First Orchid-Oncidium Twinkle "Frangrance Fantasy'

[cyncyn2]

There are no instructions on how to take care of my new baby! I love it so much! but I am afraid to even water it! Do I mist it? Please, help!

[RosieC]

Hi and welcome to Orchid Board

I'm still learing about oncidium care myself having got my first one quite recently. Unfortunately we don't have a care sheet for this one here

I believe they should be kept evenly moist. Which basically means they should not be kept too wet but also don't allow it to dry out too much.

I'm unsure about light levels I've not got that sorted yet. Temps are similar, I'm unsure, currently mine is at a standard room temperature of arround 15C-20C

Hopefully someone else with more knowledge will be able to help more.

[orchidsamore]

Twinkle is a very rewarding plant and very tolerant of a wide range of care.

I was offered several thousand at a very low price that I was not ready to take. Consequently they were placed in a lot of less then opportune conditions.

Some went in the Vanda house (4-5000 foot candles) with high light and daily watering. Many went into the Phalaenopsis section with very low light (800 foot candles) and1-2 times a week watering. Others went into the section between the Phals and the Cattleya (1000-2500 foot candles).

All are growing and none died. 95% are in bud from all three locations. (they have all been moved to the 1000-2500 section)

The high light plants are not as large as the ones in lower light levels. This is common for Florida Oncidium where they never grow as big as Hawaiian Oncidium because of our heat. Most have still flowered but on the lower end of the spiking range. Usually 2 spikes where many of the medium light levels had 3-5 spikes. The high light levels had more brown tips on the leaves, although all the plants tend to brown on the tips.

The very low light levels also seemed to have 1-2 spikes while the medium light levels looked the best.

I did not find watering to be much of an issue. They were packed in high peat moss mixtures and when I re-potted they went into sphag. This means they are growing wetter than most orchids. (I grow most Oncidium this way) They occasionally dried completely when I was unable to water but it did not have a long term effect. They seldom went dry for more than a week.

The white Twinkles flowered in the late summer and the reds started spiking in October and the flowers still have not opened. Last year they did not open until the beginning of February and it appears the same this year.

[Matilda]

I'm not an expert (actually I'm pretty much brand new) but I can tell you how I take care of my Onc Twinkle Red Fantasy.

She sits in a SW window where she gets dappled light during the week (shades partly drawn). On weekends I open the shades completely and let the sun pour in.

For media, I have a typical orchid mix (from Lowe's) with all the bark and charcoal. I have mixed a little sphag moss in with this mix. There is also a little sphag around the top.

The pot sits on a tray of pebbles with water coming up to below the top of the pebbles. I water by soaking once a week. I fill a plastic tub up with water and put her in it, leaving it there for 10 min or so, or until the pot is nice and heavy. Then I run water through to wash out whatever might need washing out.

I check the pot during the week to see if it feel light, indicating that it might need watering, but, it usually doesn't need it more than once a week for me.

Mine has been blooming and putting out buds since I got it in November.

Love these plants!

[cyncyn2]

Thanks everyone! I put a few drops on my new Twinkle last night because she looked really dry and this morning there were a few dropped flowers! I feel so bad? I read this morning on another website that twinkles like air and a light from above and they don't have to have natural light but do well in artificial. Is that true? I have a good place in my bathroom with florescent light from above and a fan to keep the air moving. Should I move her to there?

[WhiteRabbit]

I think twinkles like to approach dry before watering, more than some other types of oncidiums. Mine is in a west window which actually is shaded most of the day - only gets a short time of direct light mid-afternoon. Mine is potted in a clay pot with small grade orchid bark mix. This is my only oncidium in a clay pot, but it nearly succumbed to some funky rot last summer, which is why I keep it a bit drier than other oncidium types I have. It's budding up now so guess it's happy.
Regular flourensent light may not be sufficient to induce blooming.

I should also mention the humidity where I live is quite low compared to most places, and I don't do anything special to increase humidity for most of my plants, twinkle included.

If blooms are dropping they may just be done. Or could drop from stress (change in environment).

Pics are always helpful - and we all like to just admire other's orchids as well

[nutgirl]

What is your plant potted in? Have you checked the roots? I have found that plants I have purchased locally (also in Chico) are often tightly potted with a moss mixture in the middle and the roots are rotting. You might have to loosen things up.

My oncidiums (2) don't get any special treatment.

They are at room temp in a large southfacing window. Sometimes the ceiling fan is on, sometimes not.

They are in a loose potting medium that drains well and I water before they dry out completely. I water by soaking the pot for 10-15 mins.

Maureen