Oncidium Heaven scent

[jay greenthumb]

Someone just baught me a Oncidium heaven scent "sweet baby" it's my first onc. How can i tel if its healthy and are there any major NO-NOs or anything i Should definately do?
how do i make it flower?
anybody have any pictures of it in flower and can tell me what species it is?
thanks

[Ray]

Onc. Heaven Scent is an offspring of Onc. Sharry Baby, so likes bright light (but not direct sun, or those thin leaves will burn) and reasonably warm temperatures. The potting medium needs to be quite airy, as the thin roots prefer to really breathe. (Based upon your question, I guess you're not an experienced orchid grower, so keying on root health will be a new focus for you.)

The pseudobulbs should be plump, with at most only a bit of wrinkling, and they and the leaves should be a medium green in color.

In order to "get" any orchid to bloom, you need to provide it with the right growing conditions, water, and a decent fertilizer (not a high-nitrogen formula) on a regular basis, and then wait for its bloom cycle to roll around.

In the case of that type of oncidium, they tend to bloom as new growths mature.

[jay greenthumb]

Agh I see do you know what it might look like when it blooms or have the species name?

[Ray]

It is a hybrid, not a species. You stated the name yourself: Oncidium Heaven Scent, with 'Sweet Baby' (note the single quotes) being the cultivar.

A photo from TheOrchidWorks.com:

[jay greenthumb]

Ahhhh I see
So I guess my next question is does a plant get named base only on the hybridized like if a hybrid was made from to plants of the same species then would it's name be that speicies rather than the one the breeder gave it?
And is a cross between two species become blah x blah or whatever the breeder names it, (my final or) or is the hybrid so complicated that to refer to it's species it would be blah x blah x blah x blah

Thanks for all the help

[Ray]

Yep, the offspring of a cross of the same species is considered to be the species. Likewise, hybrid A x hybrid A will always be hybrid A.

A hybrid can be named by the first person to bloom it - usually after gaining the OK of the cross originator - but A x B is always C (and B x A is C also).

However, as you get more complex, it changes: (A x B) x C is not considered the same hybrid as A x (B x C).