I know nothing

[jennyjs]

I am new here and new to orchids, I know nothing about them. I bought a orchid from lowes on the discount rack, its flower stem was broken so I cut it off just below the break and repotted it in a larger pot with some orchid soil medium I got from the same place. The medium just seems to be bark and charcoal, and the tag for the plant calls it a mini-oncidium and calls for meduim light. I know nothing about the plant and would like to learn so anything you can tell me would be great like how to water, if the soil is correct, and I would like to know more about fertilization as I have never had a plant I really had to that for before.

[crncob]

I suspect that its a tolumnia if its labeled mini oncidium. Good luck with it.

[Jennyfleur]

a bark and charcoal mix sounds nice and open, which is good. Watering will depend on the conditions it's growing in - you should aim to have it in a pot and medium which allows for watering every 7-10 days on average. Careful if the pot is a lot bigger than the plant's root system as that can lead to over-watering and root rot. Never allow the pot to stand in water for the same reason. If you use a fertiliser, make sure it's a quality one designed for orchids. A lot of folks on here believe in the weakly-weekly strategy, and that seems to be effective for most of us However, if you are using a fertiliser, make sure you flush the pot every once and a while to help prevent salt build up.

I think that's covered some the basics

PS A big *welcome* to the Board

[scy]

Hi! Welcome to OB! I'm new to orchids too, and I've found people here are very wonderful and eager to help.

Although, I do not have an oncidium, here is a link to a culture sheet on American Orchid Society's website that should help you get started: AOS | Oncidium

It talks about light, water, humidity, fertilizer requirements and ideal potting mediums. Oh and make sure the pot for your orchid is not too large as most orchids like their roots to be snug in the pot.

To be safe, I would also unpot it and make sure the roots are not rotted. If there are no healthy roots, you should bring it back to Lowe's and get a refund. Make sure the pot has plenty of drainage holes on the bottom and side of the pot. Hope this helps!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Intermediate to warm (60 F to 95 F).

Moderate indirect light.

Moderate to high humidity (60% - 80%).

Moderate to high air circulation.

No peat in potting media.

Charcoal and bark mix is fine.

Sterilize your cutters before making any kinds of incisions.

Cold sterilization or heat sterilization techniques, it doesn't matter.

Weakly, weekly fertilizer.

Roughly 20-20-20 N-P-K, (doesn't have to be exactly 20-20-20, if you get close, it's good enough).

Urea free fertilizer, please. Urea is a form of nitrogen.

The other forms of nitrogen are ammoniacal, and nitrate. These 2 forms are preferred.

Let dry completely between waterings.

No sitting the plant in water.

Do not put it in a pot that is much larger than the root mass. There will be issues with over watering, which eventually leads to root rot.

Check roots upon first acquisition to see if there are any living roots left.

If there are a lot of of dead roots and a significant enough amount of living roots left, remove the dead roots.

If there are not enough living roots on the plant, still remove some of the dead roots, but leave enough of the dead roots on to anchor the plant in the pot.

[pedidiva]

nice job, King.

Welcome, Jennyjs. I love my tolumnias. I have bought some really nice orchids from the discount rack at Lowe's. One is super-pretty. It's a phal that is a light yellow-green color with fuschia colored freckles.

[Paul Mc]

If you could post a picture of the orchid that shows it's relative size against an object we'd be familiar with that might be helpful. While I've recently read that Tolumnia's are being sold at Lowe's, I'm not quite convinced that this is what you have. If it is a Tolumnia, they require a different care from regular Oncidiums.

One thing you might try is searching for images on the keyword Tolumnia and then Oncidium. Compare the vegetative growth to what you see and that might help assess the difference. Otherwise, we would love to venture a guess if you could post some pictures.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Tolumnias have fan shaped growths and would need to be mounted.

Oncs have a pseudobulb (a modified stem that looks like a bulb used for water and food storage).

I think it's more of a smaller sized Oncidium.

Common names like Moth Orchid or Mini Onc, are usually no good for proper ID. As you can see there is already a debate as to what the plant really is.

Examples of Tolumnia:

http://zachandchristie.com/plant_pic...umnia_tall.jpg

http://thislushgardenwithin.files.wo...pg?w=354&h=472

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2713/...c8865f1606.jpg

Examples of Oncidiums:

http://image30.webshots.com/30/5/31/...6sVEZAE_fs.jpg

http://www.orchidsonline.com.au/file...03.preview.JPG

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...flower-093.jpg

http://www.webbuild.net/AOSgarden/im..._flexuosum.jpg

Notice the difference in the way the plants grow.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Btw, whether you have a Tolumnia or an Oncidium, they're both what are called epiphytes (plants that grow on the surfaces of trees or shrubs).

They are not terrestrial plants.

[Paul Mc]

I should have stated that the primary care concern you will have between the two types is watering.

Oncidiums: They like to dry out between waterings, but should only be watered perhaps once a week during the winter and maybe twice during their active growing season. It really depends upon your environment and how quickly the medium dries out.

Tolumnia's: They require DAILY watering, and they require a quick drying time. They do not like to go to bed wet or moist. Missing even one day of watering or letting them go to bed damp once can do damage to them.

If you have a Tolumnia, you might want to be aware that they can be relatively intimidating due to their watering and drying regimen's. I would do a search here on the OB for "Tolumnia" and see what others have to say about them. I just recently purchased two so I do not know about my own success rate, and not sure how to guide you based on my limited experience.