Big Suprise!

[kazjak]

I was out pulling weeds this afternoon and meandered by the orchids... Low and behold I've got spikes! My Onc. Twinkle has four spikes that have shot up almost overnight. The weird thing is the psuedobulbs that they are coming from are underdeveloped. They aren't even close to plumping out yet. Is this normal? I've never been able to flower my oncidiums before so I guess this is new ground for me. When should I bring the plant into the house to avoid bud blast?

[kmarch]

kazjak,

Congrats on your spikes! While the new pseudobulbs might not yet be as big and plump as the older ones, they look perfectly healthy to me from what i can see form the pic. I think you've nothing to worry about there.

One of the common causes of bud blast is a change in conditions. For this reason I'm not a fan of moving orchids once they come in spike. Clearly the conditions you're growing your plant under are good to make it grow and spike (well i might add) so the conditions should also be good for the spike to develop and bloom. In short, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Sometimes after all the buds have opened and the plant is in full bloom, I will bring a plant in the house or put one near my computer so I can enjoy it while in bloom, but i dont' do that until most if not all of the flowers are open.

Enjoy your flowers!

[Tobi]

Kazak,
I have an Oncidium twinke that was full of blooms back in March. I got plenty
of new growth this spring and I just noticed that mine had 2 flower spikes from
very small pseudobulbs just this week as well. Although I'm not sure, they
seem to be coming from what I thought was this years new growth. When I
bought it I was told from my orchid doctor that it's not uncommon for this
little guy to bloom 2-3 times a year.

[pikevi]

Four spikes on that small plant! Congratulations.

[sandra]

That's great news. I love these plants and being that they flower so often, I love them even more. Enjoy!

[Ellen]

Onc Twinkle seems to be free-blooming. Mine blooms several times a year, and is currently just starting another round.

[kazjak]

So I'll bring it in the house when all the blooms open. Right now all my "high lights" are in the back yard about 30 yards from the house.. I can't really enjoy them out there if and when they bloom... Thanks for all the info and I'll post a pic once it blooms.

[jerrymeola]

The size of your pseudobulbs will depend on your growing conditions. you can not compare the greenhouse size with your new growth.

I buy all my oncidium alliance plants from a hawaiian grower that is half way up the mountains. Their pseudobulbs and leaves are twice the size of Florida grown plants. It is the cooler growing conditions.

Your plant may develope into a smaller plant, but just as pretty and plentiful flowers.

[kazjak]

Ok, It's been a month and this friggin thing is growing like a weed! One Psuedobulb has 4 spikes!

[jay]

That looks amazing. I can't wait to see it when it is in bloom. Keep us updated.

Jay

[pikevi]

When they all bloom it will be wonderful. We await more photos

[kmarch]

It's happy and is going to put on a nice show for you!

[kazjak]

I screwed up... a few weeks back when we had our cold snap which dipped to 40 degrees I thought (stupid me) "since the weather broke and we have the windows open throughout the house it would probably be ok for me to bring my twinkle in since the humidity inside and out should be the same"... WRONG! My little guy blasted 2 spikes . I put it back outside and I hope I can salvage the rest. It was really looking good too. You can see the bottom left spike dried and curled. On a happier note I have spikes on my noid Dendrobium and my Sharry Baby. Look at the difference in the psuedobulb size between indoor growth and 1 summer outside. It's HUGE. My Stlma. Kelly 'lea' is blooming as well as is a noid Phal I bought for $3 dollars last winter. My Macodes Petola is also in bloom....what a silly little flower that is!

[Vivienne]

I haven't been here for SOOO long... this is my first post being back. Just wanted to chime in with a ditto and a thanks. My Onc. Twinkles are both spiking (yippee!) and thanks for the note about moving them around! They get to stay right where they are. I hope you are able to get new spikes this season Kazjak

[Tobi]

Kazak,
All my Onc. alliances are either in spike or bloom right now. I left them all
inside this year because a similar situation happened to me last year with
a Onc. ornithorhyncum I have. I had it outside most of the summer and it
started to spike in late August. I brought it inside around the middle of Sept
due to a cold spell and 2 out of the 3 spikes blasted their buds. Wasn't sure
if it was the change of climate or the change of position or both.


Vivienne - Welcome Back!!! We've missed you. I hope you are feeling much
better and getting along well now.

[Vivienne]

Thanks Tobi. Life hasn't been too kind lately but it's time I focus on myself a little. Got a steroid injection for my knee so even that is feeling better. Eventually I'll have to have the surgery... just have to figure out the best time to do that (6-12 week recovery is something I just can't do right now).

[kazjak]

OK, It's been since July and this bad boy finally opened..... Flowers are so small it's very hard to photograph with my crappy digital. Oh Santa, won't you bring me a Digital Single Lens Reflex with a Macro lens.... I kind of played with a Sepia picture for the December photo contest...