Oncidium NOID

I just got this nice healthy plant. The top of the spike has been damaged and the owner threw it away. Instead of ending up in the garbage it came to me. There was a paper label that identified it as "intergeneric".

The plant is in excellent shape with a pot full of roots and pseudobulbs overflowing the pot. When I looked beyond the broken spike I saw two more spikes. It is ready to be re-potted as soon as the blooming is done. After it has done its duty in the Sonoma display window I will probably give it away.

Cattleya Mom's Favorite

It looks as if Cattleya Mom's Favorite will remain unidentified. It has fully developed its color and there is nothing to distinguish it from the many white Cattleya hybrids with C Bow Bells in the mix. It is still a very big, beautiful flower.

Oncidium nudum

I am a bit surprised that the Oncidium nudum bloomed this year. It bloomed two years ago in what I thought was a despiration bloom. It had been very badly damaged by a rat we had in the Sonoma greenhouse. It was attacked again last summer by a rodent (probably a squirel) here in Napa.

Oncidium nudum grows in northern South America in hot, humid wetlands. It blooms in winter and has an inflorescence that extends almost two feet.

The spike is growing around the plant toward the north wall of the greenhouse. It is hanging within two feet of the top of the greenhouse so I had thought it would go in that direction. But given that the spike originated at the bottom of the plant shaded by the pseudobulbs, it makes sense.