In bloom...

[sandra]

This is fun. All of my equitant Oncidiums are blooming now except for one. They're the only Onc.'s that do well for me (and the Sweet Sugar). I particularly love these because of their shapes...they look like mini Vandas with the fanned leaves...very pretty. The one that is just now beginning to bud has been in spike the longest, about 2 months and is over 2 ft. Anyway, thought I'd share these pics with you.




oooops...forgot about this one:



and this one too...

[kot444]

Very nice!
I have only two of these and they are in flower too. I like them because they don't take much space (mine are mounted) and looks like easy to grow. And yours are so beatiful....

[Tobi]

Beautiful Sandra. They all look awesome!! Love the different colors and patterns

[tizzycat]

Sandra, they're stunning; I especially like the last one. Thankyou.

[articuno75]

The kalaidescope of colors!!! I could stare at them all day....

[fred]

Congrats Sandra
good growing
thank you for sharing with us

[kmarch]

Thanks for posting your Tolumnia pics Sandra. Charming, charming, charming!

[sandra]

oooops again...this one was hiding

[fred]

keep finding them Sandra
this is awesome

[Tobi]

Very lovely. They all have to bring a smile on your face. Great growing

[Debbie Hayden]

Those are lovely! I have always thought they look like angels.

[brookn]

Ooh, I am now having a hard time waiting for mine to get here. Must be a cheery sight to see all of those blooms.

[tizzycat]

keep them coming , they're gorgeous

[flowerchild]

Great pictures Sandra, it's always fun to see what everyone else has in bloom, but it also makes me jealous and impatient for mine to all bloom!!!!! I say hurray up and bloom already would ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[patticake]

They are just gorgeous! If I look at some sweet orchids before going off to work, I can get thru the day easier! Thanks-

[Vivienne]

GORGEOUS!!! Well done Sandra... they are all glorious! You should put them all together and take a pic for the Contest (Floral Display). What a wonderful sight they must be.

[Nancy]

I especially love the ones with the pink skirts! I've always had difficulty getting them to bloom so I bought one in bloom. They are so light and airythey remind me of butterflies. Thank you so much for sharing them with us.

[sandra]

Nancy, the more I ignore these, the better they do. I have all of them in mini Vanda baskets, tied in, no medium. I just mist the roots daily and they bloom a few times a year, in fact they've more than doubled in size since last year. All but one, are multiple spikers. Butterflies...I see what you say. They've always reminded me of the can-can dancers.

Thanks everyone else for the thumbs up.

[chefatplay]

These are beautiful, Sandra! You don't have them in any medium whatsoever? Tell me more!

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by chefatplay

These are beautiful, Sandra! You don't have them in any medium whatsoever? Tell me more!

Now there's a voice I haven't heard from in a long time. Ellen, How the
heck are you and where have you been hiding? Missed you!!

[Nancy]

I want a Tolumnia garden too. I think I'm going to buy out the greenhouse the next time I go. Oh no! Just like potato chips. You can't have just one!

[cupcake]

Your growing area must look fabulous! I especially like the first one!

[sandra]

Originally Posted by Tobi

Now there's a voice I haven't heard from in a long time. Ellen, How the heck are you and where have you been hiding? Missed you!!

I know, isn't it great to see Ellen and Vivienne again Tobi!

I think it's time for another love-fest!

[Vivienne]

Hugs All Around!!!!!

[sandra]

Originally Posted by chefatplay

These are beautiful, Sandra! You don't have them in any medium whatsoever? Tell me more!

Ellen, the same way you take care of all your beautiful Vandas is how you take care of these. It just needs misting once a day. I put a little sphag. in there just to keep the humidity up but it's not necessary.

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by sandra

I know, isn't it great to see Ellen and Vivienne again Tobi!

I think it's time for another love-fest!

Here! Here! Many hugs!!

[pikevi]

sandra: Beautiful blooms. What a reward for the effort.

One day I too hope to have such blooms

[mayres]

Add me to the list of admirors - beatiful. Thanks for sharing.

[evagentry]

Such beautiful blomms and with the diversity I can see why you grow them, thanks for sharing the pictures,Sandra.

[chefatplay]

Thank you for remembering me, Tobi! I've been doing fine. Absolutely crazy at work, hence, not a lot of time for other things.

Sandra, I am going to plant my oncs like yours. My vandas just won't quit blooming. As we speak I have two stalks on one and one stalk on the other. If I didn't know better, I would think Robert's Delights were sequential bloomers.

Thank you so much for the tip!

[Tommyr]

AWESOME! My Carnival Costumes have been blooming for 3 months now!

[Nancy]

Sandra, I have a Tolumnia that dropped its flowers all at once. I believe I see branches coming. Is this something that normally happens? Also, I would like to put my two in baskets. It will be much easier for me to have my husband just make metal ones. Since you grow the plants so well, how do you think mine would do if they are mounted in this type of basket with a little bit of bark around their roots? Thanks. I have a feeling I'm going to buying a lot more of them after seeing your beautiful collection.

[sandra]

Nancy, at this stage I just consider myself lucky with these. I've only been into orchids for about a year. One thing I've noticed though is they really like sphag. I have them all tied in little Vanda baskets with a little bit a sphag. surrounding them and a few pieces of charcoal, that's it. Also, they love bright light and a mist daily. Is it possible that maybe they were in too low temperatures? The blooms shouldn't be falling off all at once so someting went awry but what? Hmmm.... I'll try to take a pic later and show you how mine look in their baskets. Yes, I definitely think yours would do nicely in them.

P.S. I just bought a new one the other day!

[PhalPal]

They are beautiful Sandra! I bought some Tolumnia from Oak Hill Gardens recently and mounted them on cork bark. I don't expect them to bloom this year but can't wait until they do!

I have some Onc twinkle I need to re-pot. I would love to put them in baskets to hang on my patio after winter but don't think I have enough humidity to come close to keeping them moist enough. They have such fine roots but I keep reading to use large bark or similiar. I've also heard spraghum? The two suggestions don't make sense.

What type of medium do most of your use for pots??

[Tommyr]

Originally Posted by sandra

One thing I've noticed though is they really like sphag.

I agree! Mine are in Sphag and love it.

[sandra]

Connie, thanks. I don't have a lot of Oncidiums but the couple I do have plus these little equitants do very well in sphag., in Florida and there's no shortage of humidity here. If I were still in Calif., I'd opt for the sphag.

Nancy, these little Vanda baskets can be found all over, very inexpensive. Here are the pics of little ms. tolumnia in her cute little home.

This plant more than doubled in less than a year.

[kmarch]

Sandra,

I have a friend that swears by mounting tolumnia, yet yours seem to be thriving in the baskets. Are any of your tolumnia mounted? If so, do you have any opinion on which seems to be better in your conditions?

[sandra]

Originally Posted by kmarch

Sandra,

I have a friend that swears by mounting tolumnia, yet yours seem to be thriving in the baskets. Are any of your tolumnia mounted? If so, do you have any opinion on which seems to be better in your conditions?

None of my equitants are mounted but I do see a big difference with the sphag. It makes a big difference than using only the charcoal or nothing at all which I've seen a lot with the tolumnias. I do have 4 small Oncidium Maureen X Lanceanum mounted and they are struggling. I'm planning to pot them up but one of them has her roots very attached to the cork it's on so for the time being I've wrapped additional sphag. around them all.....till I figure out how to detach.

[articuno75]

One thing that I noticed is that Oncidiums and the Alliance alike are mostly thirsty drinkers. I had my Bartley Schwarz in a bark mix for a spell and it did terrible. I put it back in total spagh with a bit of charcoal and it's doing awesome. When I get my Miltassias I'm probably going to do the same thing with them and stick them in spagh/charcoal as well. The moisture retention is better and the orchids like it.

[janice]

I am glad to read all these ideas and helpful hints......I brought an Oncidium back from Florida last August and it has not done well.............it is in a small clay pot - in a mixture. I am going to try a small basket and/or add spagh..................you guys are so great!!!

[Elaine Rene]

Dear Sandra,

Good News and Congrats, I have been strugling with my plants ( several I Imported from South Africa and Cyprus ) but am just a beginer and do not know how to take care of it the proper way. I have gone some info from the net and am trying my best. Ever since I was a child I was atracted to Orchid plants and I only got the change this last year when I travelled. I live in Tanzania by the way.

Good luck to all the orchid lovers out there

Cheers and regards,

Elaine

[fred]

welcome Elaine
nice to have you with us please feel free to go to our Introduction section and Introduce yourself to all the orchidgeeks
please update your Profile with your Location

[Nancy]

I think my Tolumnia dropped its flowers because I failed to water it that day. This is a very small plant that is planted in a two and a quarter inch pot in tree fern fiber. My other plant is ina clay pot with bark as the medium. Both of the plants are developing branches. I want to get the little one out of the tree fern as soon as possible because it dries out so quickly. I'll see if I can find it a Vanda basket and put it in spag as per your suggestion. Thanks.

[NancyG]

Sandra,

Those are beautiful. I only have a large yellow one that is just about to open. It's mounted on a palm tree. Do you still mist with worm tea? I still swear by the stuff. Love all the variety of colors. Must get more myself.

NancyG

[sandra]

Originally Posted by articuno75

When I get my Miltassias I'm probably going to do the same thing with them and stick them in spagh/charcoal as well. The moisture retention is better and the orchids like it.

Jenny, my growing conditions are extremely different than yours but for what it's worth, I don't know if all sphag. would be the ideal medium to use for your Miltassia. I'd be very interested to know what others' opinions are here. Mine react best when watered (obviously) almost dried, but not watered down, the way sphag. retains. I have mine in bark with coir added to the mix and it's happy. Maybe you would consider bark with sphag. added to it?

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by sandra

Jenny, my growing conditions are extremely different than yours but for what it's worth, I don't know if all sphag. would be the ideal medium to use for your Miltassia. I'd be very interested to know what others' opinions are here. Mine react best when watered (obviously) almost dried, but not watered down, the way sphag. retains. I have mine in bark with coir added to the mix and it's happy. Maybe you would consider bark with sphag. added to it?

When I first got my Mtdm. Bartley Schwarz it was in a bark/spagh mix. I had troubles retaining moisture and in the long run my plant got "accordian" leaves from being dehydrated. So I stuck it in a mixture of something like 70 % spagh and 30% charcoal. Your conditions is humid being down in Florida and all. Up here in Indiana, conditions are like a roller coaster. Humid one day, dry the next... I figured if I put the Miltassias in a spagh/charcoal mix it will still dry out fairly quickly here and the charcoal will still give it enough aeration plus sweeten the mix. In my conditions, I water my Bartley Schwarz on average every 4-5 days like this. The plant is now happy, and it put a second bloom for me back in November. Now I stare at it wanting it to bloom again. (BTW, this mixture for me still dries out fairly quickly for me and I water when the spagh gets a little crunchy on top.)

[jerrymeola]

I think one of the problems with watering oncidiums is that hobbyist fail to realize how long it will take for an orchid to absorb all the water it needs.

In commercial greenhouses we try to water a minimum 10-15 minutes. This gives the plant all the time it needs to drink heavily and fill those pseudobulbs. Short waterings and worst misting dries out before the plant could get as much water as it needed.

For a small collection I would suggest soaking plants for 15-20 minutes. Once you remove the plant from the water it drains to exactly the same amount of water whether it was 2 minutes to 30 minutes of soaking. Outdoors it rains for hours or even days at a time .

[sandra]

Jenny, Ah, the humidity factor. I keep forgetting that Florida has more than it knows what to do with it, except when it comes to orchids. I humbly submit to you that I'm an orchid dumby...or is it dummy?

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

For a small collection I would suggest soaking plants for 15-20 minutes.

Does this apply to the tolumnia also Jerry? Or should I apply the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory?

[sandra]

Since there's been a lot of discussion about tolumnias lately, thought I'd update this thread. Here's another one of mine that I never posted a pic of. It must have been hiding.

[NancyG]

It is so beautiful!!

Just reread the whole thread. In Florida we are fortunate to have all the humidity for these.

NancyG

[Tobi]

Very lovely Sandra. I've never tried one but since I got my humidifier for the room,
I just might have to give it a go.

[articuno75]

Ooo Sandra, I like that one Almost likes it's wearing a plaid trimmed skirt. How cute.

[chefatplay]

Sandra, that is gorgeous!!

[patticake]

Originally Posted by articuno75

Ooo Sandra, I like that one Almost likes it's wearing a plaid trimmed skirt. How cute.

What a great description! I can see it! Great plant, Sandra!

[Nancy]

Sandra. I know this is an older post but I was hoping you could give me some insight in the care of a Rodricidium. I bought the plant at Loew's for a dollar. It is potted in a two inch clay pot with a little bit of charcoal. The pot appears to be too small and the plant wobbles in it, although there are some green roots present. How do I get this plant out of the pot? It seems like the roots are so fine that they would break very easily. I'd like to try this one ina basket. I don't know where to find horticultural charcoal. Do you think it would be okay just to put bark in the basket? Thanks.

[sandra]

Nancy, what a deal - $1.00! Getting it out of the pot is the best part....just take the hammer to it. It should come away from the clay, run it under water or soak it a little and whatever doesn't fall away, just let it stay. Why don't you consider potting it in sphag.? They do very well in it, they get very thirsty and it's easy to tell when they need more water with the sphag. Let it dry inbetween watering and that's basically it. I've grown them all different ways, in clay with a little charcoal and in the sphag. I definitely see more and better growth in sphag. Here's how I have mine....

[Vivienne]

I think I'm going to take a spin by Lowe's today. Ya never know! $1 Rodrumnia - worth a trip.

[SShide77]

What is worm tea? And....can anyone tell me what the difficulty level of oncidiums are? I think they are gorgeous but am a little hesitant to tackle one.

[Nancy]

I used to shop at the Home Depot but Loew's is a much better place to find something different. My Rodrumnia has a flower spike with secondary branches coming. I know I need to cut it off so the plant can recoup its strength but I can't resist seeing what the flower looks like. I guess I'll try spag again. I just had so much trouble with a Phalaenopsis plant that came potted in it that I just don't trust myself to water it right. Thanks for the reply. Any idea if there is a national chain store that carries horticultural charcoal?

[PhalPal]

Nancy I think you can find hort char just about any place that sells potting soil. Look where you buy your plant, even Home Depot type stores. If not there, definately a garden center like Armstrongs.

[Nancy]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have noticed something about the roots. The roots that dry out first are turning a shade of tan. I assume this is not a good sign and I better take action soon. Is this a sign that the plant is drying out too soon? I water it well once a day but it is potted in nothing but a little bit of charcoal. My Tolumnias are potted in bark and don't seem to be having the same problem. Let me know what you all think.

[sandra]

Nancy, toulminias and most Oncidiums are completely different in their requirements from Phals. Using sphag. on Phals can be a tightrope when it comes to giving them enough and not too much water; a lot of growers find the roots staying too wet, for too long for Phals in sphag, causing rot whereas, the toulminias can handle the 'wet' better, especially when they're potted in these small pots in which the sphag dries rather quickly. Depending on the temps, will depend on how often you need to water these. I'll often let the sphag. get bone dry before I water up again.

[butt0n]

Sandra, you have an amazing collection! You've opened up a can of worms for me as I am now Google'ing these babies now LOL...time to make room! Great job with these

[sandra]

This one has taken well over 4 months from spiking to it's first bloom, which was the other day. The spike is thick and well over 2 feet.



And this is my newest addition. I went shopping yesterday with my aunt and I just couldn't resist. The rest of my orchid fund money goes to the new Bulbophyllum I'm getting ready to buy.

[patticake]

Really nice, Sandra! It's so obvious why they call them dancing ladies!

[nenella]

Sandra, Absolutely wonderful flowers and superb pictures thank you for sharing with us
makes me feel like going out and buying some straight away!

[JLu]

Nice job. Interesting array.

[butt0n]

Hey Sandra, I was wondering if you could put names to the pictures you've posted?

[sandra]

Originally Posted by butt0n

Hey Sandra, I was wondering if you could put names to the pictures you've posted?

buttOn, they're all toulminias except for one, in post #1, the yellow and red one which is a mini Oncidium 'Carnival Costume'. I bought these last year and while I know most of them didn't have tags, I thought I had more than one but can only locate this following one at the moment. This one took the longest to grow it's spike (over 4 months) and has just started blooming:

Rdcm. Francine Ontal x Tolu. Elfin Star

If and when I find the other tags, I'll update this to let you know.

[butt0n]

Thanks very much!

[made4engineering]

Darn it, no tags? Many of these I like a lot, and I wondered what the parents were... Oh well

[sandra]

OK, I found 2 more tags...

Rdcm. Orchidom Red Love x pulchella 'Skippy' FCC/AOS


Onc Kitty Crocker 'Rose Giant' AM/AOS x Rdcm Orchidom Good Choice 'Alameda' HCC/AOS

[butt0n]

Thanks for the info! By the way, do you get these locally or through a vendor though the internet? I'm trying to find someone online who has a good selection and so far its just a few here and there.

[Nancy]

Sandra, you have quite a few Rodricidiums. Have you noticed any difference in the growth pattern or care required between these lovely plants and Tolumnias?

[sandra]

butt0n, I get them all locally but Jerry Meola may still have some for sale?

Nancy, these are Tolumnias.

OK, I can hear you all saying, Enough Already with the Tolumnias but chefatplay was talking about the different colors and changes that arise on these plants and I have two examples to show. After this, I'll put this to sleep....until next year.

The patterns and colors change constantly. Here are a couple of examples that are still blooming for me.