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Photo Credit: www.OrchidPlants.info
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Oncidium
'Dancing Ladies' is the nickname for oncidiums which, as you can see,
truly resemble little women with long full skirts and bonnets.
This little gem is an equitant hybrid, potted in a 2 inch clay pot. The
plant itself is about 2 inches tall, but produces several spikes over a
foot long with about a dozen delightful dancing ladies.
Equitants provide lots of color in a very small space and require a
minimum of care. Lots of water and occasional fertilizer during the
growing season - less after growth matures. We have an assortment of
these in various shades of white, pink, red and yellow. All are either
spotted or banded with other contrasting colors. They can always be
counted on to bloom with abandon over several weeks in the spring and
will sometimes re bloom out of season.
Equitants have a very fine and delicate root structure. When the plant
outgrows its container or the potting medium starts to break down, repot
with as little disturbance to the roots as possible. Tap the plant out
of its pot (or run a knife around the inside edges of the pot) and shake
off any loose medium. Pot on to the next pot size with a mixture
consisting of equal amounts fine grade lava rock, charcoal and tree
fern. Oncidiums like to breathe! We use clay pots to avoid effects of
over watering.
There are about 750 different species of oncidium which vary widely in
appearance and cultural needs. Most, but not all, require filtered
sunlight somewhat less intense than cattleyas and slightly dryer
conditions during the cooler months.
One that is always a show stopper is the oncidium species 'sphacelatum'.
It has rather sturdy 4 to 6 inch long oval-shaped pseudobulbs topped by
two long thin leaves. After its resting period in spring, one or more
inflorescences arise from the base of each bulb and can attain a length
of 5 feet. We keep ours in a wire basket, suspended from the greenhouse
rafters where the cascading flower spikes display a spectacular golden
yellow shower of blossoms. This plant also does well when summered
outdoors either in a screened area or suspended from a tree limb.
Many new hybrids of sphacelatum and other oncidium species have been
introduced by cross-breeding, especially with odontoglossum, to produce
smaller more compact plants with larger blooms of heavy substance. These
are well worth pursuing and growing and will reward you with unusual
brightly colored orchid flowers.
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