My orchids have, sadly, been rather dormant ever since we moved into our current apartment at the end of last June. The “orchid room” window faces southwest rather than south like it did in our last apartment, so the light isn’t quite as bright here. There has been a fair amount of new leaf, root, and pseudobulb growth, but spikes are another story. So I was thrilled at the end of March to discover a spike on my NOID Oncidium that last bloomed for me two years ago! If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you might already be aware of this development.
The spike was hiding inside the folds between the leaves and the pseudobulb, and it was a little bent but still totally viable. It was about an inch and a half long by the time I found it.
About two weeks later the spike had grown pretty significantly in length:
Only one week later it had grown exponentially longer! This thing was seriously growing like a weed.
I forgot to take photos of the spike’s progress more regularly, but here’s how it looks as of this morning, about five weeks after I initially spotted it:
I believe the upward curve in the spike is its way of trying to orient itself toward the light. I have this Oncidium situated close to the LED bulb that I bought when we moved into the apartment in an attempt to bring more light to my orchids. The curve seems to be the spike’s way of avoiding hitting the lamp while also reaching toward the window.
I’m so very excited about the first spike in our new apartment! I can hardly even call this place new anymore, as we’ve been here for close to a year at this point. I was starting to get discouraged about the lack of blooming in my orchid collection, but this little guy gives me hope.
I’ll definitely post an update here when the orchid blooms!
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