Oncidium hybrid skipped flowering?

[opal]

I have this mix of everything in this plant I own for a very long time. Oncidium/hybirds are my fave group and I have Sharry Baby, Degarmoara Flying High and this hybrid of something I suspect is oncidium x zygopetalum but it really doesn't matter. It has 10 pseudobulbs now. What worried me in the first place is that last year after flowering it pushed 3 new growths instead of just 2. Now I am used that oncidiums I own flower right when they reach size of an old plant but before they fully develop new bulbs. It has been so for a few years but this year this mix just wasn't the right size when my other 'chids bloomed so I thought it will just flower late, when it reaches the correct size.(they flowered in June for me, 2 months earlier than I expected, they should flower in August). Its November, the new growths are bigger than the old ones and they developed nice plump bulbs but there is no flower yet. Should I be extremely worried now? Or should I somehow provide flowering requirements for it? I don't know what went wrong.The thing is, fall and winter are pretty cloudy and foggy here and I can't get provide them with enough light/warmth they require to flower like for my other 'chids.

I did experience weird flowering this year though, some chids went too early into flower, this one didn't, my dendrobiums are flowering late and very long and pushing another spike from an old cane...just a weird year for blooms in general but this is the one I am hoping to get in flower so I can take a good photograph of it. I usually don't like it as it has clashing colors of dark red/yellow stripes and pinkish-purple and flowers are bigger than those of others.

If I do nothing I probably won't experience flowers until Easter and that could almost count as 2 years and no flower.Any advice?

[camille1585]

My experience with these Onc intergenerics is that there is no set blooming period, they bloom whenever they want throughthe year. Some bloom on immature growths, others on semi mature, and finally some on mature growths.
If the plant is otherwise healthy and growing well, it shouldn't have gone two years with no blooms. Maybe it needs more light. Are you fertilizing regularily?

[opal]

I don't fertilize my orchids. Maybe 1x a year. Especially those with bulbs. The problems is, last year Sharry Baby, Degarmoara and this one flowered at the same time. This year, Sharry Baby flowered in June, Degarmoara in July and this one didn't flower at all. The plant is looking nice and green with strong bulbs. I was expecting 3 flower spikes and really nice pics considering the size of the whole thing (The orchid ceramic pot is barely keeping it from turning over, I should add stones into it soon to keep it stable)

[camille1585]

Not fertilizing is very likely your problem. Orchids are living things, and like all other living things they need food to survive and thrive. If a plant is starved then it's more likely to allocate its limited resources to growth rather than blooms. I'm surprised that your other orchids even bloomed at all this year, they may be taking resources from older bulbs.

You need to get a good orchid fertilizer and start feeding your plants on a regular basis. Many of us feed 'weakly weekly', ie a somewhat weak fertilizer solution that is given nearly every single watering.

2 years ago I had a friend complain to me that she's had her 3 Phals for years, but they've never ever bloomed despite getting good light. Turns out she very rarely fertilized them, and ever since she started feeding them regularily they are growing several spikes a year.

[opal]

Phals, Paphs, Dends and oncidiums all bloom for me every year with no problem and no fertilizer.
This plant has 7 old pseudobulbs to get nutrients from, I just don't see this as a main reason for failure.

[camille1585]

An orchid's old bulbs are not supposed to be the plant's primary resources, they are there as water storage organs to get the plant through dry spells.

If you don't fertilize, the other plants will eventually stop blooming and as it is you probably aren't getting optimal growth or blooming on them. Just my

[silken]

I agree with Camille. Every living thing needs nourishment. In the wild it would be getting nutrients from bird droppings and dead bugs etc. In our artificial potting arrangements it is very important to feed them. They don't need heavy feeding, it should be 1/4 to 1/2 what is on most fertilizer containers, but your plants would perform even better than they do now.

I too have a friend who refused to re-pot or feed his Phal for a few years and he has never seen another bloom or much growth. Finally this summer after I provided the potting media and plant food, he re-potted and is feeding and it has grown leaves and roots. Now I've convinced him to give it a cool spell so that maybe it will bloom for him!

[NYCorchidman]

Maybe it's just a black sheep. Get it out! just kidding.
You said it has many pbs. I know it may look nice as a big clump when they flower altogether, but dividing it into smaller group might stilmulate it to grow and flower better. just a suggestion.

[opal]

Please stop comparing phalaenopsis care with oncidium care. It's not the same. They don't even grow at the same rain-forest tree height.Just like lemon care and grapefruit care is not the same. Sure they are citruses, but what would work for lemons would actually kill grapefruit.

Orchids in general are such low feeders that fertilizer is not a solution for poor growing conditions. But this debate may belong to some other thread.

I need to know, from oncidium growers , what worked on oncidiums not phalaenopsis. Thus posting in oncidium section, not general.

10 pseduobulbs is the specimen size in oncidiums. I don't want to divide it even if it is a noid.

[NYCorchidman]

Well, if you don't want to take anyone's advice while seeking one, what's the point? You sound like you know everything.

I will have to repeat some stuff that has been already said above.
Orchids are living things and they need nutrients. In nature, they take in nitrogen through the roots from the air and their roots are attached to some kind of surface where debris and droppings collect. I dont' know where you heard orchids are light feeders. Orchids roots are different than regular terrestrial plants so care needs to be taken when using fertilizers. While they are actively growing, they need things other than 'sugars' they themselves make just like any other plants.

You are right in that fertilizing won't compensate for poor growing conditions, but only enhances their growth and overall health of plants under good conditions. I'm not sure what kind of growing conditions your plants are in.

If you are doing everything right, but it hasn't bloomed for two years in a row, then I would try new things like start applying fertilizer or dividing it into smaller groupings to see if that makes any differece. It doesn't hurt to try. no harm will be done to your plant, and you might even get better results. but you will never know until you try.

I know you said you don't want to divide and I understand. It is just a suggestion, not asking you to do it. You do whatever you want, but you are the one asking for help, yet rejecting what others say.

For record, I grow lots of oncidium and their hybrids, and they all grow and flower nicely.

Last one thing, I was going to suggest exposing your plant to lower temperature, but then again, yours used to bloom before, so I guess you are doing everything right. It may just be the plant.

Then again, without knowing what the parentage behind the plant is, it is hard to provide the proper care.

Good luck!