oncidium questions

[electric.chowder]

Hello,

I'm new to growing orchids, but have been a long time plant lover and can't ever pass up a discount plant on sale. Currently I have three orchids (two phals and an oncidium) all from lowes (I know now not to get orchids from big box stores, but they were all under five dollars). The leaves on the oncidium were badly damaged (looks like poor handeling during shipping) should I cut the damaged leaves off, or are they still helping the plant?

when I got my oncidium, it was finishing up blooming, the spike died off and I cut it off, then repotted it in Better-gro's special orchid mix (the bag says it's good for all epiphytic orchids and it is endorsed by the aos) it's made up of raw fir bark, hardwood charcoal and coarse perlite, is this a good medium for this orchid? after potting the pseudobulbs are shrivling some (not badly though, and they are still hard)

I keep it away from direct sunlight with several bowls of water around it for extra humidity, and since the weather is finally getting nicer in my neck of the woods I've been sitting them outside during the day out of direct light

I'm just wondering if it's pseudobulbs are going to be alright or will they continue to shirnk and shrivle, should I be watering more, and if it is health will the new growth spike eventually?

thanks!

bill

Did you soak the bark for several hours before you used it? Bark is very hard to get wet to the central core. The first soaking is critical. If you didn't soak the bark, then the subsequent water you give the plant will just run over the outside of the bark and pour through without getting the center of the bark that wet. The next time you water set the plant in a bowl of water and let it sit for a half hour or so. Also, my oncidium likes lots of water and doesn't like to dry out like cattleyas do.

[Tobi]

Hi Bill,
I have 3 Oncidiums, all newly repotted in a medium bark, charocoal, perolite
mix with a little NZ sphag. moss. If the pseudobulbs are shriveled that usually
indicates a lack of water. (Prob not taken good care of at Lowes). As long as
the leaves are not discolored or diseased, I would leave them alone. Keep in
a bright, not direct sun area (East windows are good) and water only when
the medium is almost dry. The new bulbs should grow off the older pseudobulbs and should be just fine. Keep giving good humidity and keep
the air circulation good.

[Aniko]

Hello Bill - Oncidium has fine roots and is a water lover orchid, even though has to be let almost dry (not dry) between waterings. All this means that a fine mix would fit better to it's needs than what you are currently using. I'm afraid the signs of dehydration will persist in that coarse medium. (My Onc.is potted in pure sphagnum moss, I attached a pic to show you how it looks like.)

Onc. also are sun lowers, they need about 2000-2500 foot candles light, what means less than Catts,but much than Phals. A good, morning or afternoon sun will not hurt - if you keep it shaded will grow, but will not bloom.

Outdoor sun is much stronger, so the plant has to be exposed gradually!
P.s.
Actually, mine it's from the Home Depot

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by electric.chowder

(I know now not to get orchids from big box stores, but they were all under five dollars).

Bill,

There's nothing wrong, per se, about buying orchids from large chain stores like Lowe's, I think nearly every single one of us has from time to time. Some folks here on the forum here have bought nice healthy plants there. I think the point worth keeping in mind is that the condition/health of these plants is extreemly varied. One can be in ideal health, the next near death so it pays to be very careful and to closely examine the leaves, roots and mix to see what kind of shape the plant might be in. I think a lot of folks would rather buy form a nusery because the health of these plants is typically better and if one doesn't quite know what to look for it's just easier to uy from a trustworthy grower.

It looks like others have given helpful advice on culture and I don't grow Oncidiums so I'll leave that to them.

Cheers!

[electric.chowder]

I let it soak today for about half an hour, should I continue to do this, or would it just be better to repot again in a finer bark or moss?

[Aniko]

I think is better now to wait and not disturb the plant again, until the new growth starts rooting - you'll see a lot of new roots appearing at the base of the new growth. That is the good time to repot.

[jerrymeola]

I find that I have to grow mine in fine bark mix (fine bark, perlite, charcoal) in order to keep enough water on the roots for it to grow well.

It would be OK to re-pot now. The roots do not attach that quickly to the bark and just lifting out of the pot will separate the large bark.

The only thing I dislike about the big box stores more than their plants is that they seem to only sell large bark mixes.

kmarch is right about the health of the plant being the major concern, but newbies who can not judge health by looking at the plant would do better paying a little extra (and usually it is very little extra) and buy from a nursery who can advise you.

[electric.chowder]

So I got fed up with all the soaking and the pseudobulbs still being all shrivled, so I went to a local nursery, and got some potting mix (much smaller bark) and repotted it. how's it look? is there any chance of saving this plant? there are what looks like a bunch of new roots forming around the new shoot, they're all still maybe .5" or less

[sandra]

I just posted the same concerns in another thread. I received an oncidium this week that had been potted in sphag. for 2 years and removed all of it....2 hours of soaking and then potting it in bark. I think I may have made a mistake after all the reading I've since done and think I'm going to put it back into sphag.

I should have read first before proceeding.

[elitebettas]

I just recently recieved an oncidium sharry baby by mail. It came in a pot and the medium was moist. I always repot new orchids as i find they usually come with pests. One of the keys to successful repotting is putting the plant in bark (if that's the medium you choose) that has been pre soaked. That way when you repot the plant and water it to settle it, the bark stays wet and keeps even moisture around the roots. Otherwise dry bark that hasn't been wet doesn't really retain the water and it will actually leach water from the roots of the plant. This can cause shriveled psuedobulbs and foilage and it can take a while for the plant to recover. Also, some psudobulbs that are shriveled are like that after a plant has flowered or for other reasons. Sometimes they bounce back sometimes they don't. Slightly wrinkled pseudobulbs don't mean you have an unhealthy plant. Just my experience. The plant i just repotted, having been shipped from California had 4 new growths that are bigger now than when i got them and hasn't skpped a beat. Good luck

[electric.chowder]

the potting mix I got this time seems to be holding water much better already, hopefully there's still some life left in it after being in the dry bark for a week or so

The roots of your plant look healthy, so the plant should recover. I like a mix of fine bark, sphagnum moss, some perlite and charcoal (the last two are optional). I find the skewer method of watering works best for me. You can get a shishkabob skewer, trim it down, and keep it in the medium. When you go to water, pull out the skewer and touch it to your cheek, lip, or the back of your hand. If it's wet, don't water. If it's barely damp, water. Takes all the guesswork out of growing, for me. How wet or dry the skewer is before you water will depend on what kind of orchid you have.

[sandra]

E.C., wondering how your oncidium is doing since you repotted it. I also had (and still have) major concerns regarding my 2. I switched from an old, dried out sphag. to medium bark mix and after researching about their growing requirements, decided to switch back to sphag for the both of them. I may have made a major blunder when watering, not sure yet but when I soaked these 2, the sphag seemed to soak up and retain more water than what seems right and am not sure what to do at this point.

When you repotted yours, did you cut away all the dead roots? I know this is necessary to prevent further rotting. I'm not sure with oncidiums but was told when cutting dead roots on other orchids (cattleyas, for one) to allow them to thoroughly dry after repotting for a few weeks. I can't imagine this rule applying to oncidiums but wonder if to a lesser degree, this application should also be used.

[Winterwhite]

The plant looks just fine. I'm sure it will do well in the finer mix and the attention to more frequent watering. It should have a fine summer. Winterwhite

[Winterwhite]

Aniko.....
That is a very healthy looking plant. I now know what to strive for. Well done. Winterwhite