Dare I hope? My first spike?

[james mickelso]

No. If it has an old spike then that is it. Sometimes there is no pause between spikes but often there is. My Brassia Rex Sakata just finished blooming for this year and there was a month between spikes. That was cool. I enjoyed it longer. Brassias seem to want to grow a batch of pbulbs before flowering so if yours doesn't flower next season, don't despair. A few years ago one of the divisions threw 5 spikes with about 30 flowers each. The previous year there was only two spikes off an old pbulb. They like medium/high light levels and lots of water if there is excellent drainage. Warm and windy is a must. Thin roots which rot easily. But oh so rewarding if grown right. Very easy to grow. Oh, and oncids grow roots from new pbulbs and once the pbulb is finished growing, the roots actually are there as storage for the new growth. That is why you got the spike with no roots. The pbulb usually has enough energy stored to spike and flower as long as it was fattened up when growing. Phals are the same. In fact most orchids will spike and flower on mature pbulbs as long as conditions when they were growing and forming the bud primordial were good. That is why you can take old back bulbs and grow new plants. Pbulbs are just like seeds of terrestrial plants. They have all that is needed to grow new plants.