Orchids oncidium, tolumnia, psychopsis, odontoglossum and their care

HomeOrchidsOrchids oncidium, tolumnia, psychopsis, odontoglossum and their care

Orchids of the genera Oncidium, Tolumnia, Psychopsis and Odontoglossum belong to the Orchidaceae family. Most representatives of these genera are epiphytes; lithophytes are less common. All of these orchids require warm, moderate or cool conditions, prefer indirect lighting and moderate watering. In the summer months, these plants can be taken out to the balcony or garden.

Types of orchid ondicium

About 750 species of ondicium (ONCIDIUM) are known, growing in the humid tropics and in the mountain forests of Central and South America. Representatives of the genus are orchids with medium-sized, usually yellow flowers of a characteristic shape (with an enlarged “lip”), collected in beautiful paniculate inflorescences. Most species bloom from spring to autumn and have a dormant period in winter. In culture, they are grown as houseplants or in greenhouses and window flower beds. Miniature species can be grown in block culture.

One of the most spectacular species among orchids is the moth oncidium, “butterfly orchid” (Oncidium papilio), which grows naturally in the mountain forests of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Trinidad.

An epiphytic plant with closely spaced single-leaved pseudobulbs. Unlike other species of the genus, it bears one flower at the end of a long peduncle that blooms for about a month. Some time after its withering, and sometimes simultaneously with it, a second flower opens, then a third, etc. Thus, one peduncle blooms intermittently for one to two years or more.

Another interesting Brazilian species is curly oncidium (Oncidium crispum), in a branched, arcuately hanging inflorescence, which has 25-30 flowers, up to 7 cm in diameter.

Pay attention to the photo of the curly oncidium orchid: the tepals are brown with yellow edges, the lip is the same color with a yellow spot in the center.

The plant is grown epiphytically or in pots on a coarse-grained substrate from pieces of bark. Blooms from autumn to spring.

In addition, species such as low oncidium (Oncidium pumilum), oncidium onion (Oncidium cebolleta) and many others are still grown in the culture.

Oncidium orchid care at home

Oncidiums are warm, temperate or cool orchids. Most plants are very photophilous, prefer bright diffused lighting. South, east and west windows are preferred. When caring for oncidiums, additional illumination with fluorescent lamps is possible, because with a lack of light, the buds dry out and fall off. In the summer months, you can take it out to the balcony or to the garden. In summer they are kept at a temperature of +20.+24 ° C, in winter the temperature of the content is reduced by about 8-10 degrees.

Caring for oncidium at home involves regular, moderate watering as the substrate dries out in the summer months, reduce watering by autumn, and completely stop for brilliant oncidium. With the advent of his buds, watering is resumed; after the end of flowering (in January-April), a dormant period begins. At this time it is necessary to provide high humidity. Other types of oncidium do not have a pronounced dormant period, therefore, in the autumn-winter time, they are moderately moistened.

When caring for an oncidium orchid, care should be taken when spraying a variegated variety, since its roots need slight drying, and for its normal development, a sufficiently high humidity is sufficient. Top dressing is carried out with mineral fertilizer every 2-3 weeks, from spring to autumn. Rarely transplanted. Oncidiums do best in pots or wooden baskets filled with orchid substrate, which consists of pine bark, charcoal, peat and sphagnum (1:1:1:1). Oncidiums are propagated by dividing into parts – so that each has at least three pseudobulbs.

Tolumnia orchid: photo and care

Orchid Tolumnia, Tolumneya (TOLUMNIA) – a genus of perennial epiphytic and lithophytic orchids, widespread in culture and formerly belonging to the genus Oncidium (Oncidium). Most of the species are distributed in the West Indies, one species in Florida. The genus is named after Tolumnia, a soothsayer who fought on the side of Turnus against Aeneas.

Plants are small to medium in size with few or almost no pseudobulbs. Rigid, often branching peduncles bear many-flowered inflorescences with small flowers 1-4 cm in diameter. The lip is much larger than the rest of the tepals, often has a complex structure.

As you can see in the photo of tolumnia, the flowers of the plant have a wide variety of colors.

Most species in favorable conditions are able to bloom twice a year. With skillful care of tholmnia, many hybrids can bloom up to three times a year.

The most popular is the tiger tolumnia (Tolumnia variegata), more commonly known under the obsolete name Oncidium variegatum.

All species of the genus Tolumnia easily interbreed with each other and with representatives of the genus Oncidium, which has led to the creation of many beautiful hybrids.

These plants belong to the group of easily cultivated orchids that do not require a dormant period. When caring for tolumnia at home, these flowers are watered more often than plants with bulbs. However, they do not tolerate stagnant moisture in the root zone.

Photo and care for the psychopsis orchid

The psychopsis orchid (PSYCHOPSIS) was recently isolated from the genus Oncidium. Psychopsies occur naturally in Central and South America.

The generic name psychopsis (Psychopsis) comes from the Greek psyhee – duish, butterfly “and opsis -” similar “and reflects the structure of flowers similar to butterflies. In addition, this name very well indicates the image of Psyche, borrowed from Greek mythology, the human soul, usually depicted as a butterfly or a young girl with butterfly wings.

These are orchids with univalent pseudobulbs. Long peduncles appear at the base of the pseudobulbs.

Look at the photo of psychopsis – this orchid has a very interesting type of orchid bloom – “revolving”. First, one flower appears, as it fades, the next one appears. The flowers themselves are quite large, shaped like butterflies or moths.

This type of orchid belongs to a moderately warm temperature regime. In summer, the optimum temperature during the day is up to +25 °C, and at night + 18 … +20 °C, in winter it is not lower than +15 °C. When caring for psychopsis, it is necessary to ensure that the difference between day and night temperatures is about 5 ° C.

Caring for an odontoglossum orchid at home

Odontoglossum orchids – “Leopard Lily” (ODONTOGLOSSUM) – sympodial, epiphytic plants that naturally grow in the mountainous regions of Central and South America. The name comes from the Latin odontos – “tooth” and glossa – “tongue”, which indicates two tooth-like protrusions at the base of the tongue.

Pay attention to the photo of odontoglossum – its flowers are star-shaped with a rich palette of shades, often with a pattern in the form of a “leopard skin”, some varieties have a pleasant aroma of lily of the valley, vanilla.

One of the most beautiful species is the curly odontoglossum (Odontoglossum crispum) – an epiphytic short rhizome plant with closely spaced pseudobulbs. More than 12 large showy flowers bloom on the peduncle, characterized by a wide variety of sizes and colors. It is actively used when crossing with species of other genera.

Natural types of odontoglossum are very difficult to buy in a regular flower shop. On sale most often there are hybrids that bloom from October to May. They are the easiest to take care of. Most often, odontoglossum is crossed with miltonia, or oncidium. Therefore, it is very difficult to determine which species a hybrid belongs to.

For plants, choose a window with bright but diffused lighting. Almost all Odontoglossum hybrids have a dormant period. In summer they are kept at a temperature of + 18.+24 °C, preferably outdoors, and in winter the temperature is reduced to +10 … +16 °C. In summer, when caring for odontoglossum, the plant is sprayed in the morning, and in winter they maintain the necessary humidity (at least 60%) in other ways. Caring for odontoglossum at home involves transplanting plants into containers, into a substrate from a mixture of bark and peat (3: 1).

Related to Odontoglossum, Rossioglossum is a small group of orchids from Central America. At one time, Russian glossums were included in the genus Odontoglossum (Odontoglossum). They bloom from late autumn and into winter. Due to their color and flower structure, they are called “tiger orchids” or “clown orchids”.

Rossioglossums prefer warm, moist conditions and bright light during growth. In winter, plants need a dry regimen. They are best grown in pots in a pine bark substrate.

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