Is Zone 9b too hot for Wilsonara Pacific Command?

[Junebug]

It's been almost 2 years since I bought a very overgrown specimen of Burrageara Pacific Command 'Huana Road'. It was so pot bound that it practically took a chain saw to divide it. After division I wound up with 3 ugly but decent sized divisions. Two are growing SH and one was recently transitioned from SH to CHC, aerolite, and charcoal. They've all grown well since being divided and they've filled out and look healthy but I haven't had a single spike.

It looks like they've been reclassified to Wilsonara. Anyway, I'm concerned that I may have invested in a chid that requires cooler temperatures to initiate spikes and blooms. My growing zone is 9b in Central Florida. Has anyone in my zone had success with blooming these. My Sherry Baby spikes in early fall and late winter and Twinkle produces fall spikes that don't mature until December. The Wilsonara's exposure to sunlight is comparable to my Oncidiums. Am I needlessly fretting or should I expect the Wilsonara to exhibit a similar "fall spike" behavior? Perhaps they prefer to be more pot bound or maybe they need more sunlight. I don't know the answers but I sure would like to see these babies bloom.

[WhiteRabbit]

Hi June!
I don't really know the answer - I also have a non-blooming Wilsonara, tho I have had it less than 2 years, so I'm still trying to figure out what the issue may be. I'm in zone 9a I guess, but even in summer nights can be cool. I have rebloomed a couple of cooler growing Onc. types (Miltoniopsis, Vuylstekeara), so I don't think that, at least for myself, that temperature is likely a problem. I'm trying it on the porch this year - gets morning light. A lot of my orchids seem to like it there, so we'll see what - if anything - develops.

I'll be watching this thread to see if anyone has advice.

[Angurek]

Junebug, I think Wilsonara was bred to be more heat-tolerant than any of its parents (I think that's where the oncidium comes in). But it does have Odontoglossum and cochlioda in it, both of which are cool-growers. If that's the case, you might see spikes after cold fronts in the winter.

I also have trouble with oncidiinae. I bought a Degarmoara Winter Wonderland about a year ago, and it has been dying a slow death in the bright light and heat. They burn up every time.

[Junebug]

Thank you for your responses. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Their growth and leaf color are good but lately it's been nearly 80 degrees at night and between 95 and 98 during the day. Last winter it was unusually warm through most of December. Then, out of the blue, we were hit with 3 weeks of steady freezing temperatures. The Wilsonaras came indoors for the freeze and never experienced a gradual (normal) decline in temps.

[JimMcCully]

Aloha,

I made Wils. Pacific Command (O. Sphacetante X Oda. Topance) back in 2003. At that time I was still selling seedling flasks, so there is a probability that your clone was selected by someone other than me. I bring this up because, while the cross was bred for heat tolerance, the proclivity for flowering is often dependent on the selection for that trait in the cultivar.
I note you refer to the clone as 'Huana Road', I know that here on the Big Island there are some commercial growers on "Huina" Road. Perhaps they selected it, or, more worryingly, perhaps they cloned a clone and the resulting population reflects the degradation of the genotype.
Anyway, your temps are too hot for happy growing of most Oncidiinae during the Florida summers. I know most of the commercial customers in south Florida who have tried to grow my cultivars have failed due to: poor water quality, too high of temps (absolute day/night and/or a lack of differential between the two), lack of air circulation.
The pictures of your plant show that you can grow it, which is to be expected of the breeding (O.sphacelatum). Now to induce it to flower will require about 20 days with a min. temp of low 60's, and you might be able to trick it by keeping a steady breeze (fan, but it will dry out your plants faster) across the leaves)
Anyway, I stumbled across this board while traveling and doing random "Googles", thought I'd participate and see if I could help.
Good luck with your plant,
Jim

Mauna Kea Orchids

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by JimMcCully

Aloha,

I made Wils. Pacific Command (O. Sphacetante X Oda. Topance) back in 2003. At that time I was still selling seedling flasks, so there is a probability that your clone was selected by someone other than me. I bring this up because, while the cross was bred for heat tolerance, the proclivity for flowering is often dependent on the selection for that trait in the cultivar.
I note you refer to the clone as 'Huana Road', I know that here on the Big Island there are some commercial growers on "Huina" Road. Perhaps they selected it, or, more worryingly, perhaps they cloned a clone and the resulting population reflects the degradation of the genotype.
Anyway, your temps are too hot for happy growing of most Oncidiinae during the Florida summers. I know most of the commercial customers in south Florida who have tried to grow my cultivars have failed due to: poor water quality, too high of temps (absolute day/night and/or a lack of differential between the two), lack of air circulation.
The pictures of your plant show that you can grow it, which is to be expected of the breeding (O.sphacelatum). Now to induce it to flower will require about 20 days with a min. temp of low 60's, and you might be able to trick it by keeping a steady breeze (fan, but it will dry out your plants faster) across the leaves)
Anyway, I stumbled across this board while traveling and doing random "Googles", thought I'd participate and see if I could help.
Good luck with your plant,
Jim

Mauna Kea Orchids

Aloha,

Thank you so much for responding and congratulations for developing such a beautiful hybrid.

My Huana Road was purchased as a pot bound specimen from an eBay vendor. Division was not an easy task, but I wound up with 3 decent sized specimens. Initially they were growing on my underlit screened porch, but transferred to my new shade house early this spring. The shade house receives great air circulation and the Huana Road's are growing on the lower level facing west. They receive bright filtered light but not enough to cause sunburn. If it gets too warm I kick on the misters. They've adjusted well to their new location and have lots of new growth.

The winter in Central Florida was fickle last year with no happy in between temperatures. First it was so warm and "Spring like" that my plants were uncharacteristically putting out new growth in November and December. This was followed by 3 weeks of freezing temperatures. There was no gradual decline. It just went from warm to too cold overnight. All the plants came indoors. There were more cold fronts after the first one and each time it was just too cold to safely leave them outdoors. I'm hoping next winter won't be so crazy. Maybe I'll see some spikes if there's a gradual temperature decline.

I'm a newbie when it comes to Wilsonaras and I appreciate your helpful insight.

Sincerely,

Junebug

[Aceetobe]

I think heat index is a better measure in this case than hardiness zone. I'm officially zone 10, but can grow almost all cool growing orchids outdoors.

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by Aceetobe

I think heat index is a better measure in this case than hardiness zone. I'm officially zone 10, but can grow almost all cool growing orchids outdoors.

Recently the heat index in my area has been ranging between 100 and 102 degrees. Some record high temperatures have been set. Fortunately the plant misters have helped the chids stay comfortable. Frequent thunderstorms have been forcasted for weeks, but the rain has been scarce at my home.

[JimMcCully]

To paraphrase Spinal Tap, we're " an 11 " here in Hawaii. So yes , heat index is the appropriate metric over Plant Hardiness.
If you like Wils. Pacific Command you should really like some of the Wils. Pacific Panache clones. 'Keenan' and 'Red Heaven' are particularly good.
The most reliable grower and bloomer of all the Sphacetante hybrids is Odcdm. Catatante (* Colm. Wildcat). It is also proving to be a great breeder.

[Ray]

1) USDA zones are related to expected winter lows, not highs, aren't they? So I would disregard them in this case.

2) I resold a bunch of Pacific Commands, and mine 'Huina Road' (not Huana) is in bloom now in nearly 100° weather. It is in S/H, so that might make something of a difference.