Dormant eyes

[Haru]

I bought an oncidium few weeks ago and it was sold as only one pseudobulb with a flower spike. The flowers have wilted a week ago and the new growth hasn't started yet. I have checked between the leaves and at rhizome but I can't find any "eyes". Is it possible that this pseudobulb had only one eye which have developed into a flower spike. If so, is there any chance of this orchid surviving or not?

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

Oncidiums seem to pop out new growth when they want to... don't have distinct "eyes" the way Cattleyas do. So if it is in good medium (if not, repot it), sit back and let it do its thing.

[SouthPark]

Haru ------ if you just look after this oncidium properly - as it is right now - it will eventually sprout another shoot.

[estación seca]

Welcome!

[Haru]

Thank you for your replies. I have a few oncidiums already so, I know that the eyes are tiny and hard to find, but still, if it only had one eye, what would happen to the orchid. Could she sprout another one or would the orchid simply die?

p.s. sorry for my english..

[SouthPark]

With cattleya, there are particular features - little tabs that can sometimes be seen/found - which are structures that can potentially develop more into leaf shoots.

Although not known for sure yet .... cattleya rhizomes with no more detectable eyes .... eg. all destroyed ... could still possibly generate another eye ... provided that the plant can somehow hang on and stay alive ..... long enough to grow another eye.

Oncidiums don't have those visible features that we define as eyes of cattleya. So we shouldn't involve eyes in discussions of oncidium. Just assume that there is a chance for an oncidium bulb to develop a new shoot if you look after the existing orchid satisfactorily.

[Haru]

Okay, thank you!

[rbarata]

If they had eyes, something I never saw, tehy would be covered by a dry sheath in established plants, or covered by the medium in a single potted pbulb.

[Ray]

My guess - and having neither cattleyas or oncidiums any longer makes it mighty difficult for me to check - is that all sympodial orchids have "eyes", where "eye" is defined as meristematic tissues where the rhizome will continue to grow. They're just far more prominent in catts.

[JScott]

This is only somewhat related to your immediate problem, but regarding your question about whether a plant could possibly have no eyes, and then be unable to grow, I think the answer is yes. I had a Psychopsis once. I bought it in spike. It appeared in good health when it arrived, with good roots and leaves. Shortly after I got it, however, the spike died. Almost immediately a new growth started, so I thought no problem, once the new growth matures, then I'll get a spike. That growth got about an inch tall, and shriveled and died. Mind you, the plant still appeared to be in good health. Good roots and leaves, no shriveling of the pseudobulbs. Then another growth started, but the same thing happened to that one. This happened five or six times, until the plant eventually ran out of eyes from which to form new growths. I still kept the plant for about two years after that waiting to see if something would happen. The plant always looked healthy with a good root system, and nice firm leaves, but it simply appeared to be out of meristem tissue from which new growths might come. Eventually after two years of doing absolutely nothing but sitting there looking happy and healthy, but not growing in any way, I gave up on it and disposed of it. It was the strangest thing. I've never seen anything like that happen. But that leads me to believe that yes, it is possible for a plant to run out of "eyes" and be then unable to grow any further. With a sample size of one plant and no control, we certainly cannot draw any valid scientific conclusions from this anecdote, but I firmly believe that is what happened.