I know nothing

[jennyjs]

I only have this picture, and right now the plant is flowerless because the stalk was broken when I bought it so I cut below the break on the stalk. I am not sure if the roots are dead or alive, but I have had it over a week and the plant appears to be alive. It sits in my window sill that I think is south facing because all of them in my apartment face the same way. I have also been keeping a cleaned soda bottle that I cut the bottom off of over it to keep in moisture and heat because the state of virgina is still somewhat convinced that it is still winter and not mid-spring. I know the pot is too big but it is the smallest I have, it was for a bonsi that never made it, bit it came in a much too small ceramic pot that had nothing but the plant it it. I have watered it once with tap water, but I have no fertilizer yet so I havent done that. If there is something I should do diffrent please let me know.

[silken]

The pot is way too big! If the tag is true, I am thinking the picture looks a bit like a tolumnia. I'm not sure what the foliage looks like for them, but it does look rather fan like.
I think you should go shopping for a smaller pot. Usually one that barely fits the roots and allows for 1 year's growth, which won't take a lot of space. If it's a tolumnia and you aren't mounting it, I think they like teeny clay pots with some charcoal.

Hopefully you will get a positive ID on that plant soon so you can re-pot it accordingly.

[silken]

I should have added, in the photo, the pot is sitting in a saucer. Most orchids should never sit in water. The pot should have very good drainage and many people set them over a pan of water so that the air is more humid. But the bottom of the pot can never be in the water. You might use some rocks in the water pan or clay balls or get a little rack to set on top of it and put your pot above the water line in this way.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The pot's too big. It is a Tolumnia.

[pedidiva]

looks like a tolumnia to me. just keep the plant in the original 2" pot that it came in. It just needs that bit of charcoal or you may mount it. water daily, it likes bright indirect light. Search tolumnia for more instructions.

My sister has hers in her shower--it is thriving & makes oodles of flowers. Her shower gets quite a bit of light. I have some mounted & some in the little 2" pots.

[pedidiva]

Tolumnia Care Sheet

here's a care sheet for Tolumnias

[Paul Mc]

Indeed it should remain in the original pot, and the only medium that should be in there is a little bit of charcoal. I use the charcoal to elevate the plant so the base of the foliage is just at the rim of the pot.

Be sure you use a clay pot as clay will absorb some water and help with humidity. I have read recently that Tolumnia's are very forgiving when it comes to humidity. They are not forgiving when it comes to being planted wrong (not mounted or semi-bare root potted) and not being watered every day to every other day depending upon the dryness. You want the roots and any medium (presumably charcoal) to be completely dry when it "goes to bed."

The roots should be exposed to the air as this is how they are found in their natural environment. They want the air flow to dry them out as quickly as possible after "rain" (a.k.a. watering).

In regards to pot size, the smaller the pot generally the more humidity will remain. However, the less air flow will be allowed into the pot. This is why I have somewhat elevated mine by using a thin layer of charcoal in the bottom of the pot. The larger the pot, the less humidity but the more air flow it will get.

I personally found that after having removed my Tolumnia's from the wood and sphag combo they came in, the roots were still too big to get back into the original pot, so I opted for a slight size up.

[jennyjs]

you guys are very knowledgeable, and thank you for all your help so far, thank you for identifying the plant that will help a lot more with research for it. So far between your consensus and what I have found says I need to be watering it more than once a week and to either put it in a much smaller pot or mount it because this type needs more air on the roots. I am thinking about mounting it and I found this step by step of how to do it.
The Plant Geek Chronicles: How to Mount an Orchid

I dont think its an onc. because I havent found any 'bulbs', but my plant is not as young as the ones showed in this step by step mounting, so I am wondering how well it would hold up, but it probably would not be as bad as it as what it is in now (very soon to change). But what should I mount the plant on, I would think rocks or drift wood to be way too smooth for the roots to attach to but I dont exactly have large chunks of bark laying around here in this metropolis, if you have any suggestions I will gladly take them?

[Paul Mc]

You can order them from most any orchid online store, or if you have a botanical store near you they might have an appropriate mount. For example, we have the city botanical gardens here that has a wonderful store for such things.

I would suggest doing some online research at orchid stores such as RePotme.com to see what kind of things they sell for mounting. You will find that many things have pros and cons to them. I personally do not have any experience with mounting so I cannot guide you on that.

Best of luck, and glad we were able to help you figure out it was a Tolumnia instead of an Oncidium. Big difference, lol...

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Mounting's not difficult.

I just recently mounted some orchids using some branches off of my grapefruit tree.

I tied the plant on with fishing line.

Here's a link to what Tolumnias look like growing in the wild and how they grow on thin branches:

Google Image Result for http://bellsouthpwp.net/c/u/culpsb/Tolumnia/tolumnia_pollinate1.JPG

Apparently the branches are covered with lichens and some debris from the nearby scrub. So you might wanna try mounting it onto a piece of a branch with some coconut fiber instead of moss and provide some humidity of at least 50%.

You can stick the branch with the Tolumnia mounted on it in a shallow tray with pebbles and make a little pseudo-bonsai scene out of it.