Spike Won't Form Buds?

[ghuylar]

Hi Everyone,

A couple months ago I ordered and received an Oncidium Twinkle 'Yellow Bird' and was thrilled to see it was in spike! Since then, the spike has not produced any further growth or any buds. It appears to be full grown except for bud production, and I am stumped as to why this would happen.
I don't seem to have much luck with Oncidium type orchids, so tips in general would be appreciated along with any theories and advice as to what is going on with my plant

Thanks in advance!

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

It may be that all the plant needs is more time. Oncidiums (and their relatives) can sit there with big spikes and small buds for what seems like FOREVER. They can tease you for months, and then surprise you when they are ready. So patience...

[SouthPark]

Roberta's mention of 'months' is accurate. The spike can definitely take months to develop the buds. And then - after flowering, the spike can even send misleading messages - where it may give the appearance of another round of buds ----- but the spike usually doesn't produce a 'round 2' of flowering.

So - for a twinkle - and a spike has recently formed - it can take a few months or more before you get flowering activity.

But once you get flowers ------ get ready to smell that vanilla smell. That's if you like vanilla smells.

[Ray]

If the growing conditions changed significantly between the original grower and you, the plant might be stalled for a while, or give up blooming altogether this time.

[camille1585]

I've seen this once on one of my Oncs, back when I used to grow some. It seems that it was either due to the change in conditions between greenhouse and home, or the plant was too young to fully develop the spike. The next time it flowered fine!

Could you tell us what conditions it's growing in? It might be that something is off (not enough light is often a problem), and the plant is struggling to produce normal spikes.

[ghuylar]

Hi Camille!
This is a new addition to my collection that i received in February I believe. It came in spike and the spike looks mature except for the absence of buds. I have it placed under a skylight which receives abundant bright light from sunrise till 4 or 5 in the afternoon. It did have a fungal issue when it first arrived, so I did have to remove a few leaves, but it is fine now.

Based on everyone's responses I would guess it is just taking its time to adjust to my home, but only time will tell I think!

[Roberta]

My mantra... "Orchids teach patience..."