oncidium pusilla

[ezil]

I'm a big fan of the "fans", but have only one of these. This is the 1st blooming for this little one. The plant is very small, and I'm afraid that letting the 2nd. spike bloom may actually kill it. I've heard that this species is prone to blooming itself to death. Does anyone have experience with this species?

[WhiteRabbit]

Beautiful! Sorry, I don't have experience with this.

[Bud]

Beautiful flower and its such a unique fan....I have one like this but its still a seedling....I hope it doesnt bloom to death....it would be a shame after all the work and effort to grow it

[nenella]

That's a very beautiful plant & flower. I can't help you either. I hope someone who has experience growing these chimes in. Thanks for posting.

[Arenalbotanicalgarden]

Never seen a dead one. In the wild you hardly ever see one unless you dig deep. They grow.....get this...on heavy sun plants(relatively low humidity) in thick leafy shrubs. If you spot one you can dig to the center of the tree and find dozens. Neat little orchid, for sure.
We don't have them where I am and I expect they wouldn't like it. They flourish high up and on the Atlantic slope.2500-3500 feet or so.

[Trini Kjeldz]

where i live they are found on the thin outer mossy branches of cocoa and coffee trees....low elevation 0-200m...usually destroyed wen pruning of these trees take place..actually name is Psygmorchis pusilla no longer an Oncidium....water frequently keep warm and humid and let them dry out between waterings...treat as a Tolumnia(equitant oncidium)..mounting is best

[ezil]

Thank you all for your comments and advise. I will let it dry out a bit more between waterings, but right now it's forming another spike and growing a new leaf. The humidity here can be very low at times, that's why it isn't mounted, but grown in a clay pot in a mixture of styrofoam pellets and sphagnum moss.

[james mickelso]

That is sooo cool! Only one flower per spike? Spike? Can you call it a spike if it has only one flower on it? This is so cute. I heard they are difficult to grow well. Never heard of it flowerng to death though. I have seen a couple of them. I seem to remember one with a pinkish bloom. Never paid much attention to them. Ol club fist wouldn't do well with it. But yours looks so cute and well grown. Congrats.

[ezil]

Thanks for commenting James. The plant has 2 spikes.
Each spike has 2 buds and it seems to be a sequential bloomer. On 1 spike 1 of the buds blasted. This is still a very young plant, and I'd actually prefer it grows a few more "blades" before it produces more spikes. The flowers are quite large for the size of the plant, so it seems quite possible for it to bloom itself to death. I've never seen a pinkish one ......... I'll be hunting for one of those now!