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Species library › Oncidium › Oncidium alexandrae
Orchids Well documented

Oncidium alexandrae

The classic cool-growing Colombian orchid long known as Odontoglossum crispum, with sprays of large, frilled white flowers often spotted red. It grows as an epiphyte on oak trunks in cloud forest at about 1800–3000 m. It needs cool, humid, evenly moist conditions all year and struggles in hot summers.

Oncidium alexandrae
Photo: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows as an epiphyte, chiefly on the trunks and main branches of oak trees in partial shade in montane cloud forest. The air is cool, humid and moving, with mist and dew almost every day.

1800–3000 m in the literature. The 22 records with an elevation are 1566–2550 m, median 2315 m.

Colombia (Eastern Cordillera: Cundinamarca, Boyacá)Colombia (southern Andes: Cauca, Putumayo, Nariño)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.