Got a beautiful maturing Oncidium for just $15!

[Katsols]

wow that is a nice plant =]

[cythaenopsis]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Either a brassia or brassidium. Nice buy there. The wrinkling of the pbulbs has more to do with growing that long flower spike than under watering. Do not repot this until new growth emerges in a couple months. Oncidiums and their intergenerics don't like to be repotted until new growth emerges from the base of the newest pbulb. And watch the watering too. They don't like to stay wet at all. Just moist. The pbulbs will not replump. They used the stored starches and water to produce those nice flowers.

Hey James, I followed your advice and kept the plant watered "just enough" for the months that followed and now I have new growth.




I pulled the plant up out of the pot to examine it underneath and many of the long thin roots are brown and rather dried up. Should I prune those off? Also, this pot looks uncomfortably small for this plant. Is it time to repot and if so, how much larger should I go?

Thanks!

[jesscorine]

Our Wegman's in Moorestown has a great orchid display right now! Oncs, Catts, Dens, Phals..all in bloom! I think they're $35 and $15, from a grower in upstate NY I think I read.

[BettyE]

cythaenopsis, wait until it loses all of its flowers...then cut off the stem as close to the bottom as possible. Then, when it starts its new growth, re-pot into a slightly larger pot. It will bloom again on its new growth. Mine last about a month to five weeks. ( the flowers ) Because these particular plants have very fine roots, I re-pot mine in small LECA or fine or small fir bark, mixed with a little perlite & horicultural charcoal. Works for me...BettyE

[MysticOrchid]

Just for $14!? Very beatifull! Good luck with growing it!

[james mickelso]

This plant is in decent shape and the pot size is good. Wait until the new growth pushes new roots and when these are about 1 inch long, repot into the same pot. Here's how to do it. Let this plant dry and when it is dry, take it out and let the old media fall away. Then take a knitting needle/bamboo skewer/tweezers and carefully take out as much of the old potting media as you can without damaging the roots too much. I try to feel the roots a few at a time to see what is alive and what is history. Good roots are white to brown and firm. Old useless roots are soft, limp, and grey to dark brown. Once you have completed assessing and cleaning the roots, put the plant in the pot with the new growth toward the middle. The direction it is growing should have the most room so it can grow for as long as possible without having to be repotted or disturbed. Then fill the pot a little at a time. Hold the pot and plant in one hand, add a little potting mix, tap the side of the pot to settle the mix, add a little more, tap the side of the pot, add a .......you get the picture. This way the roots will hang down into the mix instead of being crammed into the pot with the mix laying on top of them. The new growths base should be just a tad below the top of the mix. Then water thoroughly. The only really important part of this plant are the new roots being made. The older roots are going to die off a little at a time. The new roots are going to feed this new growth while the old pbulbs furnish starches and sugars along with a little moisture to the new growth. As a pbulb matures the roots feeding it stay viable. As long as the pbulb is growing the roots stay firm and useful. Once the pbulb has reached maturity, flowered, and produced new growth, it's job is done and it grows no further. It's need for roots diminishes with time because it's roots don't feed the new growth. So while they can live on for a season they slowly die off. Their job done. That's the basic story on pbulbs and roots. Some roots stay viable for two seasons but most exist but don't do much more than absorb water.

[cythaenopsis]

James and Betty, thanks so much for the advice! I think I have a good idea now on how to proceed.

As for the new potting mix, I don't want to load up on a whole bunch of ingredients to mix myself, as I've got only 2 orchids in the oncidium family. Is there a good pre-mix that is reasonably priced somewhere that I could get instead? Here's an ebay listing for example: Orchid bark mix.

[james mickelso]

It has quite a bit of fine material in it so sift it through a screen first to get all of it out. Other wise it looks ok.

[cythaenopsis]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

It has quite a bit of fine material in it so sift it through a screen first to get all of it out. Other wise it looks ok.

So, I could reuse most of the potting material (given how it was just recently purchased I imagine) and just need to get out the smaller particulate/matter?

[shushu45]

I just came accessed this post and I have to say that your plant is very beautiful!!
I congratulate you for finding a beautiful specimen
Looking where u got it, I think that's the cheapest thing in Whole Foods I've heard of.

I'd like to say very x1000000000 beautiful.