Grazed oncidium root tip

[Mercurianmad]

Aw man! I noticed my oncidium was starting to get a little mold on the lower pseudobulb, on the dried paper bits attached to the bulb. So I lifted it out of the lava rock medium to raise it up so none of the pseudobubs were buried, and one of the new roots grazed the lava rock and the root tip broke off. Will it still grow? This plant needs all the roots it can get.

[JScott]

Yes, a new root tip will grow from higher up on the root. My concern is your potting medium. That looks like fairly large scoria or lava rock. Oncidiums should never dry out completely. I don't know how you could possibly water it enough in that lava rock, unless you were watering three times a day. If you are set on using scoria, find a smaller grade, but you'll still be watering constantly. I use small bark for my Oncidiums and they do great. I know there are some downsides to using bark as it will degrade and have to be replaced every couple years, but your pseudobulbs look crazy shriveled, which means the plant is not taking up enough water. You do what you feel is right for you, but if it was my plant, I would ditch the lava rock and pot it in small bark, or find the smallest grade scoria that exists.

[Dollythehun]

My Oncidiums are in a moss mix. I can't imagine growing in that rock. How do you keep them watered? I second JScott.

[SouthPark]

MM....... scoria pieces half that size would probably be better. But on the other hand, if the orchid keeps growing well in that particular medium based on your watering schedules and watering amounts, then that's quite ok.

I have oncidium twinkles that get dried roots momentarily each day ----- not dry for extended periods, and they're doing excellently. But this is also supported maybe by the tropical region where I am, where humidity is ok. And we know that oncidiums can grow on trees.

As for the mold etc ..... if the growing area has gentle air-flow all or most of the time, then it can cut down or even prevent mold.

And as for 1 root tip breaking off ----- don't worry about it too much. As JS mentioned, roots can still grow out from existing roots. They can indeed start growing new root branches from the white parts of the root.

[Mercurianmad]

This orchid is a rescue so it was pretty desiccated when I got it. I tried potting it in bark but the orchid seemed to really respond negatively, which is why I switched to lava rock. However, once the roots grow in a bit maybe I can repot it in bark with better results? Not sure.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

MM....... scoria pieces half that size would probably be better. But on the other hand, if the orchid keeps growing well in that particular medium based on your watering schedules and watering amounts, then that's quite ok.

I have oncidium twinkles that get dried roots momentarily each day ----- not dry for extended periods, and they're doing excellently.

SP, remember that you live in a warm, tropical environment. Mercurianmad lives in a cool, dry northern California mountain climate, plants are indoors where humidity is even lower. So maintaining adequate moisture for a water-loving orchid like the Oncidium group is going to be very difficult that medium in that climate, while it is nearly ideal in the warm tropics. There's no "one size fits all".

[SouthPark]

MM ..... if it starts growing well in a particular medium (whether it is lava rock, or bark), then just allow it to keep growing nicely and well in that medium. Don't switch unless you want to - for your own reason.

Normally, if growing conditions are set up adequately, there will be no mold etc ----- so that we wouldn't need to touch our orchid and move it around - especially its roots.

Originally Posted by Roberta

SP, remember that you live in a warm, tropical environment. Mercurianmad lives in a cool, dry northern California mountain climate, plants are indoors where humidity is even lower.

That's true Roberta! I mentioned that in my post above.

I forgot to mention that - if mold is able to grow there ----- then humidity is probably ok (as in artificially created humidity from a machine).

[Mercurianmad]

OK guys. Let’s do an experiment.

Now that new roots are growing and it’s slowly getting healthier I have repotted it without damaging any of the roots :-) and staked it loosely with some chopsticks.

I repotted it in small fir bark. I feel like if it’s too much humidity the mold will increase and the roots won’t be as happy. And if it’s a good environment the roots will grow and go deeper into the medium and be happy :-)

I can always put it back in the lava rock if I have to. Now I’ll try to leave it alone for a few weeks and see how those roots keep growing.

[Dollythehun]

I have never had mold on my roots. I have algae on my moss sometimes. I have mold in the north side of my siding, and in my fridge 😂 We've had SO many posts on this lately that I wonder about the accuracy of mold problems. It's like the fusarium scares. And will it hurt anything? Just my

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Mercurianmad

I feel like if it’s too much humidity the mold will increase and the roots won’t be as happy.

There's certainly some sense in that. And if mold can grow, then maybe its fungi friends etc can grow too - the ones that could cause a problem.