What are the longest orchid flower spikes?

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

Is the plant in a location where you could get a photo of it? Another group that can give huge spikes and monster plants are Myrmecophila...(used to be Schombufgkia) especially in Florida. (Take a look at this thread DirtyCoconuts presents: The flora and fauna of the Coconuts Compound ... some monster plants)

[estación seca]

I would knock on their door, tell that story and offer $20 for a piece of the plant.

Genus Cyrtochilum has very long, vining inflorescences. They range from 1-3.3 meters long. They're not well known because they're high-altitude Andean sunny and cool growing orchids.

Here's a taxonomic revision. Warning, 90 megabyte download.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...rj-08-8566.pdf

[DirtyCoconuts]

I’m guessing something in the schomburgkia genus. My grandiflora is always more than 9’ long. Often 12’+

I think spike length x plant size, the psycopsis or oncidium win but just wheel length the schoms are loooooong spikers

[lobotomizedgoat]

I recently picked up a Eulophia petersii that hasn't bloomed yet, but I understand they can get quite tall.

One of the most noticeably long spikes I've seen in person was this phalaenopsis (I think?) that bloomed recently at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. The plant itself was a small thing, possibly mottled-leafed, and mounted to tree well above my head. If I recall correctly, the spike holding these flowers was a compound one, the total length being somewhere between 3.5-5 feet I'd guess. Perhaps someone else can identify it. Unfortunately, I seem to be lacking a wide photo of the stalk or anything of the plant itself.

[Louis_W]

I'm with estación seca. Cyrtochilum have incredibly long spikes. I saw one in Ecuador that must have been 15' long. Ecuagenera sold them but they selected a variety with a short spike (only 6 feet or so).

[Clawhammer]

My Onc Sharry baby is consistently putting out 4' spikes