Oncidium from sphag. to bark

[sandra]

Kevin, this oncidium was the other plant my friend gave to me for the same reason he gave me the dendrobium....hates the plant when not flowering. It had been facing south/west directly and these markings are what resulted from direct sun.

It was planted in sphag. for the last 2 years since he's had it. I ran this plant under running water for 2 hours non-stop on Sat. evening, carefully removing tightly packed mounds of the stuff. I didn't re-pot it until the next morning and when I did, the roots were all still quite damp. I potted it into dry, NOT pre-soaked bark media on purpose thinking that it would cause rotting, otherwise. I lost very little roots surprisingly, maybe 5% loss on a massive root system.

Should I submerge in water for a 1/2 hour this coming watering? The pseudo bulbs look quite shrivled although, I'm not educated or experienced enough especially with oncidiums to know the difference and how to treat them.

Should I be doing more for this plant or something different?

[kmarch]

Sandra,

I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help on this one because I don't use the soak-for-30-minutes technique for watering. It's interesting that it was potted in sphad and had a huge root system. Maybe the sphag gave it what it liked. You say the previous owner grew it like this for 2 years? Was his/her growing conditions similar to yours? How often and by what method did they water it? I have never grown many Oncidium alliance plants, and would have never thought of this, but maybe the sphag gives their thin roots (which do like a little moisture unlike Cattleya alliance plants) what they like?

Any Oncidium experts out there got some good advice?

[Ellen]

I've had oncidium intergenerics potted in sphag (or a sphag+perlite mix), and they have all done remarkably well, with the roots eventually completely filling the pot (I don't know where the sphag goes!). I've repotted some of them into fine bark, and they do equally well that way. If you potted your plant into dry bark, it probably would be helpful to mist it regularly while it's getting established, especially if the weather is hot.

[sandra]

I repotted the plant back into fresh sphag yesterday. From everything I've read, I think(?) it stands a better chance than the bark. It'll be the only orchid I do have in sphag. I've read that oncidiums are difficult plants to grow here in Florida. All my plants are kept on a screened patio (east exposure) and the summers can be brutal out here for air circulation and extremely high humidity 24 hrs. a day. My friend who had the plant before me, kept it in his backyard (in sphag), in direct sun (southwest) and aside from a few burn spots, it grew and produced flowers the 2 years he had it.

[fred]

sandra just keep an eye on the top of the spagh if it looks dry to you soak the plant for about 20 minutes or untill you see the top is damp.

once you get to know how to work with spagh you will be able to lift the pot and go by the weight if the pot feel light its soak time.

[sandra]

Fred, Like we spoke about, the sphag. here is different from the sphag. that you get. It's totally dehydrated and calls for a soaking before it's ever used. I don't think the quality is even comparable to what you're using and that's why I've been so reluctant to use the stuff. The sphag. sitting on top always dries out before all the layers beneath do so I'll try relying on the weight before/after soaking.

Thanks for the tip!

[fred]

please keep us updated with that sandra

i am very interested to see how long it takes the shagh to turn green and grow.

[electric.chowder]

I bought an oncidium in sphag a few weeks ago and repotted into bark (not pre soaked) and the pbulbs shrivled on mine, from what I was told on this forum the unsoaked bark can actually suck the water out out of the plant, and also the shrivled pbulbs can be partly caused by the plant being weakened from flowering and is normal

I tried the soaking for half an hour to water, and didn't seem to have much luck with it, so I repotted it again in a more fine presoaked bark (mixed with some other stuff, not exactly sure what it was though, the nursury I got it from just told me thats what they use for the oncidiums)

I have that same succulent in the corner of your pic, hardiest little plant ever!
also I love your icon! david lachapelle is amazing (and so is amanda leopore!)


good luck!

[jerrymeola]

Let's clear up a few misconceptions.

All sphag in the United States sold for potting is dead and mostly from New Zealand or Chile. It is sold hard and compressed to save on shipping charges. I buy 100 pound blocks that are about the size of a large steamer trunk.

Oncidium can be hard to grow in Florida, because we have a tendency to think they can go outside and do well. They do not like the heat but this is controlled by using fans to circulate the air. Oncidium with good air circulation do very well.

The roots are thin and can dry easy. Therefor, sphag is a good choice. large bark leaves too many air pockets in the pot in which roots can dry out.

Here is the big issue. Any orchid that we allow to dry the roots totally can dry to where they will not absorb water. At least not right away. Watering then is always too much and rot is a problem. Oncidium can get to that point rather fast.

All orchids can grow in anything. Sphag stays wet longer so it is easier in Florida for Oncs, whereas, my best Onc supplier is Hawaiian on a mountain side where the air is cool and breezy. Her Onc orchids are huge and spectacular. She grows them in large bark something I could never do, Florida will never get flower stems to the 3-5 foot size I get from her. But we can still grow nice Onc in Florida.

Also keep in mind that commercial greenhouse have very controlled watering. You could probably grow Onc bare root is you watered several times a day, just there is not any reason to do it. My mounted Oncidium have a lot of air roots. I let the plant do whatever it wants.

As for big root sysstems in sphag. I get many that can not be taken apart because of being so tightly bound. It is not unusual to get some in four inch pots that have a six inch base. They are a problem to handle.

I received one today that is six inch's across in a four inch pot with almost as many roots outside the pot as might be inside. A real mass of roots. Stil it has six flower spikes and the prospect of more.

Sandra
your neighbor had to be growing at least in dappled light under a tree. Straight sun would burn much more than the photo shows. but it is the heat not the sun that is the issue. Morning sun with lots of air flow and the sunlight levels can be much higher.

Next time you are afraid of roots that are too wet just leave them out of the pot for several hours or overnight. Once they are dry again pot and water normally.

If the roots fill the pot well, the sphag will dry out fairly uniform. If the lower levels are damp and the top dry, it is because you are drying it out by evaporation not from being used by the plant's roots.

Don't be afraid of Oncidium. They can be very rewarding. Air circulation is the best thing for them in Florida (and most anywhere on all types of orchids).

[sandra]

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

If the roots fill the pot well, the sphag will dry out fairly uniform. If the lower levels are damp and the top dry, it is because you are drying it out by evaporation not from being used by the plant's roots.

So how do I prevent this from occurring Jerry, drying out by evaporation? The roots do fill the pot and the top layers of sphag. are drying out faster.

[sandra]

Originally Posted by electric.chowder

also I love your icon! david lachapelle is amazing (and so is amanda leopore!)
good luck!

Hi electric.chowder. Love your member name but where's your avatar? Also, to become an official geek you 'must' post a pic so go here: http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/gen...-yourself.html for your inauguration.

I don't think Lachapelle is the one responsible for the avatar pic but I am always amazed by his work. Now Lepore on the otherhand....well....I guess 'amazed' is one way to describe one's reaction to her....not mine though! Since you're a fan of Lachapelle, you may also be familiar with Steven Meisel. I've known him my whole life.