Initiation of flower spikes in Odontoglossum and Brassia?
 

Hello,

It is the first time I am trying to re-bloom sypodial orchids and don't quite know what to look for and would welcome description or even better picts!!

Both my Brassia and my Degarmoara (trigeneric hybrid between Brassia, Miltonia, and Odontoglossum) have several healthy new shoots: at what stage of the bulb/shoot maturation can you see the flower spikes formation and what do they look like? Both plants were in bloom when I bought them and I don’t know what to expect. I noticed that the bulbs which had produced flower spikes had quite deep indentations to make room for the spike: is it correct to assume that these spikes have started to grow before the bulbs reached their full size? :hmm

Thanks for help!

Storknest

Most will not bloom till the new growths mature. They send up spikes from within the outermost leaves - between those leaves and the base of the pseudobulb. When they mature sufficiently they will do their thing. Usually all the spikes emerge at same time. However sometimes new growths may not have spikes right away and thus you may see two (or more) blooms (happened with my Beallara this spring).

Ross, thank you very much for the info. Do they need also a period with colder temperatures to trigger blooming ? If yes at what stage of the new gowth ?

Storknest

i have aliceras that have 2 new growths and i was wondering the same thing.... if the new parts are growing well is it very likely that there will be a flower spike? i divided them after the bloom that i bought them in was over and i thought i would have to wait a long time before there were flowers again... sort of like my phal that is growing and growing with no sign of a flower spike. maybe these will be easier?!! :)

Not to hijack this thread, but I have a rather noob-ish question regarding Degarmoara as well:
I have a rather large plant consisting of 7-8 pseudobulbs. Only one of them is in bloom. Does each pseudobulb only bloom once, or will they produce new spikes eventually?
matt

Depends on species. (Sorry I missed your question earlier). I have found that growing these warm during summer with lots of water and fertilizer (I water/fertilize 2-3 times per week during growth periods) will prevent leaf pleating (where leaves seems to fold up as they emerge) If you see this happening increase watering. Then I tend to rest them somewhat in the fall (northern latitudes) meaning I back off on water until flower spikes emerge. I keep them in as close to full sun as I am able at 45 degrees latitude, which means dismal at best. I supplement with Compact Florescent lighting to try to achieve at least 2000 foot candles. When spikes finally emerge, I start watering again and sometimes move the plants away from the edge of the window glass as the temps are a bit warmer there (we're talking late winter in most cases.) Hope this gives you some ideas. Feel free to PM me with specific questions.

Not familiar with that particular cross, but some will stage their blooms. What I mean is, as far as I know, no Oncidium class orchid (or Brassia, etc.) will bloom more than once on a pseudobulb. However, it sometimes happens that not all pseudobulbs bloom, or spike, at same time. I have had Beallara plants (an intergeneric cross) spike and bloom more than once in a season. But never on the same pseudobulb. I suspect it means the pseudobulbs involved had to go through a certain maturing cycle before they were ready.

These orchids (Oncidiums, Brassias, Encyclias, Brassavolas, etc.) all blossom on matured new growths. The growths each year will emerge, add leaves, grow pseudobulbs, probably add papery stuff around the pseudobulb, then set spikes. The spikes almost always come from around the edge of the pseudobulb except in a few case such as Encyclia, which comes from center of leaf spread. I have found that whether you get one spike or two from a pseudobulb depends entirely on the magnitude of the bulb. I mean that whimpy or even somewhat healthy-looking smallish bulbs will send out smallish spikes at best. To get really tall spikes and multiple spikes you'll have to follow a regular and very regimented fertilizing and watering regime. I believe the secret to this is size of the pseudobulbs. Larger is better!:)

Oh, yeah, and once a pseudobulb blooms, it's done. It's main job becomes one of storage of nutients for plant survival.