Odontoglossum...What do I do?

[Mari]

I was given an Odontoglossum orchid for my birthday and within a week of having it the stem has yellowed and the flowers have dried up and fallen off. The stem is not yellow all the way down it stops about mid stem its not dry or brittle but Im not sure if I should cut it. I have been told conflicting things from a plant nursery but they also admitted to not knowing much about orchids. I was also told that it needed to be repotted (theres a little root starting to poke out the bottom) and that would fix it Im worried it may further shock the plant and cause more problems. I know the basics on not overwatering and the temp to keep it at but im not sure about the rest. Help?

[Ellen]

Mari,

Your Odontoglossum's loss of flowers is probably a perfectly natural process. First, you don't know how long it had been blooming before it was given to you, and the flowers may have been at the end of their life span anyway. Second, moving from a grower to a store to a friend's house to your house may have just been a little too much traveling, and the loss of flowers is due to the mild stress of having to adapt to lots of new conditions. Whether you leave the flower stalk or cut it off doesn't matter. It just looks better if you remove it. You may want to wait until all of the stalk becomes yellow, but cutting the green part near its origin is OK, too. My (admittedly limited) experience with Odontoglossums is that they like a little less light than other similar looking orchids (Oncidium or Colmanara, for example), so I wouldn't put it in direct full sun. Enjoy your orchid, it's a great plant even without the flowers -- and best of luck reblooming it.

[Ellen]

I just looked at your post and realized that I didn't respond to the part about the repotting. I would think that unless the plant is badly spilling over the edges of the pot or the potting medium is badly degraded, there's no need to repot. Roots poking out the bottom or hanging over the side of the pot are perfectly normal, and do not indicate a need to repot. If and when you do decide to repot, it's best to do it at a time when there is new root growth.

[jerrymeola]

Odontoglossum are a miltonia like pansy orchids and often crossed with miltonia to make the miltonia more heat tolerant. It is a natural family of orchids not an intergenetic hybrid. I do not have any photos of a species Odontoglossum but Vesta Charm is a nice hybrid with miltonia.



In general they like less light than oncidiums about 2000 foot candles and cooler temperatures. I love them but have to pay attention here in SW Florida when the temperatures get into the 90s.

Ellen's advice was good. I would not repot and the fact that you see new roots means the plant is ok. I sometimes remove a pot from a growing tray to find 10 inches of roots below the pot. If there is roots there there are also good new roots in the pot.

The roots below the pot will grow or die depending on the amount of water it finds. Do not worry, if the plant lets it die there are plenty of roots in the pot to sustain it.