🌳 Habitat and Ecology
 
​Restrepia echo is a miniature, tufted epiphytic orchid native to the Andes of Ecuador. It is a cool-to-cold growing species, found in wet montane cloud forests at high elevations, typically ranging from 1,800 to 2,500 metres. This demanding habitat is characterized by constant moisture from mist and fog, low-to-moderate light, and very cool night temperatures. Like all Restrepia, it lacks pseudobulbs, relying on continuous atmospheric moisture.
 
​🌸 Description and Distinguishing Features
 
​This orchid is a miniature, caespitose (clump-forming) perennial.
​Foliage: It produces tufts of slender, erect stems (ramicauls) enclosed by thin, conspicuous, triangular, brownish sheaths. Each ramicaul is topped by a single, apical, erect, leathery, elliptical leaf.
​Flowers (Morphology): The flowers are borne singly on short spikes that emerge from the base of the leaf, often continuously. The blooms are small (around 2 cm long), and the sepals and petals are adorned with long, slender appendages (tails). The dorsal sepal is erect, and the lateral sepals are fused to form a synsepal.
​Aesthetics: The blooms are typically yellowish, cream, or pale pink, heavily spotted or striped with dark reddish-purple or maroon. The lip (labellum) is small, fringed, and often marked with yellow. The name echo refers to a repetition or similarity, perhaps alluding to its frequent, successive flowering or resemblance to another species.
​Ethnobotany: There is no significant known ethnobotanical use for this species, but it is highly valued as an ornamental due to its continuous blooming habit and miniature size.
​Differentiation: Restrepia echo is distinguished from similar spotted species by its floral details:
​Versus R. elegans: R. elegans typically has broader, more rounded sepals and a less intense spotting pattern, whereas R. echo often has a sharper, more elliptical synsepal.
​Versus R. contorta: R. contorta has lateral sepals that are spirally twisted, a feature generally absent in R. echo.
 
​💧 Cultivation and Care
 
​Restrepia echo is a demanding cool-growing orchid that requires a cool greenhouse or specialised orchidarium in the UK due to its intolerance of heat and low humidity.
​Light: Requires heavy shade to moderate, filtered light. The leaves should always remain cool to the touch.
​Substrate: It is best grown mounted on cork or tree fern fibre or potted in a fine, free-draining medium with long-fibre sphagnum moss to ensure constant moisture.
​Watering: The medium must be kept consistently moist to wet at all times; it should never dry out. Water frequently with tepid, soft water (rainwater is ideal).
​Temperature: Cool temperatures are essential for survival and blooming.
​Optimal Daytime Temperature: 18-22 C (64-72 F).
​Optimal Nighttime Temperature: Ideally 12-16 C (54-61 F).
​Humidity: Very high humidity (75-90%+) and strong, constant air circulation are mandatory.
 
​✨ Unique Features
​This miniature orchid is a favourite among collectors for its charming, year-round, successive flowering habit, producing its intricate, spotted, spider-like blooms almost continuously. Its compact size and need for cool, misty conditions make it a true jewel for the specialist collector.
 
​🏷️ Specifications
​Plant Size: Divisions from our stock plant and propagated in the UK.
Plant Family: Orchidaceae
Plant Passport: A Restrepia echo B 140084 C [buyer to use number of the plant label] D GB