Oops, it’s been a bit longer than I wanted it to be for another post. I just wanted to post a picture of the Oncidium “Sweet Sugar” orchid that we have waited two years to see re-flower.

While nearly everyone has a phalaenopsis (moth) orchid, Oncidiums are much rarer as they’re not sold by supermarkets or at petrol stations and you might have trouble finding them at garden centres. Having said that, we got ours from Ikea. It didn’t hold its flowers for long the first time and it subsequently spent the next two years dividing and making more pseudobulbs while the moth orchids were throwing up flower spike after flower spike.

I’ve been meaning to either re-pot it or throw it out for some time now and it was only after it was threatened (over a period of a few months) and then judiciously watered and put in higher light conditions (phalaenopsis and oncidiums need different growing conditions) that it began to throw up a flower spike. The flower buds gradually swelled and unfolded into these “spanish dancing ladies in dresses”, strung out in a line.

Was it worth waiting two years? Probably not as there are far more beautiful orchids that flower much more frequently, but I must have bought it originally for a reason therefore I’ll be sure to regret it if I did get rid of it. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy it as it is because who knows how long it could be before I see it again.