This little orchid was blooming last November, and I was almost sure I had published the results of that already.
But today I opened a folder with unedited photos, and they were still there :o How did that happen!?
The flowers are long gone, and the pseudobulbs are growing, getting ready for this season to bloom. So yes, they are still alive and doing well. But I thought I would lose them all.
I dont have full names for these as I got them in a supermarket tagged as "orchids". I know they are Oncidium Twinkle, though, and I have been wanting one for a very long time.
I got two, since they were very cheap and the colors were very nice. I got them home and, as always, removed all the crappy media they were potted in, and it turned out that one was actually two poorly looking plants, so I planted them separately.
And the other one was just one, but equally poorly looking plant.
What I mean by poorly: very little heathy roots and one or two pseudobulbs. What orchids hate is splitting them drastically, leaving one or two pseudobulbs per plant. This is where water and energy for the whole plant are stored. And with more bubs, the new shoots grow better and faster and produce more flowers. They are all connected, and they constantly feed each other.
Besides that, there were mostly dead roots on all three plants, and I thought I would be wasting my time trying to save them.
But no :)
They did surprise me with new growths soon after repotting. Even without a proper root system, the new bulbs managed to grow. And this is why older bulbs are needed. I can't remember now if the second one is white or yellow, but the new shoot was sucking so much water from the old one that it was as thin as a sheet of paper. I really thought they would not make it.
Very tiny, little flowers :)
But as soon as the young one is a little bit bigger, it starts to grow its own roots, and then they feed the whole plant, and any old bulbs that were dry and sucked to their limits plumb back. It is pretty amazing, if you ask me.
And so here we are. The white/yellow did not bloom since it was in the worst state. But it is growing.
The red/cinnamon one, though, bloomed on both plants. From the new, healthy pseudobulb.
This is the smallest orchid I have, and its size is also the reason why I wanted it. They don't take up much space but can produce a lot of very fragrant, tiny flowers. On a very mature plant, it looks like a cloud.
The fragrance is so nice on this one as well - sweet vanilla with some citrus hints. It is not sickening at all.
This is the one that did not bloom. Still small, but at least it is growing and doesn't look like a dried-up raisin anymore. The roots inside the pot are looking good too. So I am hoping to see flowers this year.
And a group shot with Paphiopedilum Pinocchio, since they bloomed in the same time.
Little bonus:
Little mushrooms start to pop now and then. I have to keep the humidity higher in the pots for these, as not only do they like a little more water than most orchids, but also to promote root growth.
They don't bother me at all, so they can stay. But that can mean the sphagnum moss that I use together with smaller bark chips is starting to decompose and should be replaced.
I will not repot them this year, though. I will wait for them to get bigger before I disturb the roots. Besides, there is still plenty of room in the pot.
