Oncidium sharry baby spike

[tasha]

My oncidium sharry baby has gone into spike! Super proud orchid parent!!! My question for you all is, do you let the spike grow wild without a stake to hold the spike or do you put it on a spike stake? Mine is already almost a foot long and growing on a pseudo bulb which is growing at an angle almost perpendicular. The previous spike it had from the mother plant was huge like almost 3 feet long. Should I expect it with this spike?

Thank you all!!

Also my tea cup orchids put out new spikes too! I’m so excited!!

[Roberta]

You can gently guide the developing spike with a stake. When I have a spike that is "leaning" too much, I will use a fairly long tie... apply very gentle tension, then as the spike grows in the general direction that you're guiding it, you can tighten the tie gradually. Don't ever try to force it - a sure formula for breaking it.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by tasha

My oncidium sharry baby has gone into spike!

Very nice news indeed. The little buds can take maybe months to develop - that's if they're still tiny right now.

[tasha]

Thank you! That’s exactly what I don’t want to do is break it 😊😬 thanks for the tips

[markalolo]

In Central FL our Oncidiums have gone from spike to flowers in about 45 days.

Nov 4:


Dec 9:

It will still be opening flowers in the coming weeks. It's a really fun plant because the blooms last a long time.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by markalolo

In Central FL our Oncidiums have gone from spike to flowers in about 45 days.

Nice! Do you have the Sharry Baby one? I think that normally - the Sharry Baby - takes a few months to get to the flower opening stage.

[tasha]

Have you all ever repotted oncidiums in full water culture? This is intriguing to me

[ArronOB]

I currently have Sharry Baby in bloom and it’s near relatives (o. Heaven scent and o. Rosy sunset) and I haven’t staked any of them. They do lean over a bit but i generally don’t use stakes to support blooms unless they really need it. No harm is done by only staking them late in their development.

2 months for full development sounds about right. Quicker in the tropics i expect.

[markalolo]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Nice! Do you have the Sharry Baby one? I think that normally - the Sharry Baby - takes a few months to get to the flower opening stage.

I have a couple of Sharry Baby as well. One is in bloom now but I bought it in spike. Come to think of it, I bought the other one in bloom too. So I'll let you know when they rebloom!

[tasha]

Here’s an update on my sharry baby! I can’t really smell the chocolate scent but the blooms are coming in strong and beautiful!