Oncidium health question

[farley101]

Hey all,

I purchased an Onc Jiuhboa Gold Tainan just before thanksgiving this year from an online seller that I have purchased from a few times. It was in spike and flowers started opening early December with all open by Christmas. The blooms are beautiful but I have noticed that the plant is very wobbly in the pot and the pseudobulbs are getting really wrinkled. I believe the roots are in rough shape, the plant almost jumps out of the pot if carried anywhere. I want to wait until the blooms are done to do anything but it seems like that may not be an option as the plant seems to be going downhill pretty fast.

Pictures attached, conditions are 40%+ humidity and temps between 60-65F. I have LED lights for supplemental light since this winter has been pretty dark.

Wondering if I should contact vendor and see about a refund or something? I don't think I should have to have a reclamation project after enjoying the blooms!

[Dollythehun]

If you are careful, it could be repotted now, and it might be the best option for the plant. You might also put a wire or rhizome clip across the top to hold it in place until it takes root.

[rbarata]

In fact that medium seems to be too compact (too old?) which doesn't allow air to circulate around the roots.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by farley101

I have noticed that the plant is very wobbly in the pot and the pseudobulbs are getting really wrinkled. I believe the roots are in rough shape, the plant almost jumps out of the pot if carried anywhere.

This will be a good time to inspect the roots. And if you have suitable potting media, then pot this oncidium into new media if the roots look ok.

For example - could use say 5 mm diameter scoria.

Your mentioning of the bulbs getting quite wrinkled means that the plant really needs to get water into it. So watering this orchid more appears to be necessary - if the roots look ok.

[aliceinwl]

I think repotting would be the best course of action. The longer you wait the worse the roots will be.

I think a refund would be tough: I’ve purchased box store Oncidium types in unsuitable substrate. If I repot immediately, the roots are fine. When I’ve waited weeks, I have massive root death. Some potting situations just don’t work under all conditions and I could see the seller taking issue if no indications of trouble were brought to their attention upon receipt.

[Roberta]

I just assume that most newly-acquired plants need repotting. Nobody pays growers to repot...the stress, if anything, may inspire blooms, which is what sells. Repot now - you don't have to cut the spike, just be careful and it won't even notice. Get the plant into a better environment and new growth will produce new roots. (Do stake or tie the plant so it doesn't wobble... wobbling damages the tips of newly emerging roots) And you don't have to remove every bit of the old medium. Take what comes off easily by just pulling, or under a stream of running water. Remove any really bad roots, but even if the outside of a root (the velamin) is rotted, if the stringy center part stays firmly attached when you tug on it, it's still capable of hydrating the plant and also helps stabilize it in the new medium. So just clean off what comes easily, and repot.

Shriveled psedoubulbs probably won't rehydrate, especially if the roots feeding them are in poor condition. No worries, they'll keep the plant going until you get the new growth.

[farley101]

Thanks for your replies everyone!

I just finished up repotting, the medium must have been pretty old, smelled horrible! It was top dressed with some moss, which had a nice thick layer of algae on top and then bark. Didn't take much to clean off the old medium, it pretty much fell off by itself. Also found the remains of an old plug in there as well. Roots were ok, very shallow, not much active growth from what I can see. Put in back into fresh bark and hopefully we'll get it back on track.
This will be a learning experience for future reference!

[Roberta]

All things considered, those roots look quite good. I think you caught it in time. This is a situation where waiting for flowering to finish is a bad idea, since rot can happen while you're waiting. You did well!

[aliceinwl]

I have my Oncidium types in baskets. They seem to like to keep their roots really shallow. My rootless wonders responded well to daily overhead watering and even replumped their pseudobulbs. Good luck, seems like you intervened in time!

[farley101]

Ha thanks Roberta! I'm still a rookie at this and trying to find information is pretty overwhelming. It's great to have a resource like OB to be able to ask the questions and get thoughtful answers from you here. Indeed waiting on the blooms would probably have had bad results, I'm guessing they last quite a while. The "repot any new orchid" method seems radical but makes sense when you don't know what's going on inside the pot. Thanks again for the assist from everyone, I'm sure I'll be back with something else down the road.

Originally Posted by Roberta

All things considered, those roots look quite good. I think you caught it in time. This is a situation where waiting for flowering to finish is a bad idea, since rot can happen while you're waiting. You did well!

---------- Post added at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------

I'd love to try baskets as I get a little more experience, I think the plants I've seen in them look great. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

I have my Oncidium types in baskets. They seem to like to keep their roots really shallow. My rootless wonders responded well to daily overhead watering and even replumped their pseudobulbs. Good luck, seems like you intervened in time!