I have one grow in partial shade it gets no care at all and does great

Is it in a pot, Glenn?

A pic. is worth a thousand words, easily grown as garden plant in the sub-tropics.

Reed stem Epidendrum grown as a garden plant

I have a couple of red ones in orchid pots and recently planted a piece that broke off in the ground. If it does OK, then I might move the others to the ground as well. They seem happy in the pots right now.

I just used regular potting mix and some broken up pine bark.

Tom no it's in the ground it was in a pot but escaped

Just a bit more info.

Here is a little bit copied from the RHS Checklist.

"Epidendrum radicans Pav. ex Lindl., Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 104 (1831).

This name is accepted. Distribution:

Mexico to Colombia
79 MXC MXG MXS MXT 80 COS ELS GUA HON NIC PAN (81) cub pue 82 VEN 83 CLM"

I think it might be difficult to decide which ones are species and which ones are hybrids. Widely and easily grown as a garden plant here, propagated via keikis.

Unknown epi. grown as a Garden Plant

Epidendrum King Salmon from an orchid Collection

Tom, I think I live near you and can bring you all you might want...maybe come see them growing? I have a zillion in the sunny areas of my yard. Started with 2 pots getting morning sun, one died. 20 years later, zillions from where I started throwing epi trimmings on the ground or into a very large pot.

I think they must have sun to bloom and like the base in shade of some type. I water those in pots regularly, but ignore the rest, and have no in-ground system.

My asiatic jasmine ground cover spread (from 2 pots in shade and being watered) thru the contingent shady area and then into the sun. The epis followed them there. Perfect for them! a foot deep ground cover for shade. (Served the same purpose for dwarf azaleas that I thought would die when the trees shading them were removed.)

Most of mine are 3-4 feet long, so this year I plan to chop a large area of them down to 1 foot.

Only one of my plant-growing neighbors has wanted any of mine of any size, age, shape. Don't know why... cuz I love them! Although, I wish they fed or hosted butterflies! [Correction, April 29,2021: yesterday I say a monarch seemingly sipping nectar on an epi in the shade.]

Best thing is they bloom for up to 8 months. My first bloom in 2020 was Jan 25. In 2021 they were much later.

There is a house down the street from me who has a huge bed of them flowering in the front of their house. Each time I drive past, I slow down to look at the beautiful display.

I've tried growing them in the ground in Florida and they all died off. I don't want to get arrested trying to see how the neighbor planted these, but I slow down when I pass the house and try to figure out how they are growing them so well. There is a large oak in front of the house and the bed appears to face East (might be SE but not sure. In the afternoon (the hottest time of the sun) the orchids appear to be in dappled shade from the tree.

The bed they are planted in appears to be mulched. Not sure if it is wood chips or compost.

Its an amazing display. The best I've ever seen.

Jane