Dancing lady yellowing

[OrchidNewbie101]

I am noticing my leaves on my dancing lady are yellowing... any recommendations?

[Roberta]

I can't tell for sure from the photo, but it looks dry... Oncidiums need to be damp all the time. I'm not seeing yellowing in the photos either... but in general, these need to be kept damp... watered a lot more often than Phals.

[estación seca]

What is it potted in? I see sphagnum moss on top.

How are your watering?

What kind of light does it get?

What are your temperatures?

[Shadeflower]

I agree slightly more water, slightly more fertilizer (like 10% more, not lots more, just a fraction more)

[OrchidNewbie101]

It is in sphagnum moss, outdoors, in south Florida, and I water once a week by soaking with the hose!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by OrchidNewbie101

It is in sphagnum moss, outdoors, in south Florida, and I water once a week by soaking with the hose!

"How often" is dictated by how long it takes to dry out. There's not a formula. So if the medium feels dry before you water it, it needs to be watered more often. The goal is to never let it dry out. Oncidiums hate to be dry even for a little while.

[Shadeflower]

the hose doesn't have any fertilizer so you need to supplement it with a fairly strong dose of orchid fertilzier once a month and then water that down.

Some people feed as high as 600-700ppm(roughly half a full strength tomato feed) when doing this. Long term they need some, the hose alone is not enough imo.

[TZ-Someplace]

Any chance that is sun bleaching from those parts of the leaves getting a bit too much bright light? It looks like the two areas have the same incidence angle.

[Roberta]

My orchids thrive with very little fertilizer, it's when I get around to it and very weak when I do. To me, water is the biggie. I have a yard with lots of orchids of various types. Everything in a given area (served by sprinklers) gets watered the same, I adjust the medium so that things that need to dry out dry out, things that need to stay wet stay wet. But my humidity is relatively low, I water every day or every other day in summer, a little less often in winter. (But then a friend who lives nearby, with similar climate, describes southern California outdoor growing as "just add water and subtract sunlight") "Rain" comes out of a hose or sprinkler, what comes from the sky is just a bonus. Oncidiums are in the "need to stay wet" category. But if they needed a lot of fertilizer they would be dead... which they aren't, they grow and bloom very well. Different growing environments need different treatments. This is what works for me in my little jungle.