How long do Tolumnia flowers last?

[Paul Mc]

Since I'm new to Tolumnia and I realize that things might move quickly with them if they do not get enough nutrients/water, I would like to know generally how long I should expect the blooms to last.

My first tolumnia which I bought back in mid to late February did not have any blooms open when I purchased it. Within a few days they opened. Now the flowers look as though they are spent and wilting. We recently experienced an extreme cold snap (snow for 2 days) after the temperatures had been in the 60's to 70's for several weeks. I'm wondering if it could be temperature related or if it's just their time to go.

Luckily, it appears that another branch of flowers is getting ready to shoot off from the flowering spike! However, it hasn't done much of anything since I first noticed it about 2 or 3 weeks ago.

[prc11]

Tolumnia flowers last 2 weeks to one to two months. Most of mine last just around a month , but it depends on the plant.

[littlefrog]

Originally Posted by prc11

Tolumnia flowers last 2 weeks to one to two months. Most of mine last just around a month , but it depends on the plant.

Don't cut spikes, either... They will very often rebloom on the spike.

[nenella]

Originally Posted by littlefrog

Don't cut spikes, either... They will very often rebloom on the spike.

Thanks! Nice to know!
I only have one (for now & have never cut the spikes off till they all went brown.) I knew about this for Oncs.. One learns something every day.. Thanks!

[miowntime]

Thanks for asking the question, Paul. I was wondering that myself!! How funny...

Beth

[littlefrog]

Not an oncidium... They are their own genus now (Tolumnia). While there are a few crosses with oncidiums, Tolumnia don't breed well with them. That makes it a good split in my opinion. I can't think of any 'true' oncidiums that rebloom on the spike. Might be a few, I just can't think of any.

They do breed well with rodriguezia. And another thing that used to be an oncidium, Zelenkoa onustum. I used to spit tacks about splitting off Zelenkoa as well, but the fact that it breeds well with tolumnia makes it a lot easier to swallow.

I get flowers to last for a month and a half sometimes. Especially in the spring. Less long in the summer.

[Paul Mc]

WOW, the flowers last longer than I thought then. I did know about not cutting the spike, and actually have a branch of new flowers attempting to come off of one of the old one's now. But it's been trying to form for the last 2 or 3 weeks now with little progress.

So, I guess that leads me to another question. When do they bloom? I was under the impression that they bloomed generally from late winter until early summer. Is that true?

[littlefrog]

Off and on... Fall is the low point for tolumnias in my greenhouse, April is probably the high point. Probably get the most spikes and flowers in spring. There are always flowers in the summer too, often on secondary spikes.

[Paul Mc]

Thank you!

[miowntime]

OK, can I just clarify? Do I understand correctly, little frog, that Tolumnias are recurrent bloomers? How do they bloom in a year in your experience? (I'm now thinking I should have and will buy MORE if this is the case