Questions about my Oncidium...

[mreckner]

I purchased my Sweet Sugar Oncidium a couple of weeks ago from a reputable seller, only to find it full of aphids, I've tried Brookn's recipe, but there are still aphids on it. Is it ok to soak the pot, roots, medium, and all in order to kill them off?

Also, the roots aren't green. At all. Is this normal? The psuedobulbs look healthy, but there doesn't appear to be much of a root system, and the roots are all whitish. The leaves, blooms, etc. look healthy, but the roots are making me nervous.

The woman I bought this plant from told me to soak it once every two weeks, for several hours, in order to water it, unfortunately, as it is potted in some sort of lava rock, it doesn't hold moisture well. I'm wondering if it is under watered. How do you other oncidium owners water your plants?

Here are some pictures of the plant, and its root ball. Please help. I want it to live!

[brookn]

Hmm. I killed my Sweet Sugar, but maybe I can help yours. Onc. alliance roots can be tan, white, green, sometimes brown-ish, if they are firm and not squishy or woody feeling they are good. Your roots don't look all that great, but with care it should start growing new ones. If you watered once every two weeks in lava rock, that was definitely not enough, at this time of year you are looking at watering every 2 or 3 days in lava rock. Also you want the plant potted firmly in the medium, as too much movement around the roots will scrape them raw and kill them. Basically, clean it up, pick a medium, pot it so that it is stable in the medium, and give good culture. I would get it out of the pot and medium, get new medium, bleach the pot, and soak the plant in some brookn's for about 20 min. rinse well (make sure all the bugs are off it, tweezers help), and pot it up. It will need some good humidity, and tlc for several weeks.

AOS | Oncidium

[patticake]

Selling you a plant with aphids was not a good thing! They should refund your money in my opinion. I would pot it up in a bark charcoal mixture such as Schultz. I would water it as needed-(when approaching dry. I think you need to question this seller's advice...
Here are a couple of threads to click on.
AOS | Oncidium
Skewer use for watering of orchids
Good luck!

[articuno75]

Oncidiums and the Alliance alike are heavy drinkers and yet they like to dry out fast. Thing is the lava rock in your area will make it dry out too fast. I suggest a repot in a small bark mix or coco husk. Lava rock doesn't do well in this area unless you're in a green house with high humidity. The root coloration sounds fine. The white is normal. This color is from the roots being in the pot and not photosynthesis from the sun. Still okay. The wrinkling on the pseudobulbs is from lack of water. Depending on how dry your area is you can water anywhere from 3-5 days, with misting daily. I mist mine daily and water every 5 days. (mist only the base of the plant. )

Oncidiums must have strong ample airflow!!! The leaves on these can get a fungus if inadequate airflow is given. Make sure that you give a nice flow of air where the leaves have a gentle movement to them. This will reduce the chance of spotting on the leaves.

I hope this helps.

[mreckner]

I'm in Louisville, KY, and it is hotter than blazes here right now! I thought every couple of weeks sounded off. I'm going to repot this afternoon. It has aphids on it now. I think I've calmed down the infestation, somewhat. It had some sort of decorative moss on it, and I think that may be where the aphids are coming from. I have the root ball of the plant soaking in Brookns miracle stuff, and I'm hoping that if there are any aphids hiding in the leaves/roots, this will do them in. I have seen a stray aphid or two, but I've been picking them off the plant as I see them. I'm really annoyed that a so-called "reputable" person would sell me a plant full of aphids, and then give me insufficient instruction on how to care for it. I called to see about getting a refund, and was told she doesn't give refunds on orchids. Guess whose place of business I will NOT be going back to when I need a fix.

[articuno75]

Honestly aphids are very easy to rid of. One of the easiest. It's the evil mealies that you have to worry about. (Mealies may die easily, but they hide in the hard to reach areas. Therefore keep coming back. ) The brookn's recipe will take care of the aphids.

[JKRnew2orchids]

I just recently got an Oncidium Sharry Baby. At first it looked fine and smelled great, though as of just a few days ago i noticed these small little white insects on the plant mostly on the spike and a few on some of the leaves. any help would be much appreciated.

[mreckner]

That's exactly what happened to me!

[vcuchick]

[quote=mreckner;151085]I purchased my Sweet Sugar Oncidium a couple of weeks ago from a reputable seller, only to find it full of aphids, I've tried Brookn's recipe, but there are still aphids on it. Is it ok to soak the pot, roots, medium, and all in order to kill them off?

Also, the roots aren't green. At all. Is this normal? The psuedobulbs look healthy, but there doesn't appear to be much of a root system, and the roots are all whitish. The leaves, blooms, etc. look healthy, but the roots are making me nervous. [quote]


Mreckner,

I also have a Sweet Sugar- I have found my Onc LOVE S/H growing...it gives them the water they need and allows airflow to the roots that they love. My plants are growing new pseudobulbs and leaves like crazy these days...I have found though, that I have to flush/water every other day because they are drinking water and evaporating very fast in the summer...I also bought a small fan at Target for $10 that I keep running 24/7.

My Onc roots are a thin white/light tan so green isn't required- your roots don't look so hot, but with time and care, they grow roots really fast. The roots are fragle though so don't let the plant flop around in the new pot and be very very gentle in repotting. I think your plant has great potential and will just need time and TLC...

Sweet Sugars are great displayers so under good care will definately been worth the work.

I say take some photos of the creepy crawlies and email the grower. Any grower worth their salt with stand behind their product and offer to refund or send you a new plant. If not, seek another grower.

Good Luck! Keep posting picture updates so we know how it does over the next few months!

[mehitabel]

I agree with Articuno that mealies are much harder to get rid of, and that they are world-class hiders, often running hidden mealie-factories where you'd never guess. They are really devils disguised as white fluff.

Aphids give birth to *pregnant* young, so they don't have to hide anywhere to take over the universe. They just have to be there. They tend to cluster on tender new growth and buds, so you don't have to search for them. They're brazen, just sit there and chomp away.

Knowing these two things tells you how to get rid of them--

1. you have to spray or wash them off every 3-5 days. They will keep coming back, and remember just one = thousands because of the pregnant young thing. So you need a persistent campaign against them for a couple of weeks. Spray them off. Three days laters, repeat. Repeat, repeat. Each time there will be fewer and finally in a couple of weeks there's a time when you don't see any.

2. Brookn's recipe, insecticidal soaps all work. So does plain soapy water-- the soap dissolves the exoskeleton and they just slide right off and drown. Even just a high pressure stream of plain water from a hose will do it. I usually use soapy water sprayed on with one hand and slide them off the plant with my other hand.

It's not what you spray on them that ends the infestation, it's the *persistence* you use in keeping after them.

3. If you suspect there are insect eggs or other nasties in your pots, you can use Safer's Insecticidal (Insect-Killing) Soap as a drench quite safely. /the killing is actually mostly done by the Soap, believe it or not. Because of the soap, it does have a detergent effect on the medium, making it super wet to be careful with the watering for a week or so after drenching.

PS Scale or mealies on oncidium spikes are very hard to get rid of without destroying the spikes.

[mreckner]

I swear, this plant is going to drive me insane. One of my leaves turned yellow. So now, I may be OVER-watering. I've seen what these plants can do, and I want mine to get big and full. It just looks unhappy. The bulbs are still slightly shriveled, but green, and the leaves are not all upright. Some are drooping. I repotted, but I think the bark I used may have been too big. I had heard oncidiums were easy to take care of, but this one is quickly becoming a pain in my butt. I'm not watering enough, I'm watering TOO much. It's being very picky. The roots are brown. Still very firm, but brown. I'm starting to worry that I may lose this plant.It's also completely possible, and very likely that I'm over-reacting. The plant is a healthy, bright green color, I'm just worried that I'm killing it. That yellow leaf REALLY freaked me out. Is it possible that it isn't getting enough sun? The woman at the flower shop told me that just plain old household lights would be plenty to supplement the plant, but now I'm not so sure...

[fred]

just plain household lighting is not good enough
I have several Oncids and it is normal to loose the odd leaf
Brookn has given you the culture sheet for Oncids please give that a read

I am not saying that you have to do this
if this was my oncid I would be potting this into sphagnum moss
having said that one has to know how to use sphag as a medium a fine bark mix would also be good

I would not soak the plant for any longer than half an hour if it was in a bark mix a light mist on the leaves with a pressure sprayer would also be a good idea

the other thing is don't panic and try to have some patience and follow the advice given to you

[vcuchick]

Welcome to the world of growing orchids! hhahaha

What is it Alton Brown on the Food Network says? --- Your patience will be rewarded!

Good Luck!

[mreckner]

I actually just ordered a s/h kit from first rays. I'm going to see if this method will keep my finicky Onc. happy. I wonder if sticking it outside might make it happy. Of course as hot as it usually is during the summer, the poor thing might just keel over.

[mreckner]

Arrgh. Update. Some of the buds on my plant have yellowed and fallen off. Leaves are green, but it seems like no matter how much I mist and water (I water every couple of days) the main pseudo bulb is still shriveled up. I really don't want my plant to die. This is really frustrating. The woman told me this plant was easier to take care of than a Phal, but it has been nothing but a huge hassle since I got it. This is SO frustrating. I used some superthrive and worm tea when I watered over the weekend. Hopefully, that will help the plant to grow some more roots. At this point, I'm wondering if I shouldn't just hack off what roots it does have, and try to sphag and bag it. Arrgh.

[vcuchick]

hmmmmm, I can definately understand your frustration- I have no idea. Hopefully, those who are better growers than I can give you some advice, All I can offer is a pat on the back and a "good luck!"

[mreckner]

I just found about 100 more aphids on it. It seems we had a population explosion overnight. Soaking it in some of brookn's magical stuff. Crossing my fingers. If I have any say in the matter, this plant is going to live.

[jay]

If it has any good roots don't cut them off. You could always give the S/H method a try. Oncidium types (except Tolumnia and Onc. Twinkle) seem to love it. I had one that was on deaths door and came back with re-plumped bulbs and great growth. It flowered for me this year for the first time since I nearly killed it 3 years ago and was down to 2 bulbs. Now it is in an 6.5" pot and filling in nicely.

[Dendian]

Jay, do Twinkles not like s/h? I was going to pot all my Onc. alliance in s/h when I got them, should I leave the Twinkle 'Pinkie' in bark?

[mreckner]

I have a s/h kit on its way from first rays. I plan on trying this method on my Onc. hopefully, this will make it happy.

Thank you all for all your help! I am happy to report that I think I may have some new roots growing on my oncidium. I haven't taken it out of the pot to examine it, yet. If there ARE roots growing, I don't want to upset it, until my s/h kit arrives. I shall keep you all updated on its progress.

[mreckner]

Oh, I have switched the plant to s/h. After a few days, it appears that some of the flowers are going to fall off. However, the plant looks green and very healthy. Pseudobulbs are still shriveled. Is this normal?

[vcuchick]

yes, My sweet sugar is also shriveled and it might stay that way until the new roots grow into the S/H reservoir to get the water it needs. I would water as often as possible to keep the water fresh and wait to fertilize for a while...let it get reestablished first...I hope your plant had new root growth before you repotted...yes? (good thing about s/h is you can never over-water! )

[mreckner]

There was some definite new root growth when I switched it to s/h. If the spike has to be sacrificed in order for the plant to grow, I'm ok with that. I just want this baby to reach her full potential! Looks like she may have sprouted another pseudobulb, as well!

[vcuchick]

awesomeness! I have definately noticed how great S/H is for the Onc Alliance group- they really seem to thrive! I'd love to see photos! great growing...

[articuno75]

Originally Posted by Dendian

Jay, do Twinkles not like s/h? I was going to pot all my Onc. alliance in s/h when I got them, should I leave the Twinkle 'Pinkie' in bark?

You have to be careful with Oncidiums and S/H. Not all fair well in S/H. Onc. Twinkle is one of them.

[vcuchick]

Originally Posted by articuno75

You have to be careful with Oncidiums and S/H. Not all fair well in S/H. Onc. Twinkle is one of them.

True...I do not have my Twinkle in Onc...but Welcome to First Rays Orchids has a list of available orchids (more rare species might have to look into) and wether or not they have been sucessfully cultivated in S/H. I have my Onc Mtdm Ruffle and Onc Sweet Sugar in S/H and they're really going crazy with new growth.

Good luck!