Equitant Staking

[jmrathbun]

I bought three equitant oncidiums last year and put them in 3" pots with lava rock. This year they have begun spiking for the first time. One has THREE spikes!

My dilemma is that these spikes are a little thicker than a hair and I can't imagine how I'm going to stake them. Any suggestion?

[tucker85]

Are you talking about tolumnia? I don't stake mine. I let them hang naturally. I think they would be very difficult to stake. If you want to try, bamboo skewers would be my go-to stake for small plants. There are also little plastic clips that I use on phals all the time.

[bellini girl]

I , like Tucker don't stake mine. Haven't had any casualties either (spikes breaking off)

[Paphluvr]

The spikes are very tender and break easily when they first begin to form but toughen up nicely when the buds begin to form. If you want to stake them I would wait for the stem to mature before handling it. Also, after they bloom, cut the stem back to just above the first node below where the flowers were. This will generally result in smaller lateral spikes developing and more flowers (these will sometimes develop on their own).