Should I cut Onc. spike after bud blast?

[somabolo]

Warm greetings, I'm new here.

I got an Oncidium splendidum 'Penns Creek x Woodstream' about 9 months ago, and it's finally thrown a 24 inch spike but the flower buds blasted, dried up and fell off before they could mature. My question is if I should cut the flower spike back at all or if I should leave it be and it may try to produce buds somewhere else along it?

The background:
The previous owner had too many to care for so it had been pretty neglected at the time. I repotted it when I first got it, and it's grown a new leaf so it now has 5 leaves. The first was the smallest at 3 inches and each leaf has basically doubled in size and the most recent being 16 inches long. The flower spike originated from the new leaf.

Thank you!

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

If the spike is brown all the way to the base, yes, cut it. If there is a green part from the base up to at least one node there is an extremely tiny chance it would make more flowers.

Try to figure out why the buds blasted. Usual causes are being too hot or cold, a hot or cold draft, too-low humidity or inadequate watering.

[somabolo]

Thank you estación seca,

It is green all the way up. It was just the buds that dried out. I think it may have been placed too close to an external door that could bring in a cold draft when entering/exiting. I'll move it and see if maybe it would try to bloom again. If it doesn't bloom again off of this stem, how long do you think it would take to bloom again?

[estación seca]

It's very unlikely to flower from that stem. Oncidiums hardly ever do that. Bracts are tiny pieces of tissue on stems of plants near where branches, leaves or flowers emerge. If your spike has any bracts from which nothing has emerged, another stem might come out and give flowers. Otherwise your stem will turn brown and fall off.

Oncidiums make spikes from recently developed growth. After flowering there will be a variable period of time when it appears nothing happens. The plant will make one or more new green shoots, usually from the base of the most recent pseudobulb. These will enlarge, and at some point begin making roots. If you want to repot it that is the time - when new roots are only a millimeter or two long. The growth will enlarge and mature. At some point a new spike will emerge from the side of the new pseudobulb, between the leaves. Different hybrids push spikes at different stages of development, but always from the newest growths.

Species Oncidiums tend to flower once per year. Intergeneric hybrids, with ancestors flowering at different times, can have multiple cycles of growth and flowering per year if temperatures and light are good.

[Roberta]

Probably will be next year about this time. Orchids teach patience. If the plant was in poor condition from neglect, missing a year of blooming may even be helpful, let it put all of its energy into making new growth and new roots.