Hi Shani,

Congratulations on your wedding! It must have been wonderful with those orchids.

As for what you've got, well, there is a lot of interbreeding amongst allied species in the Oncidium family, creating a whole flood of new intergeneric hybrids. Burr = Burrageara = Cochlioda X Miltonia X Odontoglossum X Oncidium; Oda = Odontiona = Cochlioda X Odontoglossum; Wils = Wilsonara = Cochlioda X Odontoglossum X Oncidium.

As for care, well, you want intermediate temperatures and a slight nighttime cool down in the fall never hurts. You want bright light, about halfway between Phals and Catts, but err on the brighter side if there's a choice. Water when the mix is just dry, without watering when the mix is still wet or allowing dry periods, like for Catts. Many are repeat bloomers, as you've noticed with your Twinkle.

Good luck.

Julie

They were and are still quite amazing. My house looks like a show right now. I had intended to give them away to guests, but totally forgot in all the hubub. They put me into the several hudred area now and we shall see how I fare without a greenhouse.
Julie thank you so much. You knew exactly what I needed.
One more question. Would they hate me if I put some sphag in their mix? I have had my Degamoara in a little for about 4 months and seems to do the trick for my watering habits. Plus it is hot and dry here.
Thanks for the luck I just might need it.

Hi Shani,

Just think of them as extra wedding gifts!

Many of mine are actually potted in a mixture of pretty much equal parts sphag and fine bark with some perlite and charcoal thrown in and they really do not mind it. There is however a big 'but' here: Oncids have very fine white roots and repotting from sphag is a huge pain in the behind. Just imagine trying to get all the sphag away from those tiny roots without breaking them all off... Be sure to get the best quality NZ sphag you can find so that you don't have to go through that nightmare too often; adding charcoal also helps the mix stay 'sweeter' longer.

Julie

"...and we shall see how I fare without a greenhouse." Exactly. And it isn't just the light (gasp) but the minimization of extremes that greenhouses are so good at, homes less so and the great outdoors poor to moderate depending on location. So do what you can to minimize large fluctuations in temp day to day and maintain control over the light to deliver bright light for as many hours as you can (up to 16hr) and you should be good.

H (who never met an Odontioda he didn't like)

Howard, never knew that!
I am giving them a shot again after swearing I'd never rot another Odont/oncid. I'm doing a bit better now. No extreme heat, they truly do better cooler. High light (except for a few hybrids). I have moved many into Aussie Gold and am very pleased with the root growth and lack of rot. I did not do well with sphag. Some prefer mounting and hate having their roots in any media. Those are a struggle for me over the dry winter, but I got healthy growths and a few spikes. I have little time to individualize them too much, so they all get pretty much, the same treatment. Getting better at them.

Congratulations on your wedding and would love to see some pics with all the flowers. Must have been beautiful.

Jane

Thanks Jane. It had been a long time coming. We had a son almost 2 years ago and the wedding thing got put on the back burner. It is nice to finally be official.
It was beautiful, even my bouquet was mostly large yellow cymbids and mini green ones.
I am so happy to hear that I am not the only one that has trouble with them, only my problem is that they eventually shrivel up.
Howard, with your love affair with light, might I reccomend Colorado to you instead of NY. Here light is my enemy. I just got burn marks on some quarantined phals that I put in an unshaded east window.
Thanks again all, Shani