Odontocidium Catatante 'Pacific Sun Spots'

[uknowho]

Hi,

This is my first orchid plant and I bought it without actually knowing that there is so much to learn. The plant is identified as Odontocidium Catatante 'Pacific Sun Spots' and I understand that the Odontocidium is a hybrid between Odontoglossum and Oncidium. I have a few questions which I hope someone could help me with ...

1) Is the orchid identified correctly? Below are 3 photos. Tried to add a link but since this is my first post, I will have to go the route of attachments.

2) I was told to water the plant every 5 days and water generously but not to let the plant soak in water ... in other words, let it drain completely. But what I read here is that it is better to err on the drier side. So what is the best way to proceed? I couldn't really find specific information for this orchid.

3) Worm tea or a 20-20-20 fertilizer?

4) The plant is currently in a plastic pot ... should I even attempt to repot it or as the seller told me, to report it only once a year or every other year? I am thinking of not doing any "advance" stuff such as reportting. I will take more pics in the morning, it is a little tough to get the camera to focus on the plant at night.

5) Anyone kept this particular orchid before and could share any tips would be great. Thanks.

[kip]

1. Yes, it's identified correctly
2. The drier side is good. if the newest pseudobulbs start to get wrinkled, it needs more water. check the AOS culture sheet for Oncidium for more information
3. most people use a balanced fertilizer, others will use worm tea or no fertilizer at all. I use a weak, balanced fertilizer.
4. repot it when it's done blooming, if not sooner.
5. see the culture sheet for more information, it has some pretty good reccomendations.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by uknowho

1) Is the orchid identified correctly?

Is there a reason you suspect it's not what the tag says? It certainly looks like an Odont.

Originally Posted by uknowho

12) I was told to water the plant every 5 days

This is not particularly useful advice because the mix can dry out slower or faster depending on a number of different factors (humidity, temperature, the potting mix, etc).

Do water heavily and let the excess drain out the bottom but use the skewer method (http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/new...f-orchids.html) to see how fast the mix dries out inside.

General Oncidium care applies: AOS | Members Only Area

Originally Posted by uknowho

13) Worm tea or a 20-20-20 fertilizer?

According to Jerry, our resident worm tea guru, worm tea is not a fertilizer so these things, the worm tea and the 20-20-20 fertilizer are two completely different things. I use neither of them and still get satisfying results.

Originally Posted by uknowho

14) The plant is currently in a plastic pot ... should I even attempt to repot it or as the seller told me, to report it only once a year or every other year? I am thinking of not doing any "advance" stuff such as reportting.

I would not consider repotting an "advanced" skill, just the opposite, it's one of the basic fundamental skills an orchid grower needs to learn. Fortunately it is quite simple. You can find tutorials on this forum on repotting.

Many people like to repot an orchid as soon as they bring it home, or if it is in flower, they repot it right after it finishes flowering. This way they know what kind of orchid potting mix it is in which makes it easier to do things like gauge watering frequency.

[hulaorchid]

WELCOME to the forum! You will find great information and great Geeks here!

[Celcat]

Welcome to the forum uknowho,

I dont let my oncidium and odontoglossum on the dry side. It works very well for me, but then in afternoon, my oncidiums get full sun exposure. 3 of them will bloom at least 3 times per year. The odontoglossum, I still keep quite moist, they dont go on the dry side (except in winter), but they dont get full sun exposure.

Some of my oncidiums have waited at least 2 years before to repot them. They were happy, blooming, I did not see the reason to repot until they were well overgrown in thier pot.

And personally, I dont use fertiliser on this group of orchids.

[uknowho]

Thanks for the help and welcome.

I wasn't sure because this is the first time I had ever own an orchid. It is like ... if I had never seen an apple and I pick it out of a basket with a sticker that says "apple" ... I would certainly check with someone who knows.

Alright, I will do just that ... water heavily and then check with a skewer.

So we do not need to fertilize at all?

I think I will wait a bit before repotting. Two of the stalks (are they call spikes?) are blooming at the moment.

Another question I had is ... I noticed on one of the unopened flower bud, there is some white dusting ... when I brush it with my fingers, it came off and one started moving. Is that aphids? or mites? I was rushing off to work this morning so I did not have a chance to check further though I did wipe underneath the leaves with a paper towel and did not find any moving specks. What should I do or should I take the wait and see approach?

[solay]

Hi and welcome. Glad to have you with us.

as for your question, it could be mealies. Aphids and mites aren't usually white but a picture would help. Also aphids move very slow.

Use Brookn's Recipe to spray the plant to kill whatever it is.
Sorry I don't know how to make a link. Someone else will come a long to do that soon.

[coeruleo]

i bought one that was listed as an oncidium, and i see them also listed as colmanara, odontocidium... it has made finding info confusing, but it seems to like average oncidium care, bright light, no direct sun, weak fertilizer. i let it really flood when i water it, about twice a weak, ang let it drain well. it is in a medium grade bark mix. i live in southern CA where it is very dry, so it usually dries in 3 days or so. i also mist it almost every morning. it seems to be doing pretty well.