Culture Question for Oncda. Charlesworthii 'Mishima'

[D&S Mabel]

Hi All:

Can anyone give me info on Oncda. Charlesworthii 'Mishima' as far as culture needs are concerned?

I have this outside in Florida all year round and it has spiked but the flowers are taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to open. I get the feeling they may not fully open at all. We bought it at Lowes 2 years ago because the blooms looked great but it had skipped a season of flowering and is now trying finally trying to bloom again (I think the fertilizing regiment we started earlier this year is working).

Are we trying to grow this plant in the wrong environment? What could be causing the slow blooming effect? Should we bring it inside for the summer? We typically get 90+ degree weather for 90 days or more in the summer.

An advice is appreciated!

[D&S Mabel]

Finally opened enough to photograph. It went from "finished bud" to open bloom in 4-5 weeks. None of my others seem to take that long!!

[thakshila smith]

Do you keep it in a sunny place ? I have kept mine in a shady palce and I water it frequently. It gets direct shady sun only for half day .. mine open the buds daily.

[thakshila smith]

Quite beautiful your orchid is. I think 90 degrees is too much.

[cneos]

Your plant is a clone of the awarded (HCC - 77 points in 1998) Oncidioda Charlesworthii 'Mishima.'

The award description notes that the flower 'is a substantial improvement over either parent' - Cochlioda noetzliana x Oncidium incurvum.

The parents are cold-growing and cool-growing respectively. When buds are exposed to excessive heat in your environment, tissue 'cooks' and fuses together. The result is slow to bloom flowers or flowers that never fully open, if they even open at all.

Definitely find a colder place for this beauty and follow cultural tips for cool-growing oncidinae and odontoglossum and you will be rewarded with a spectacular display.

[D&S Mabel]

The blooms are just starting to fade so they did last about a month in full bloom.

The plant itself doesn't look all that great though and we did have a period of 95 degree plus for about a week that really knocked it around. A leaf actually had what looked like a water blister in it.

Looks like I will need to bring it inside from June to October. The other months we usually range in the low 80's or so and down.

Thanks for the pointers!

[quiltergal]

That bloom was worth the long wait for it to open! Very nice.