Epi. Mabel Khanda 'Miyao' x Enc. randii

[ambersartain]

Mine is also very purplish. Does that mean anything?

[gixrj18]

Originally Posted by ambersartain

Mine is also very purplish. Does that mean anything?

Nope, it's normal. This species of Encyclia has a reddish-purple tint on the bulbs and leaves. I had theses same light problems until I built my greenhouse. Now everything blooms, even after the neglect they went through this winter. Starting a new business sure does take time away from the 'chids. They have, however, remained faithful bloomers....so I'm gonna make it up to them in the spring.

[ambersartain]

Do you think if I got high output lighting and humidity trays that would help? I kind of don't want to get too bright with the lighting because I keep them in my room, but I'm not there most of the day so I guess it would be okay. And humidity trays don't seem too bad expensive. The only thing is I'm living with my grandparents and they're not too crazy about me using part of their room for plant keeping in the first place. What about putting them outside in the summer? Or will it be too late to bloom then? And honestly, it gets pretty hot out here in summer. It's always either too hot or too cold. I put them out too fast last summer and they all got sunburned. Maybe I should just keep them inside? It's all so confusing.