Many, tho not all, oncidium intergenerics initiate spikes in the fall. They need either cool and/or long nights to set spikes.

You don't give your oncid's name, but if it is one of the fall-spikers, you may have missed this year's blooms.

Try growing it outdoors from app mid-August thru nights in the low 40's next fall, see if that helps.

Have never used a self-wicking pot for any plant, but I would hesitate to try one on orchids. If you think the bark is staying too dry, try soaking it before use. Also try putting a thin layer of sphag on top of the bark and spritzing it (the sphag) occasionally.

New roots form on oncids form from the newest pb, and they do love and seek out the sphag. The sphag will also hold more moisture in the bark.

good luck

oops. found the receipt. it's not an oncidium, it's a VUYLSTEKEARA.

I can help with the feline cat problem :-)

I learned that cats and dogs love to play with fir bark UNTIL it is lightly sprayed with bitter apple on the surface layer.

An annual refresher is provided about October. Dogs and cats are eternal optimists!

--Stitz--

Bark is very, very deceptive. It may appear bone dry on top or even an inch or two down, but inside the pot around the roots it can stay very moist for a long time.

A good experiment would be to fill an empty pot with the bark mix you use on your plant and then every few days empty it out to see how fast it's drying inside. I bet you'll be surprised.

Kevin

Thanks for all your replies. So if bark keeps enough water just with the waterings, any other ideas why i can't get it to flower? (the phaels i got at the same time are all doing it)

I grow a few Oncs in long fibered Sphag and water when dry. Mine are in bloom now, Carnival Costume. They go outside in bright light, no sun. I feed every 2-3 weeks during the spring summer. I have to re-pot one in the spring actually. I seem to be able to grow these well, unlike Phals which I've killed many!

Irka, a Vuylstekeara is an Intergeneric orchid with Cochlioda, Miltonia and Odontoglossum as ancestors. As for growing it under lights, i have absolutely no idea but perhaps there is nothing wrong with your conditions and maybe it just needs to grow a bit to flower.

Tommy, your Carnival Costume is no longer an Oncidium. It is an Oncidumnia, an orchid that needs vastly different conditions to say an Odontoglossum. Nice orchid by the way. Oncidumnia = Oncidium x Tolumnia

In my experience, vuyls like a bit more moisture and cooler conditions than your average oncid. I almost lost mine when it was in s/h because the roots didn't get down to the wetter area. Planted it in Aussie Gold, and it's recovering and has a few blooms.

Arthurm,
Thanks for the info. I wish they'd leave names alone! Gets confusing!

Holly--what's aussie gold??

Aussie Gold is a potting mixture made of ground coir, fine or medium diatomite, and other ingredients not listed on the label. There have been discussions of it on this forum which you could find if you did a Search. I moved my paphs into it this year, as well as some struggling oncids. All seem to be doing well, altho it's not the wonder medium they would have you believe. I think Jane has catts in it and reported good root growth. You'll see her messages if you do the search.

I've used Aussie Gold for catts and oncids. Don't believe the hype about "you can't overwater" AG. You certainly can.

But it is great for both catts and oncids. My catts this summer filled the pots completely with roots. Ditto oncids.

I didn't like it for phals-- too hard to get the watering right. For me, at any rate.

I have also put non-orchid plants I'm propagating for gifts into recycled (soaked in physan after use with orchids) AG. So far, I've used it for spider plants, aglaenoma (sp) and hardy rosemary.

All have grown *beautifully* in the recycled AG.

Expensive stuff, but a post by someone on another thread close to the top right now (sorry, can't remember which) tells you how to mix your own substitute for it.

A recipe for mixing a much-cheaper "Aussie Gold" substsitute is in this thread. Scroll down to post by Toyo

url below

Here is a link that might be useful: recipe for Aussie Gold substitute