Dancing lady, shifting!

[camille1585]

You can have a very airly medium and still have a stable plant, it's the roots that make it stable. If you repotted it not long ago then it's normal for it to be somewhat wobbly.

[WhiteRabbit]

From your photo, it looks like the plant is quite upright ? Does it seem wobbly? If so, I'd try to not jostle it around. Once established, I haven't seen orchids become loose in their pots, even if I have rotted all the roots.

[TiffanyP]

Thank you. Do you suggest any certain type of media for Oncidium alliance? They're epiphytes so I don't feel that certain orchids I have are in the right medium.

[TiffanyP]

Did you see my last post with the results of what I found?
It was firm in the pot I just bought it with tightly wrapped rubber ties. The spikes grew about an inch in height, but the rubber ties had it anchored in place to the stakes so as it grew instead of going up it shifted the bottom. I spotted it by looking at the spikes as they were contorted at the bottom from trying desperately to grow up but the rubber ties were making it stay stuck.

[WhiteRabbit]

ah! I see! Glad you were able to figure that out.

Oncidiums can be grown in fir bark mix, tho generally smaller chips than for Phals, since they have finer roots, and usually like to remain a bit moist. They can also be grown in coconut husk mix (chips or fiber), sphag moss, s/h, just about any type of media commonly used for non-terrestrial orchids.

[camille1585]

I have Oncs in either fine bark, a mix of fine bark and a bit of sphag, or fine bark with foam pieces.

[james mickelso]

They like to be moist but not wet. I plant in a mix of fine and medium bark, sponge rock, and charcol. Airy but dense enough to hold the plant securely. If you plant is "wobbly", then tie it to the stakes securely lest as the new growths start to grow roots, they will be broken by even slight movements. This plant actually looks to be in a much larger pot than is necessary. The width isn't too much but unless there is type of foam peanuts or gravel in the bottom third of the pot, it is inviting root problems, though with two spikes means this plant was very well grown. To me this looks like Sharry Baby or Sweet Sugar. Might be my uncalibrated monitor though.

[TiffanyP]

I think you may be right...when I adjusted the plant a little I noticed the entire other half was not filled with roots at all. Do you suggest another trot after blooming? I think its a Sherry. I've read on them and they look the same and the description of the fragrance is within the description too.

[Wynn Dee13]

Post a pic of the flowers that is clearer and close up. Then we can see it better and tell you if it could be a Sharry Baby. How big are the blooms? It kind of looks like the blooms might be too big for Sharry Baby. Comparing the flowers to the Phal flowers next to it makes the flowers look too big.

[james mickelso]

These are very tough orchids. The older pbulbs will seldom put out new roots. They will put their energy into growing new plants from the base of the pbulbs. Is it the oldest pbulb that lacks roots? The plant looks healthy. Did you just get it or is this a plant that you have had awhile? Oncidiums and their cousins have fine root systems and don't like stagnant conditions around the roots. They like to be kept moist but not wet. They like lots of air moving around them like most epiphytes. When you repot this, put it in the smallest pot you can and remember that this is an "epiphyte" and doesn't need media touching every root. The mix is there to provide a reservoir of humidity and food, and support of the plant. Wide is ok but not deep. If it is in a wide pot then you can water it more often. I use a mix of fine and medium bark, sponge rock, and charcol. Dense enough to provide good support to the new roots but course enough to provide good drainage. Seeing that you are in LV maybe you might want to add some chopped up long fibre spagnum moss. 1/2 inch long is perfect. A handful to every two or three handfuls of mix. It won't impede the drainage but will help keep it a little more moist in your dry atmosphere. Oncidiums like it warm and humid, with lots of air movement. Good light but never direct sunlight after about 8am. But a west or south window with a good white shear fabric hanging in the window will work well. The leaf color should be a medium to light green. Can you take some closeup pics of the plant especially the root area. In one, pull back the mix so we can see the bottom of the pbulb and what the roots or lack there of look like.