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Easy newbie question

W

wickedthistle

Hi y'all,

New to the orchid side of things (glad to be here&#33
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Anyhow, I recently acquired a pathetically broken Onc. Sharry Baby "Yellow Panda" from Lowe's. I was able to repair it with TLC, tape, and nail polish until it completed blooming. I'm now noticing that the stalk is drying up and beginning to die from the tips down. Is this because it was broken or is this a natural thing? Should I just snip it off? Half of it is crispy (all of the broken parts and above), but the rest is still a nice green. Thanks!
 
Is it still flowering?
If so just cut off the dead and let it flower on. Otherwise just cut the spike down to comes out of the base of the plant, as close as you can get with out harming the orchid.
As you have already seen orchids are pretty tough plants and can handle some abuse so dont be too concerned if you bruise it abit.

Peace
 
i just got that orchid a couple of days ago but, from walmart not in flower thou. it is usally cheaper to get a plant that is not in flower.

i was told once that if you cut the stalk half way it will make the plant send out a new stalk. i have only tryed this on 3 of the orchids i have this year cause they are the older one i have had for a while and can't really tell ya the results of it yet. it was one of the other members in here that said this not to shore who it was read back in the other posts it is in there some where.
 
It's not in bloom anymore. I guess I'll try cutting it at one of the top knuckles. I know that watering even the dry stalk works for some of the other types of orchids, but I wasn't sure about this one.

George - took a bit of legwork, but I found out that the "Yellow Panda" is exactly like the "sweet fragrance" (Onc.Jamie Sutton X Onc.Honolullu) except it has the yellow tips. So we've got a rosy, super sweet chocolatety one! What could be better?
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"mmmm...chocolate...." -Homer Simpson
 
ya i saw that on the card it came w/ that it smelled like choc. i kept on smelling the card to see if i could smell the flowers and my daughter kept on telling me that i was sillie
 
lol, you'll see. I think your daughter will find these are a delight! They'll perfume the entire room once they get going. I would find that people loved hanging out in my room all of a sudden
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Usually in the daytime only, they're not as sniff-a-riffic at night. Gotta be careful, aphids LOVE these orchids as much as people!
 
I generally dont recommend attempting to get your plant to respike unless it is a HUGE plant. When a plant is in flower or preflower for that matter, it is exhausting energy to produce flowers and hold them. Meanwhile your plant is continuing to store food yet at a reduced rate. Thus once your plant has finished flowering it usually goes into a rest period or begins to grow again. By forcing your plant to flower in this method you can weaken your plant, not to mention youll never get the same amount of flowers as the first time nor will they be the same size. It is possible to harm your plant dooing this.
By the way This method is generally used with Phalaenopsis and not Oncidium though on occasion some intragenerics may respond to this method of pruning.

Peace
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Sure thing bradda.

Peace
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  • #10
Cooooolll. What's considered "huge" for an onc? I've got five of the thingies where the leaves are coming out. What are they called anyway?

It's in a 6" pot and about a foot tall. Aw, better yet, here are two pics. Since I don't have access to my server you'll have to paste in the links to view it at my geocities account.

I'll take your advice whether or not to snip it, depending on if you think the plant can handle it or not.
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http://www.geocities.com/pageoglory/sharry_yellow_panda.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/pageoglory/sharry_yellow_panda2.jpg
 
  • #11
The things that the leaves originate from are called pseudobulbs.

Wickedthistle I would cut off the parts that have dried up. It might make a few side branches from the healthy part if it is not broken way down at the base. Don't be surprised though if it only makes a few flowers if that. Oncidium are not big rebloomers off old inflorescence. Your next big show will come when the newest growth starts maturing and makes a new inflorescence.
Tony
 
  • #12
Ah, pseudobulbs. A nice, intuitive name
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Thanks Tony! It's broken right about where the top of the stake is (and was about 3 times above that but I already cut those off). Considering some of the leaves are also broken it's a very happy plant, I'll snippy snip and be impatiently waiting for the next show!
 
  • #13
Yes definitely remove the spike and let the plant grow on.
As Tony stated previously Onc. are not generaly big rebloomers.
I would say youd be wasting time trying to get it to rebloom, especially when you consider what youll get next season.
IMO

Peace
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