Among the cultivated orchids the dancing ladies or dancing dolls are probably the daintiest and loveliest. Belonging to the genus Oncidium, they have long, graceful sprays of bright golden yellow flowers, which vary in size from less than an inch to several inches across.
The large lip of each blossom resembles a full, swirling skirt, while the column, with its crest and appendages, completes the outline of a ballerina or dancing lady.
The sprays may have from as many as a hundred to several hundred flowers, with bright golden yellow lips and sepals and petals of the same color, marked with chartreuse or brown.
Genus Oncidium
The Genus Oncidium, one of the largest in the orchid family, contains over 300 species. In addition to the (lancing ladies, there are other interesting forms, such as the butterfly orchids (Oncidium papilio and O. kramerianum), which strongly resemble gay yellow butterflies.
Unlike the dancing dolls, these open only one flower on a spray at one time.
The oncidiums, of tropical American origin, are found from Florida and Mexico through Central America and the islands of the Caribbean into southern Brazil. Unlike many orchids, they make interesting and decorative plants.
With a careful selection of species, it is possible to have flowers year-round.
Home Conditions
Although not all, by any stretch of the imagination, are adapted to home conditions, a few can be grown in the home and, in Wardian cases, under proper conditions.
Most, however, will do better in a greenhouse, with a night temperature of 50° to 60° degrees Fahrenheit and a daytime temperature of at least 10° degrees higher.
Usually, they are grown in the roots of the osmunda fern, although today, many hobbyists are experimenting with other media, including fir bark.
Frequent Fertilizing
Oncidiums also respond better to frequent fertilizing. Since they need more light than many of the more commonly grown orchids, they generally do best next to the glass.
In the home, place them close to the window and the greenhouse as close as possible to the glass roof.
Species With Small Sprays
Because of the length of the flower sprays, which in some cases are 3’ to 5’ feet or more in length, many species cannot be easily grown in the home, especially in a Wardian case.
However, several species have small enough sprays that lend themselves better for home growing, provided such conditions are satisfactory.
Oncidium Variegation
As I write, in mid-July, I have before me a plant of O. variegation in a 3-inch pot with four sprays of dainty white flowers.
The longest spray is 10″ inches long, each with from eight to 16 flowers, three-quarters of an inch across the lip.
Oncidium Triquetrum
The sepals and petals are white, barred with brown. Such charming little flowers stay in good condition for several weeks and are on the coffee table.
O. triquetrum from Jamaica, though not strictly speaking in the dancing lady group, is another miniature that produces cream-colored flowers with brick-red markings.
Oncidium Uniflorum
A 3-inch pot of flowering O. uniflorum also makes a charming picture, with its bright yellow flowers barred with brown.
The three to four-inch spikes usually have three or four flowers, not one, as the species name, “uniflorum,” might convey. This species, native to Brazil, is ordinarily in flower in June.
Oncidium Ornithorhynchum
Another oncidium, which makes a larger plant than those mentioned, is O. ornithorhynchum, a native of Mexico and Guatemala.
Although its flowering season may be variable, it often flowers during the summer and early fall, producing myriads of tiny rosy-lilac flowers, each one-half to three-quarters of an inch across.
The sprays vary from 8” to 12” inches in length, and the flowers have a delicate, spicy fragrance.
Oncidium Flexuosum
One of the most rewarding species, in bloom much of the year, is O. flexuosum, which also produces sprays of bright yellow (lancing ladies. A native of Brazil, it has a wiry growth habit, unlike the others discussed.
In my greenhouse, it grows on a slab of tree fern, producing sprays up to 3’ feet in length.
Oncidium Ansiferum
Another flower in mid-July is O. ansiferum from Costa Rica, with three-foot long sprays, covered with numerous three-quarter to one-inch yellow flowers striped with brown. These may be used in a gentleman’s lapel, as ladies’ earrings, or in corsages, where they never fail to become a conversation piece.
Oncidium Ampliatum
O. ampliatum, from Central America, blooms in the spring, usually around Easter time. When properly grown, it produces a mass of delightful, bright,’ deep yellow dancing ladies adapted to corsage use.
Blooms measure up to one and one-half inches across, and in the spring, orchid, and flower shows are among the most conspicuous spray orchids on display.
Oncidium Tigrinum
In the fall, especially late in the season, O. tigrinum splendidum blooms. This native of Central America, with long upright sprays, has light lemon-yellow flowers several inches across.
The sepals and petals are barred with brown. Several flowers will make an attractive corsage.
Most Charming of All Dancing Ladies
Generally considered to be the most charming of all the dancing ladies is O. varicosum rogersi, a native of Brazil.
In the early fall, long arching sprays, three to five feet in length, on the new growth, are topped with deep golden-yellow flowers, resembling a dancing lady or ballerina.
A large spray may have as many as 250 flowers, which last about three weeks and may be used for arrangements.
44659 by Herman R. Sweet