Should I change my care system?

[AccidentalGreenThumb]

I have three Phals and one oncidium and I have been having great success with all three but lately, with all the reading I've been doing, I have begun to wonder if I am doing ALL that I can be to give my rescues the best care possible. All my plants are in a NE facing window, so they get a lot of nice morning light, but are spared the hotter afternoon sun. They all get approximately 1/2 cup of water a week, I don't use any particular method of measurement, I just eyeball it. All but one (the newest, that hasn't been repotted yet) are in a commercial orchid blend (Black Gold) and the two oldest (my first phal and the oncidium from last year) are definitely going to rebloom this year. The oncidium is actually growing two spikes and I think the phal might be trying to grow another... ANYWAY, long-winded as my post has become, what I want to know is, should I mess with a system that seems to work just fine? Should I be pollinating and feeding them orchid food and fussing over them?

[Leafmite]

You will read all sorts of things but then you realize that some grow under lights, some in greenhouses, some outside in Florida, etc., and you realize that none of these places is your window. If what you are doing works for your plants, in your conditions, I don't see why you would change things. Now, if your plants seem unhappy....

---------- Post added at 11:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:47 PM ----------

A small, very dilute bit of orchid food added to each watering would likely be a good addition.

[mattryan]

Congrats on the new spikes!!! If anything I'd say you are watering way too little. A 1/2 cup once a week is too much if they are in sphagg, but in a bark mix not enough at all especially for the oncidium. I have no idea what black gold is, so what you are doing isn't harming your plants, but come spring and summer your onc is going o need much more water and you need to think about re-potting all of your orchids. One year at best two and re-potting is a must. Since you don't fertilize watering so little isn't a problem, but if you start you need to do a monthly flush and 1/2 a cup of water is not nearly enough. Good growing with your plants,. I add a disclaimer I don't know where in the US that you live obviously if you live in Florida you water differently than in Alaska, but it is still summer coming in both places and added water/fertilizer during spring/summer isn't going to harm your plants. You might get more added growth than you are getting now!

Cheryl

[tucker85]

Everyone has their own little mini-environment so what works for one grower may not work for someone else. I don't believe in trying to fix something that isn't broken so I would say keep doing what you're doing as long as it's working for you.
If you get to a point where you want to experiment with something new, I would recommend doing it with one orchid and wait six months to a year and then decide if it works better or not. Good luck.

[cbuchman]

A little fertilizer as we start the growing season might be good. Always better to apply too little fertilizer than too much.

For Oncidiums, in general - thin roots need more water; fat roots less. The key is to see if your plant is healthy with the regimen you're using. If new pseudobulbs are plump and wrinkle-free, then you're doing great. If you see the occasional accordioned leaf or wrinkled pbulb, then you may be under watering and investigation is needed. Remember that once a pblub or leaf is wrinkled, it won't recover. So focus on new growths for your evaluation.

For Phals, what color are the roots (if you can see them thru a clear pot)? If green, watering not needed. if silvery, then time to water.