What can I say about this one. Over 10 years ago I decided to go to an orchid festival at the Morakami Museum in Boca Raton. Not because I had a real interest in orchids but because I had a handful of young adults that I wanted to figure out how to spend the day with. The Morakami Museum is quite a unique experience in itself and with the Orchid Festival going on there was quite a lot to do. Besides all of the vendor booths with their orchids and different wares, we also spent our time looking at Japanese art, walking the beautiful gardens, and listening to the Taiko drums. It was definitely a fun and unique experience.
So I don’t recall any of the orchids from that time other than this one. This guy was hanging from the edge of a vendor’s booth and it was in bloom. As I was admiring it as I passed, the vendor told me it was called a ‘chocolate’ orchid because of it’s aroma. When I went up to smell it’s fragrance it’s similarity to sweet chocolate was quite uncanny. The price of this orchid was $15 dollars at the time and consisted of a few bulbs and 5 to 7 flowers in bloom. Being more familiar with the grocery store bought phalaenopsis orchids and this being quite unique to me I decided to purchase it.
Why do orchids interest me? This guy is the main reason why they do. I’ve done nothing short of complete neglect on this orchid. When the blooms finished I put this guy outside with the other orchids we had received from birthdays and anniversaries and hung them in our Ligustrum Trees in the backyard. Essentially it was sink or swim for them. I don’t recall many blooms during those years but sometimes it would surprise me while I was out in the yard with a few blooms here and there. Most times it looked like it was on it’s last leg either riddled with ants or pruned due to lack of water. Regardless of my neglect it still found a way to bloom when the conditions were right. Since then this guy has been nursed a bit in the past year or so and with a little love and care it’s tripled in size and has gifted me with this great bloom.
So who is this guy really? He’s nick named the “Chocolate” Orchid but he also goes by the name of “Sharry Baby”. He is an Oncidium hybrid. Oncidium orchids have a pseudobulb which is used to store water at the base of the plant. This guys pseudobulbs are not as pronounced as others. Also, Oncidiums usually have smaller sized flowers. Further research on this hybrid it looks like it was first registered to Royal Horticultural Society in 1983 by D.O’Flaherty.
