  8.6  9.2 10.3
S/HEMISPHERE    JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC  JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN

Cultural Recommendations: 

LIGHT: 2000-3000 fc. The moderately bright light should be dappled or
diffused. Plants should never be exposed to direct sun. Strong air
movement should be provided at all times. 

TEMPERATURES: Summer days average 74F (24C), and nights average 57F (14C),
with a diurnal range of 17F (9C). Spring is the warmest season when days
average 76-80F (24-27C), and nights average 55-58F (13-15C), with a
diurnal range of 19-25F (10-14C). 

HUMIDITY: 85-90% most of the year, dropping to near 70% in the late winter
dry season. 

WATER: Rainfall is moderate to heavy most of the year with a 2-month dry
season in late winter. Cultivated plants should be watered often while
they are actively growing, but they need to dry some between waterings.
Water should be gradually reduced after new growths mature in late autumn.

FERTILIZER: 1/4-1/2 recommended strength, applied weekly. A high-nitrogen
fertilizer is beneficial from spring to midsummer, but a high- phosphate
fertilizer should be used in late summer and autumn.

REST PERIOD: Winter days average 74-79F (23-26C), and nights average
53-55F (12-13C), with a diurnal range of 19-25F (10-14C). Rainfall is low
for about 2 months in winter, but high humidity and large diurnal
temperature range indicates that additional moisture is available from the
heavy dew. Cultivated plants need less in winter, and they should be
allowed to dry somewhat between waterings. Plants should never stay dry
for long periods, however. Fertilizer should be reduced or eliminated
until water is increased in spring. 

GROWING MEDIA: Plants may be mounted on tree-fern or cork slabs if
humidity is high and plants are watered at least once daily in summer.
Mounted plants may need several waterings a day during very hot, dry
weather. Because most growers find it difficult to keep mounted plants
moist enough, however, so the plants are usually grown in pots using an
open, fast draining medium which contains materials such as perlite that
retains some moisture and charcoal which holds the medium open and keeps
it from souring. Plants should be repotted in late winter or early spring
just as new root growth is starting.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: The bloom season in the habitat is summer and autumn.

Plant and Flower Information:

PLANT SIZE AND TYPE: A medium-sized, 20 in. (50 cm).

PSEUDOBULB: 6 in. (15 cm) long and up to 2 in. (5 cm) in diameter.
Pseudobulbs are narrowly ovoid, usually yellowish, and often taper
gradually above the middle to become very slender at the top. Growths may
be clustered or borne a short distance apart on the stout rhizome.

LEAVES: 5-13 in. (12-33 cm) long by about 2.5 in. (6.4 cm) wide. Each
growth carries 2-3 leathery, often yellow-green leaves at the apex of each
pseudobulb.

INFLORESCENCE: 6 in. (15 cm) long. An erect, few-to-many flowered raceme
emerges through a prominent sheath at the top of the most recently matured
pseudobulbs. 

FLOWERS: Few to many. Flowers may be loosely or densely spaced on each
inflorescence. They are about 2 in. (5 cm) across, fragrant, waxy, and
long lasting. The color is somewhat variable, but the sepals and petals
are usually sulfur-yellow with dark, sepia-brown or dull magenta spots.
The lip is may be any color from cream-yellow to rosy-red. The narrowly
lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate sepals are 0.9-1.7 in. (2.2-4.4 cm)
long by 0.1-0.2 in. (0.3-0.5 cm) wide. Near the apex, the sepals are
keeled on the back side. The sharply pointed, elliptic-linear to
lanceolate petals are 0.8-1.1 in. (2.0-2.8 cm) long by 0.1-0.2 in.
(0.3-0.5 cm) wide. They are spreading at the base but curve so that the
tips project forward on each side of the column. The 3-lobed lip, which is
not attached to the column except close to the base, is 0.7-1.0 in.
(1.8-2.5 cm) long by 0.3 in.(0.7-0.9 cm) wide. It has a central callus
that extends from the base of the lip almost to the apex. 

HYBRIDIZING NOTES: N/A. 

REFERENCES: 

Dressler, R. 1993. Field Guide to the orchids of Costa Rica and Panama.
Cornell University Press. New York. 

Hawkes, A. [1965] 1987. Encyclopaedia of cultivated orchids. Faber and
Faber, London. Dressler, R. 1993. Field Guide to the orchids of Costa Rica
and Panama. Cornell University Press. New York. 

Williams, L., and P. Allen. [1946-1949] 1980. Orchids of Panama.
Monographs in systematic botany, vol. 4. Missouri Botanical Garden, St.
Louis, Mo. Dressler, R. 1993. 

PHOTOS/DRAWINGS: 

Dressler, R. 1993. Field Guide to the orchids of Costa Rica and Panama.
Cornell University Press. New York. 


Copyright 1998, Charles O. Baker and Margaret L. Baker
Sheet version 42539118

.........................................................................
Please remember that this sheet is for your use only, and though it was
provided free of charge, it may not be reproduced or retransmitted in
any way without permission.
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 "Orchid Species Culture" Charles & Margaret Baker, Portland, Oregon USA

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