Oncidium Sharry Baby is a cross between Oncidium Jamie Sutton (Oncidium sotoanum x Oncidium anthocrene) and Oncidium Honolulu (Oncidium leuchochilum x Oncidium altissimum). The Sharry Baby is also known as the chocolate orchid and not for its colors, but for its fragrance. This cross truly is an icon in the orchid world.
Oncidium Sharry Baby is a cross between Oncidium Jamie Sutton (Oncidium sotoanum x Oncidium anthocrene) and Oncidium Honolulu (Oncidium leuchochilum x Oncidium altissimum). The Sharry Baby is also known as the chocolate orchid and not for its colors, but for its fragrance. This cross truly is an icon in the orchid world.
IDENTIFY ONCIDIUM SHARRY BABY ORCHID PLANT
Oncidium Sharry Baby is a sympodial orchid consisting of pseudobulb, growing quite tightly to each other, in length reaching about 8-10 cm, and in width 5 cm, light green in color. The leaves are narrow, 15-25 cm long and 2-4 cm wide. Peduncles are straight, strongly branched, with a very large number of small (usually dark purple) flowers, up to 40 cm in length and appear at the base of the pseudobulb.
The flowers color from dark purple to yellow-brown, ranging in size from 2 to 4 cm in diameter, have a very pleasant, pronounced sweet aroma than the smell of honey, vanilla or chocolate. The heat waves are wavy, growing in the form of an asterisk, 1-2 cm long and 0.5-1 cm wide. The lip is triple, most often white, light pink or yellow, its color depends on the particular orchid variety, its front part is 1 cm long and 1 cm wide, has an asterisk in the middle.
There are several varieties of the Sharry Baby, the most popular one being the ‘Oncidium Sharry Baby Sweet Fragrance’ variety which is the most fragrant of all varieties. There is also the ‘Oncidium Sharry Baby Tricolor’ variety that presents yellow tips on the petals and a whiter lip, a very nice pattern indeed. The ‘Oncidium Sharry Baby Ruby Doll’ variety is a complete red to dark red coloration, this variety is also very popular and exquisite looking. There are also the 'Oncidium Sharry Baby Sweet Berry' variety. All of these varieties bear the chocolate fragrance in various degrees of intensity.
ONCIDIUM SHARRY BABY ORCHID PLANT CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Oncidium Sharry Baby loves the bright sun without access to direct sunlight, so during the hot afternoon sun on the windows of the southern orientation and the hot evening sun on the western windows, the orchid should be placed behind the curtain (for example, on the table near the window) or in the shade of other plants.
Temperature:
This hybrid belongs to a moderate temperature regime, however, it can calmly adapt to both warmer and colder temperatures. Throughout the year it is recommended to keep the plants under the following conditions: Day temperature at 18-22 ° C (not higher than 32 ° C); Night temperature at 10-18 ° C. For successful cultivation at home, it is necessary that the night temperature always be 2-4 ° C lower than the daytime.
Humidity:
Oncidium Sharry Baby is not demanding a high humidity, and its rate can vary from 40 to 70%. Too dry air has a negative effect on the development of the plant: its growth is slowed down, the tips of the leaves begin to dry out, and new shoots grow like jammed with an accordion. To increase the humidity of the air, you can use a humidifier, water saucers or wet clay. For this, a large pallet is taken, inside of which expanded clay is poured, a grate protecting the wetting of the roots is placed on top and pots with orchids are set up. The higher temperature, the higher the humidity should be, and the higher the humidity, the more often and longer it is necessary to ventilate the room where orchids are contained, otherwise there is a high probability of rotting and leaves of various kinds of fungal diseases.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Oncidium Sharry Baby is grown in a substrate in ordinary plastic pots or without it, placed on blocks. A mixture of bark of coniferous trees with peat and a small fraction of sphagnum moss (10-15%) is best suited as a substrate. When growing orchids on blocks to prevent rapid drying of the root system of a plant, it is recommended to make a small layer of moss between it and the block. On top of the roots, you can also put live or dry sphagnum.
Frequent transplants are not required for this hybrid, therefore, it is desirable to transplant only in cases of strong salinization of the substrate, its critically high pH, or when the plant grows very strongly and the old pot becomes cramped. The best time for transplanting is the period when new sprouts reach a size of 5 cm and begin to grow their own roots.
Watering:
Watering this hybrid is directly dependent on the temperature of the content, the higher it is, the more often it needs to be watered. Excess water during irrigation must flow out of the pot, as stagnation of water both inside the pot and in its pan can very quickly lead to rotting of the roots and the lower part of the plant. The damaged root system is not able to suck up water and transport it further into the plant, the leaves and pseudobulbs of orchids start to wither from lack of moisture and the plant slowly dies. Substratum between waterings should be well out. In other words, watering an orchid is necessary only when the substrate (in which it grows) is completely dry. It is not necessary to focus on a certain number of days - this is fundamentally wrong, as too many factors affect the drying rate of the substrate, such as lightness, the overall temperature of the plant, air humidity, etc.
Fertilizer:
Throughout the year, this hybrid is fertilized for every third watering in the usual concentration of fertilizer indicated on the package. At the beginning of the new growth period (vegetation), it is desirable to use fertilizer with a higher nitrogen content, and closer to the formation of pseudobulb - with a fertilizer with a higher phosphorus content. The plant feeding process is as follows - a necessary quantity of fertilizer is poured into a basin or a bucket with water and a pot of orchid is placed for 20-30 minutes.
Rest period:
Oncidium Sharry Baby does not need any period of rest, neither to stimulate flowering nor in the winter period. However, if you have some difficulties with the flowering of this type of orchid, immediately after the maturation of the new pseudobulb, i.e. when new sprouts reach the size of old ones and turn into pseudobulbs themselves, try to keep the plant somewhat drier and colder than usual and not to fertilize. Watering during this period is best done no more than once every 2-3 weeks, and the total temperature of the content should be reduced to 16-18 ° C (in some cases lower).
Us it normal for the current years sudbulb to shrival when a new bulb is becoming quite plump, so as to feed the new bulb. Watering is regular but cannot get the old bulb to plump up Thank You. Alan
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