Oncidium repot in lava rock squishy roots wrinkled pseudobulbs

[Mercurianmad]

Oh dear. I finally received my lava rock today and rushed to repot the oncidium. It is SO BAD guys. Squishy roots. Wrinkled pseudobulbs. Seriously sad orchid here. I’m going to repot in this tiny pot with lava rock to get maximum airflow to roots. I’m letting the orchid dry out on the shady windowsill right now cause it’s roots are so squishy I’m scared to repot at the moment. How do I even water this orchid so that it’s roots heal and it grows new ones? Very lost. Needing help.

[Roberta]

I think just pot it up, keep damp but not soggy (the lava rock will help there... a lot of surface area to provide "humid air" but doesn't retain water) With new growth you'll get new roots. Existing pseudobulbs will get sucked pretty much dry, that's normal... those are the reserves. The newest growth looks like it has a good root though pointed upward (no doubt response to bad medium) You'll probably get more new roots from there, as well as hope for totally new growth. With a good environment, odds are very good that it will recover.

[SouthPark]

Hi M.M.

Totally agree with Roberta's recommendations for helping you and your orchid!

Someone has some issues with orchid roots too. Some details here may be helpful too ---- Click Here

[Mercurianmad]

Ok! Thank you guys I’ll do that. And thank you South Park for the extra thread-good tips. I have my humidifier running on that orchid cause I heard it likes high humidity. Should I not do this? There’s a fan farther back that provides some airflow too

[Roberta]

Humidity will help slow down the desiccation due to lack of roots, by reducing the amount of water lost through the leaves by evaporation. Question on deciding whether it is needed is based on what the ambient humidity is. If it's already reasonable (50% or above) then the extra probably isn't all that useful. If it is low (like due to indoor heating) then it could be beneficial. So, knowledge is power... You have to know the condition you're treating to determine what, if any, treatment is in order.

[Mercurianmad]

Yeah it’s about 30 indoors here. Outside it’s more like 25. So I’ll keep using it

[DirtyCoconuts]

Inverted plastic bag with the opening wide open but at the bottom of the plant. Like a poncho with no holes

Ray has a great write up on his website. It keeps the humidity up but avoids stagnation

[Mercurianmad]

Thanks everyone. Husband says I need to stop fussing with these plants and just let them grow. Hopefully it can do that in the lava rock now

[Fairorchids]

In a dry environment, I question the use of lava rock for a plant that requires not only humidity, but also significant moisture around the roots.

In greenhouse environment (= high relative humidity), I tried to grow my Oncids, Paphs & Zygopetalums in a bark mix. With my watering schedule (once a week in winter, twice a week rest of the year), that did NOT go well.

I went 'back to my roots' (in the 1960's & 70's, my dad used exclusively spaghnum moss with a little bark mixed in). Now all 3 groups are growing, and blooming, like there is no tomorrow.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Originally Posted by Mercurianmad

Thanks everyone. Husband says I need to stop fussing with these plants and just let them grow. Hopefully it can do that in the lava rock now

sounds like he has grown orchids before