What's normal and what's abnormal? (picture attached)

[orchidaddict789]

I've heard that oncidiums (and the intergenerics) have spikes coming out of the sides of the pbulb inside the leaves (see Arrow A). But my new onc has a spike coming out from the apex of the pbulb (see Arrow B). Is this normal? Where exactly should spikes come out of? I know this is a dumb question...please, someone clarify that for me !

Just curious.

[uncasteeb]

Normally position "A" but i,ve seen & heard of them flowering from the apex.Unusual but normal IMHO.

[LJA]

Cool diagram! Yes, position "A" is where the "regular" spikes arise from. Many times, however, a spike will appear at "B", but those spikes won't amount to much--a few flowers at most. The "A" spikes carry the brunt of the bloom.

[orchidaddict789]

Yes, I read the posts and then went to check my orchid. The spike at "B" was very, very thin (compared to the other ones) and looks very frail. There is only one flower and two buds on it, as opposed to six flowers. Now I know the reason to that! Thanks, guys!

Today I discovered that the solitary flower on that "B" spike is withering and the two buds dropped off. Darn it! Bud blast really annoys me. The store where I found it was quite cold, and then it came to my home which is warmer. Maybe that's why or the spike is too thin to take in much stress. So I cut that spike off to give it more energy to put into the other five spikes. Oh well, I still have five more spikes !

[LJA]

I still have five more spikes!

That's awesome, Lily. Happy plant!