Onc. question & great suggestion

[sandra]

South Florida has been having brutally, fierce winds and rain the last 2 days, aka tropical storm. I have all of my plants and orchids on the patio on bakers racks. Woke up yesterday to find 2 down, a Catt. and Onc. Sweet Sugar. No broken ps.bulbs on the Catt. and since it's in Hydroton, not a big deal to repot it. My Onc. however (and which is in bloom and lost half the blooms) had 2 broken leaves and a cut/slit in the ps.bulb. Question - should I expect that this ps.bulb will eventually die? It's got a huge lead growing and should I also expect this to die or stall?

Great suggestion.....Later that day I went to my local orchid supply store to get some more supplies and was telling the owner about my feeling nervous with these winds, keeping all my plants outdoors. She told me, "That's easy. Get yourself some bungee cords and strap them over all the plants, right on to the racks." So, I went to WalMart and bought a bunch of cords, all sizes, came home and did just that. As it turned out, the winds got worse and thankfully, I wasn't too late. Not one plant down. Sure, the winds are so heavy that the racks may have fallen but the pots would have stayed put regardless. Bungee cords....who knew? They're great!

[Vivienne]

What a great idea!! Glad you wre able to get them all bungeed down before any more took a fall.

[sandra]

**bumping up**

Anyone have experience with torn ps. bulbs to pass on?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Every time I cut or tear, as in pulling apart pieces, creating an open wound, I spray the wounds with Thiophanate methyl (Clearry's 3336, Fertilome Halt, Bonomyl). Cinnamon and sulfur are good, but not systemic like the Thiophanate, so you have to do it immediately for these non-systemics. Phyton 27 would be good too.

[brookn]

A pseudobulb on my oncidium had some damage when I bought it. I cleaned with peroxide, and sprinkled with cinnamon. It has now turned brown where the spot was, and the rest of the pseudobulb is fine. Hope that helps. That was 3 months ago, and it has since put out new growth and roots.

[sandra]

Cynthia, since I didn't have any of that on hand, I used Physon 20 and cinammon.

Brook, thanks. I'll keep my eye on it and won't get too concerned if I see it turning to brown. Hopefully it's just a minor setback. I'm used to those.

[brookn]

The spot on mine turned light brown and is dry, if it turns black or gets mushy, then it is probably needing surgery.

[arleneg]

The bungee cord is a great idea! We often get gusty winds here and have been very hesitant in putting plants, esp. orchids, out in the back yard. I'll have to try that bungee cord idea.

Thanks for sharing that bit of info, sandra.

[Orchidflowerchild]

That's how I keep my big Cym. aloifolium on the porch railing when the winds get crazy. I just put the hook on one side of the pot, loop it under the rail, back over, up, and hook onto the other side of the pot.

Might not look the tidiest, but neither does a bunch of broken leaves.

-Cj

[Aleksa]

I have one question about onc. I have this plant since summer. I got it with one new growth starting... Till now that growth have grown and created big bulb. I have been keeping it on a cool place few weeks so that the new bulb can mature. If I have understood well Onc flowers from those new bulbs that have matured? What should I do now? Should I continue to keep it on cool place or maybe I should bring it inside in warm place... What should I do to initiate flowers?

[arleneg]

Aleksa,

Make sure your Onc is in a bright, indirect lighting. Light seems to be the main factor for making Oncidiums bloom. If you get frost/snow, I suggest bringing your Onc inside for the cold months.

[PhalPal]

This suggestion is a little pricier, but after the hurricane force winds with our fires recently I decided to group my cyms in a different way. I wasn't home in the first few hours of high wind and some damage had already occurred.

These are not potted in the pots. I put stones in the bottom of the tall ceramics and placed the plastic potted cym on top of that. I grouped them together in these little wire baskets ($11) to stabilize the whole thing. Now if we get winds in the middle of the night or when I am not home I won't worry. Looks pretty too.

Pics of : grouped cyms, my new Laelia anceps mounted on cork bark, and my patio table dressed up for Thanksgiving.

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by PhalPal

I put stones in the bottom of the tall ceramics and placed the plastic potted cym on top of that. I grouped them together in these little wire baskets ($11) to stabilize the whole thing. Now if we get winds in the middle of the night or when I am not home I won't worry.

Pics of : grouped cyms, my new Laelia anceps mounted on cork bark, and my patio table dressed up for Thanksgiving.

Connie,
Great idea with the stones!! Now that's what I call a great looking
Thanksgiving day table. Got room for one more?

[PhalPal]

Tobi there is ALWAYS room for one more on Thanksgiving!!! All orchidgeeks welcome. If the weather stays nice like it is now I just may throw a fancier tablecloth on our patio table and eat out there. (sans cym in the middle)

[Aleksa]

Originally Posted by arleneg

Aleksa,

Make sure your Onc is in a bright, indirect lighting. Light seems to be the main factor for making Oncidiums bloom. If you get frost/snow, I suggest bringing your Onc inside for the cold months.

Temperature never goes below 10 C but I think that is too low for flowering... Now it is in warm and not so bright place... We will see. Thanks for advices.

[sandra]

Very, very pretty Connie. I love your set up.