Onc Twinkle - Orchid Board

Jerry Delaney · #1 01-16-2010, 03:33 AM

I have had these two plants for a number of years. They grow pretty much identically i.e. same size/type pot, same mix, grown side by side, same watering, same fertilizer etc. For the life of me, I just can't seem to get the Onc Twinkle 'Pinkie' to flower like the yellow form. Yes, I know that different grexs/sibs of the same cross often behave differently, but I wondered if anyone else out there has experienced the same "stinginess" with the pink or red form?

WhiteRabbit · #2 01-16-2010, 04:24 AM

oh my! they are both fabulous!
And I lovethe color of the pink one!

greenbean · #3 01-16-2010, 04:28 AM

I can't really help you on whether one blooms more than the other, though I seem to recall hearing something to that effect. I just wanted to say how beautiful both of your Twinkles are!

I have a dark pink form that unfortunately lost most of its roots when I first got it. It was a huge plant in a tiny pot and I didn't water it enough, so the roots dried out and died. It had 10 pseudobulbs, nice big ones. It now has about 30. Unfortunately the root system is so small that the 21 new pseudobulbs are really small too. I think it's slowly gaining ground though. One pseudobulb alone had 3 new growths on it and it bloomed for the first time in two years this summer.

Most of the new growths are jammed in between older pbulbs. Do you think they need more room to grow bigger? Should I divide it? Or does it just need to keep building its root system back up?

exotika · #4 01-16-2010, 05:02 AM

pretty

andrew__ · #5 01-16-2010, 01:12 PM

it looks to me like the flowers are tighter on the spikes on the pink one than the yellow - it may never be possible to get an identical show (even if they have the same number of spikes) from that plant because of genetics.

That said the pink one's very nice, and I think I might actually prefer the tighter spikes on it.

Jerry Delaney · #6 01-16-2010, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Most of the new growths are jammed in between older pbulbs. Do you think they need more room to grow bigger? Should I divide it? Or does it just need to keep building its root system back up?

Quote:

It's not unusual Greenbean for a number of the Oncidiums to have growths kind of climbing up on older bulbs. Some have such long rhizomes that they almost have to be grown mounted to accommodate the habit. Twinkels tends to just kind of make a mound out of these new pseudobulbs. Personally, I doubt if I would divide it (mine hasn't been divided since I got them) and I wouldn't put them in too large of a pot. They tend to like to stay rather root bound. When I have moved these up, I simply take a sterilized steak knife and cut off ~ 1/2 to 2/3 of the root ball and install that into a slightly larger pot. I bought these a number of years ago in 2 1/2" pots and they are just now into 5 1/2".

That said the pink one's very nice, and I think I might actually prefer the tighter spikes on it.

I guess personal preference is what makes the world go round Andrew. Like Wabbit, I really like the pink color but prefer the inflorescence and flower arrangement of the other one. For me, the flowers on the pink one are just a little too crowded. As you said, it just may be the plant genetics and that is what I was wondering. Is this trait common to the pink/red forms? I haven't attended many shows for a number of years now, so don't get to see those kind of differences.

cabbo · #7 01-16-2010, 11:36 PM

Jerry I just got a small one. How long til it gets as big as yours? They're awesome!

stefpix · #8 01-17-2010, 01:59 AM

Do they smell the same? I had a white one from TJ "Fragrance Fantasy" that smell great and then I got a small reddish/pin "pink Profusion" from Nia's that is just blooming but I detect no scent... a bit disappinted because the smell is almost 50% of what I love about the other Twinkle.

Anyways yours look great. Both of them

Lagoon · #9 01-17-2010, 06:31 AM

Jerry, I think you're twinkles are just perfection. I soooo enjoy whenever you post the photos

John D. · #10 01-17-2010, 02:25 PM

Twinkles seem to produce more scent in brighter light.