I wrote briefly last week about how budding orchids can be a beautiful display; while promising an update when the orchid I pictured finally bloomed. Well, it has graced me with a wonderful spray of flowers, showcasing the purple coloring and spots that were clearly visible while it was in bud.The Wilsonara genus is a man-made one, an intergeneric hybrid that combines Cochlioda, Odontoglossum and Oncidium. I have a few different examples of them, with the Wilsonara Tigersette 'Wild Court' as my most frequent and prolific bloomer.
Because of their varied parentage they come in a variety of shapes and colors, although a search through them shows that many have the star shape seen in my picture. Most Wilsonaras should hold up well to the temperate conditions of a house, 65-80F. In the northern hemisphere they do well in west and east facing windows, and should be shaded if in a south facing window. One important lesson I have learned from them is that they like to be kept a little more moist than other commonly sold Oncidiinae and Intergenerics. I accomplish this by adding about 40% sphagnum moss into the bark chip mix I pot them in, which keeps my watering schedules for all my plants intact, but you could also water them one extra time every week or so. I would suggest a pebble humidity tray for any indoor Wilsonara as well.
