Shriveled Pbulbs on Oncid. Type

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Bloody hot, truly so! lol Are you British?

Ok, so you presoaked your chc. That is great.
I think now you can just soak the pot for about 10 minutes each time you water the plant.

If you do not see any improvement of wrinkles after a few soaking in the next couple of weeks, you don't have to worry as that means this plant is one of those that does not recover from the wrinkles.

I am indeed not, but I was engaged to an Aussie once. I still use some slang here and there..heh! Thank you for your help!

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by Nanuca

Thank you NYCorchidman for the advice! I love the Den nobile too! After reading the replies I realised my den was surely underwatered. I mean I constantly watered it, but not sufficiently. So now I'm going to water it as you advised me. Just to see how it looks, I attached a few photos of both leaves and roots.

OMG! Those are terribly underwatered!!!
Those leaves will not straighten out even if you correct the watering, but it's mostly just aesthetics now.

Also, you might want to help out those folded leaves as many of those leaves usually do not open up but stay attached like that.

Constant watering can only water the roots so much.
You want to really soak the entire pot (root ball) above that exposed roots you see at the base of the plant for like 1o minutes or longer each time.
If you grow the outside in the summer, you might want to water this way everyday as things dry out like crazy and these plants grow fast.
Let the weight of the pot be your guide in deciding when to water but you want to water nobiles a lot when they are growing.

They have a short summer growing season in the wild where days are hot and almost everyday there is an early afternoon downpour for good half an hour.
then they also get drenched in early morning dew everyday.

Good luck!

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

When you bought this orchid, it was just out of a setting like the pictures here. This is Etowah Nursery. These plants are grown very warm, humid, high light levels, and very breezy (see the very large fans at the back of the GH in the larger pic). This is why even the oldest pbulbs are still plump. The new growth does not have to struggle to get moisture or nourishment. And above all else the air movement is high. Lots of air movement like that found in their normal environments. The older pbulbs are not stressed to give up their stores of starch/sugar and moisture. Then.......... these orchids get to the store or nursery where we buy them and put them in a completely different environment. We proceed to take them out of their pot (root environment) and put them in something different. It's no wonder they become stressed and grow differently. Oncids have fine, thin, easily damaged roots. They come to us accustomed to a certain root environment and go downhill quickly when that environment is changed. Because they have such thin leaves, these start to fold quickly and because the roots have been damaged they can't recover quickly enough to keep the plant hydrated. The plant then channels it's energy and resources from the older pbulbs to the new growth because that is what their function is. Old pbulbs are nothing more than repositories of starch/sugar and moisture for the succeeding generation of growth. Before you came into possession of this plant it was already changing. It is normal and the new growth will be just fine. In the future when you go to repot a plant, do it when the plant is dry. The roots are much more pliable and less damage is done to them. Don't water for a day or two after you repot it. Let it heal itself. When you take it out of the pot, do so gently by laying it on it's side and drawing it out of the pot and if in bark letting the bark or chc fall away. If in moss, use tweezers to gently pull it away from the root mass. Take your time. Start at the bottom middle and work your way up and out. The roots are mostly on the outside and you should concentrate on the inside where the roots are less numerous. Catts and phals are more robust but oncid types have these very fine easily damaged roots so be careful. If you are very careful you may not inflict much damage to the roots and the plant won't become stressed.

I was very careful and did not water it after I changed its medium. I did use tweezers (I even sterilized them..xD) to pull the moss away and I went so slowly my fiance had to come into the kitchen to make sure I hadn't suddenly died ("WHAT is taking you so long? I want to watch this movie with you! It's just a plant, dear!" SMH he just doesn't get it, lol!).

At the moment I'm just feeling guilty and worried that I will kill the poor thing, lol.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by butterfly_muse

I am indeed not, but I was engaged to an Aussie once. I still use some slang here and there..heh! Thank you for your help!

Oh, I see.

I used to have a British roommate years ago and he used a lot of interesting expressions.

You're welcome, anytime!

I can help with the genera which I grow.

[Nanuca]

I'll do my best to help it recover. As I said before, I bought it that way so I thought it was kind of normal.

[james mickelso]

Nanuca, if you want to try a little experiment here's something you could try. Water like mentioned here. Really soak the plant above the exposed roots. Every day. But....and this is important....make sure there is lots of airflow. A fan or something to really move the air around the plant. That may plump up those leaves.

Butterfly, The leaves on your oncid are normal. The new leaves should be good to go as well as any succeeding pbulbs. I repotted this oncidium last season and it sits and languishes. But the new growth is coming along nicely. You didn't do anything wrong to it. Just water it (don't over water it though) and next season this pbulb will throw a spike. If it is kept warm, medium to high light, given good watering, and a good breeze, it might throw two spikes. Please keep me informed. But here is an oncid Leigh Teak which was near death when I got it and you can see that this one doesn't wrinkle as much as the other. Just a difference in genetics.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Nanuca, if you want to try a little experiment here's something you could try. Water like mentioned here. Really soak the plant above the exposed roots. Every day. But....and this is important....make sure there is lots of airflow. A fan or something to really move the air around the plant. That may plump up those leaves.

Butterfly, The leaves on your oncid are normal. The new leaves should be good to go as well as any succeeding pbulbs. I repotted this oncidium last season and it sits and languishes. But the new growth is coming along nicely. You didn't do anything wrong to it. Just water it (don't over water it though) and next season this pbulb will throw a spike. If it is kept warm, medium to high light, given good watering, and a good breeze, it might throw two spikes. Please keep me informed. But here is an oncid Leigh Teak which was near death when I got it and you can see that this one doesn't wrinkle as much as the other. Just a difference in genetics.

How should I judge when to water? The skewer? Or the weight of the pot? It's not like CHC is that heavy to start with <_< But I do know about the weight difference from my cattleyas and phals.

[james mickelso]

When you think it is time to water, lift the pot and feel how light it is. then water really well and let it drain. You will easily feel the difference. When it is again light in weight, water. Try it a few times and you'll readily see how well it works. If you are practiced with the skewer method then by all means use that. But I don't trust how my fingers or lips judge moisture correctly. But you'ld be amazed at how accurate your hands are at judging weight. What is the most common question or plea you hear on the board? "Help my plant is dying". And what is the most common reason? Watering too much. Orchids can go without water far longer than they can thrive being too wet. If you knew my watering habits you and most others here would cringe but I flower them all the time and save far more than I lose. I visit others growing areas and see cats that have started to turn yellowish. I ask them "how much are you watering this orchid?" And they are always overwatering. Orchids in nature get rain or heavy dew and then dry out completely before getting anymore. The books all say water and then let dry completely. Some orchids even succumb when they don't dry out quickly enough. We clear on watering now? With oncids you have to find that happy balance between watering too much, and just keeping the media moist.

[NYCorchidman]

Also, try and use clear plastic pot to easily monitor the moist level inside the pot.

I understand when you say chc is very light.
Plastic pots of 4 inch wide and 4 inch tall filled with chc can feel very light even when just after watered.

I use chc mainly for my paphs. I either have clear pots to see what's going on inside the potting mix, or 6in (or larger) and tall pot, which is then quite easy to tell the weight difference between wet and dry.

Good luck~

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Also, try and use clear plastic pot to easily monitor the moist level inside the pot.

I understand when you say chc is very light.
Plastic pots of 4 inch wide and 4 inch tall filled with chc can feel very light even when just after watered.

I use chc mainly for my paphs. I either have clear pots to see what's going on inside the potting mix, or 6in (or larger) and tall pot, which is then quite easy to tell the weight difference between wet and dry.

Good luck~

It is in a clear pot :3 And I have that pot sitting inside of a larger ceramic one that still has a bunch of slots in it to let air through. I have to weigh my guys down because my cats consider the window sill their "territory"