How long for oncidiums to bloom?

[Alsani]

I have several Dancing Lady type oncidiums that appear to be growing very well. Each one has 3-4 spikes, ranging 3-5 feet in length. However, I am getting impatient. The first spikes started appearing in Nov-Dec and appear to just keep growing without flowering. One spike broke or got nibbled off about a month or so ago but now has two secondary spikes growing from the two nodes immediately below the break. So it has been 3-4 months since they first appeared. Has something arrested the blooming mechanism or is this a normal time frame for maturation?

[My Green Pets]

Our oncidiums have 4-foot spikes that are starting to branch and ive been told to expect flowers in april!

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by Alsani

I have several Dancing Lady type oncidiums that appear to be growing very well. Each one has 3-4 spikes, ranging 3-5 feet in length. However, I am getting impatient. The first spikes started appearing in Nov-Dec and appear to just keep growing without flowering. One spike broke or got nibbled off about a month or so ago but now has two secondary spikes growing from the two nodes immediately below the break. So it has been 3-4 months since they first appeared. Has something arrested the blooming mechanism or is this a normal time frame for maturation?

That sounds too slow.
It is usually around two months or so depending on the temperature.
If you damaged the growing spikes, then you have to count from the point when branching spikes started to grow.

Do you see any buds forming??

Have you been watering enough?

[Alsani]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

That sounds too slow.
It is usually around two months or so depending on the temperature.
If you damaged the growing spikes, then you have to count from the point when branching spikes started to grow.

Do you see any buds forming??

Have you been watering enough?

The branching spikes have been growing for the past month and seem to be catching up to the original spikes, at least visually. I also have a Sharry Baby that started to spike in January and is now blooming, so that fits more with your timeframe of two months. There are bulges under the sheath(?) at each node along the spike but they are very slow in getting bigger.

With respect to watering, I have always been cautious about overwatering in fear of root rot, so this might be a definite factor. The plants are all outside in the south Florida weather which is now starting to heat up again. I also see ants crawling all along the spikes, can't get rid of them, but haven't seen any noticeable signs of aphids (I hope). Not that I would know exactly what to look for.

Will try watering a little more often and hope for the best. Thanks for the suggestion.

---------- Post added at 07:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:42 AM ----------

Originally Posted by CambriaWhat

Our oncidiums have 4-foot spikes that are starting to branch and ive been told to expect flowers in april!

Hi Cambria,

Do you know when the spikes first started to appear? How long have they been growing? Thanks.

[NYCorchidman]

Plant your plants in well draining mix like bark and water well. I would water almost daily if I used medium size bark. You really have to water good, especially when the bark is rather new because water you pour on your pot will simply just run through the pot without wetting the bark enough and leaving enough for the roots to take up.

give or take 2 months is about right for oncidiums, especially the yellow dancing lady.

Watch out for aphids since you are growing them outside. Oncidium spikes and flowers attract aphids like crazy. Ants might be there reasons.
Aphids are not that small, you should be able to see them easy.

[james mickelso]

I agree with NYOM. Most of the medium size oncid intergenerics take 2 to 3 months to bloom. But some of the larger take up to 4 months to fully branch and bloom. When watering remember that you are watering the roots. Not the media they grow in. It is not important that you soak the media. Water long enough to wet the velamin on the roots. Getting the media soaked is a good way of creating a habitat for fungus and molds. The roots of most orchids don't branch continually to find moisture like terrestrials. It rains, the roots are soaked, and then it dries rapidly from the constant breezes. If soaking the media was important then the orchids would grow well in broken down media and be less susceptible to root rot. This need to dry out is why most orchid growers use a more coarse media when potting.

[WhiteRabbit]

The longer the spike, and the more buds that develop will take longer to fully develop. My Onc alliance intergenerics that get moderate length spikes with maybe 10 larger blooms, usually take about 3 months. My Onc Sharry Baby, which at last blooming had a nearly 4' spike, over 200 blooms, definitely took at least 4 months before beginning to bloom.

Also, cooler temps can slow growth.

[FSUOrchids]

It depends on the Onc.

I have three different ones myself. I've found it can take awhile for their spikes to bud and flower.

[My Green Pets]

Hi Cambria,

Do you know when the spikes first started to appear? How long have they been growing? Thanks.

They've been growing since early January, so it looks like 4 months more or less! These are big oncs with 4-inch, speckled pseudobulbs, sorry but dont know the names. These are in a greenhouse, temps are 65-85°F, humidity is 70-80%, lots of bright light all day.

[Alsani]

Originally Posted by CambriaWhat

They've been growing since early January, so it looks like 4 months more or less! These are big oncs with 4-inch, speckled pseudobulbs, sorry but dont know the names. These are in a greenhouse, temps are 65-85°F, humidity is 70-80%, lots of bright light all day.

OK. Thanks Cambria, and the others that also added your comments. Much appreciated.

I repotted these plants back in August, using a hydroton, charcoal, CHC store mix (Green Barn). So I think they are all draining well.

We did have a couple of cold patches this winter, and these plants stayed outside for all but the most severe days (i.e. several days that dropped into the low 40's/high 30's at night).

So I will continue to wait, as they are all still growing, and increase the watering, especially with the warming weather. Hope to post some nice pics soon!