Biggest phal leaf I've ever seen....

To see the size.....and I have big hands...

How old is the Oncidium?

I got both of these at the same time about three years ago at a show in Philly. I repotted them both for the first time this spring and they have just taken off since then.

Very nice looking plants. Continue doing whatever you are as everything looks great. I'm just curious do you usually leave those oncidiums where they are in the picture at the edge of the garden? Do you give them direct sunlight?

My question isn't about what I'm doing. I've got that part down after years of trial and error and help from this forum. I'm comfortable saying that I finally know my way around a few different species of orchids. Again, I've never seen a flower spike come out of the top of an oncidium bulb. This is what I'm curious about.

This ever happened to me with Odontocidium wilcat Rainbow. In my case that occured after a stress, with an almost dieing plant. A sort of last call show. My plant got smaller since then. Finaly, it is not dead but, after 3 years, it realy restart at the first level. Now, it is going to bloom the normal way. With good advices form here.

But your plant seems healthy. I dont know why and how this can happen, but it happens, I had only a few flowers (like your's).

To me, it is just an extra curiosity of orchids.

It's blooming....

Now, that's a real beauty !!

My Shari baby is going off right now. The perfume fills the whole room.

WOW! I'm so envious of your oncidium skills! I also live in zone 7a and have had no luck with anything in that alliance, though they're my favorite. I also bought most of mine at shows in Philly, not that has anything to do with it haha. Anyway happy blooming!

Just gorgeous! I have a small division of sharry baby gifted by a fellow orchid society member ... it's been a bit neglected, but still seems happy enough that I'm hopeful for a spike or two soon. Maybe one day it will grow enough psuedobulbs so I can enjoy a display like yours?!? Fingers crossed. :)

Yes. Your Baby is big and beautyfull. Wonderfull. Mine is growing 2 spikes blooming soon.

Your SB is gorgeous! Makes me want to try again, even though I've sworn off of oncids!

Fully bloomed....

And finally, for the first time in the three years that I've been caring for them, ALL of my phals are spiking simultaneously. It took awhile, but I have them all in sync.

Thanks alot Jane. I got alot of my information from you when I first started dabbling four or so years ago. So you can take some credit!! Thanks again.

Wow!! That is magnificent. Would love to hear any special tips or pointers from you.

Lillian

You should smell it. The perfume fills the whole room. Funny enough, it only puts out scent during the light part of the day. By dark, they have completely shut off the scent.

That is very interesting. I guess biologically it would make sense though.... Trying to attract a potential pollinator during the day! Nature and it's gimmicks are fascinating. I only have one oncidium but you are tempting me to invest in more ;-)

Thank you very much for these great pix. Nice plants that are nicely grown are always a joy to see.

tj

Here is the bunch....

I should have pruned the calathea before taking this pic....

My best phals.

And so the show begins!

Oh No - Now I'm going to want a Sherry Baby !!! She's beautiful!!

I would love to join an orchid society or something similar to network and talk about my plants. The thing is, I'm a large man....I lift weights, I'm 38 years old and partake in extreme sports. I just picture orchid societies being filled with little old ladies? I don't think it would be a very good fit, although I would love to be able to talk plants with people? Perhaps I'm judging? Maybe I'm wrong, but I just think I would stand out as odd as I don't really have much in common with who i think would be in those things?

Gardening centers me and smooths out the rough edges of the more extreme aspects of my life.......am I wrong in this thinking? Don't you think it would be funny to see this big guy walking in with these fragile, delicate plants? lol

Great growing, especially the SB!

You should really take Jane`s advice and join your local orchid society group. It is so much fun to "talk plants" and see what other people can grow. There are always interesting guest speakers. But most importantly: there are usually LOTS of orchids to purchase or win!

The members are from all walks of life and are about equal numbers of male/ female (I can just speak for the group here in Houston though).

Give it a try! They are always happy to see visitors and you can make the decision about joining the group later.

Some of the most experienced members on this board are men. Many, if not all, of the vendors at the Orchid Society shows I've attended are men. I don't think you'd be out of place based on your gender. I agree that 30s is on the younger end of things (I'm right there with you!) but that shouldn't matter much when learning about plants, right?

I won't lie, the group I'm in is mostly senior citizens, women of various ages, and gay men (or any combination of the three). The other group I attended, before they moved to a location I couldn't easily travel to, was mostly men and older couples. Oddly, all of the wildly different kinds of people in the group works out fine, because we all talk about our orchids in a way that would bore other people to tears. It's good to get my fix, otherwise everyone else in my life would get so tired of my yammering on about orchids. In any other setting, I wouldn't really fit in with the demographic of the current group at all (I'm a somewhat off-the-wall, extroverted 40-year-old single woman) ... but for an hour once a month, it feels nice to just shut up and geek out. I learn SO MUCH. You may want to check it out. If there's a local orchid show happening, the orchid society will have a table there. Go check out the people and see how you feel. You may end up pleasantly surprised!

All your orchids are very healthy!. Would you please tell me what kind of fertilizer or what trick you do to keep them absolutely healthy and beautiful like that? In term of flower spike grows on top of the plant. I had one miltoniopsis grew a little tiny bulb in the main bulb and produced a flower spike on it last Fall.

Tanie

No trick.....just lots of TLC. They go out side around the end of may for the whole summer. When outside, they are watered daily with a light fertilizer mixture. This continues until Mid October when they are all brought in. No fertilizer during this time and watering goes down to weekly with all of them. That's it!

Thank you CJ! What's the name of fertilizer would you please tell. I use Schultz Orchid fertilizer. Before that, I used Miracle Grow but don't see the different between the too. I think they are doing okay but my Catts don't do well. I want to try different kind to see if the will improve.

Tanie

Hi CJ! Thank you for your comments. Do you mean you water every time with fertilizer, in the summer, between the rains ? I also put my orchids outside in summer. I use 20-20-20 at 1/4 to 1/3 of the regular dose, once a week but your way seem fine too. Sometimes I use 15-30-15 in the end of summer.

Regarding the earlier comments, I am a 58 years old man LOL. Hi to all !

I use whatever is around as it's not really that important in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes I'll use miracle grow, other times a product from Dyna grow mentioned on this forum quite often.....can't remember the name right now. The fertilizer you use isn't going to make or break your orchids. it's the way you take care of them that will determine the outcome. Proper sun, temps and watering habits are the most important factors. Fertilizer is just the icing on the cake. If you bake a crappy cake, the icing isn't going to make it good, if you get my drift.

My plants get watered EVERY DAY in the summer. If it rains, then I skip watering them as nature has done it for me. But yes, just like I said, I water them with a low dose fertilizer every day, all summer long. You obviously just have to make sure you have proper drainage and they are planted in the correct medium.

Thanks CJ.

yes and THANKS for the details. Good growing !

This is called a terminal spike. In Phals it is a death sentence because it consumes the apical meristem, but in this type of orchid it's totally fine and somewhat common.

Here is a shot of all my others that have all come into bloom

And I finally got my Cattleya to bloom!

Wow!!! Such a big accomplishment to made your green pets in bloom! Nice collection :)))

Very beautiful flowers CJ! I have (had) one almost exact like that. Re bloomed for me one time last year. I split the plant to give one to my friend as a favor. The other half is barely surviving right now but produced some young shoot. I am nurturing them like a baby because I love the flowers. I don't think it liked the heat I had in my sun room that much either. I am very watchful this year. If the heat in the sun room goes up to 27 degrees. I move them into my living room instead... Don't want any more damage. The flowers are very striking! I want to ask you all a question about put them outside. I heard some of you said you leave the orchids outside in summer and bring them in when the weather starts to get cold or cool down. What about rain? We all know and talked about don't let water gets in the crown of the orchids otherwise it will rot the leaves. How can they survive with rain pour on them? Or you do shelter them under some kind of protection? Please let me know.

Tanie