Oncidium care, what am I doing wrong?

[FranningtonBear]

I am an amateur windowsill grower based in the UK, mostly my orchids thrive on this regime.

I was given the NoID plant pictured below by a friend when she stopped flowering. I haven’t seen her in bloom but I’m reasonably confident she is some type of Oncidium hybrid (did I mention I am an amateur?).

When this plant was given to me she had only two pseudobulbs, I repotted her into a slightly larger pot with fresh medium (a medium grade orchid bark) and found she had very few live roots. Since repotting around 18 months ago she has produced a huge amount of root growth and developed 6 further pseudobulbs making 8 in total. I keep her on a bright, north facing windowsill and she appears to be healthy but no sign of flower spikes… what am I doing wrong?

[dbarron]

Overall it looks healthy.
However, maybe a bit more light would help. North is pretty low light. I have mine in western and southern windows and they do flower.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

I agree, stronger light would be better. As far North as you are, these could tolerate some direct summer sun if acclimated gradually.

[FranningtonBear]

Thanks both for the replies, I’ve moved her to a West facing window and will keep my fingers crossed.

[Keysguy]

Looks happy but more light will be your friend. Remember to do that gradually!

[estación seca]

Your light problem is not only lower intensity than closer to the equator, but also much shorter winter days. I do see UK growers here posting beautiful plants grown in natural light, but not of all genera. Some people in northerly regions use supplemental electric lighting to extend daylength to 11-12 hours in winter. Some people use lights all day, while others turn them on for a few hours before dawn and/or after sunset.