Leaves turning yellow on ondontoglossum/oncidium hybrid

[Domenico]

Hi all,
Been a wile since i posted anything on here, and many new acquisitions since then

So I bought this orchid for 12.99 at my local Trader Joes i loved the compact base and beautifully branched spike. It was in flower with a few buds that needed to open. I placed it in a south west window in my bedroom and it seemed to do well as the blooms continued to open. After a few days I noticed a bulb begin to shrivel and the flowers looked dry to me so I decided to water it a little, it was so tight in the pot i decided to leave it alone until and not disturb it until it finished flowering. It has some type of moss on top, that i hope you can see from the pictures.

Anyway i forgot about him for about 5 days after I watered, (like i do the rest of my orchids drench/ flush, let it drain well, placed it back in its home) and now some leaves are yellowing.

Well i decided to investigate further and wiggled him out of his pot and noticed he's planted in soil! Is that normal? is too much moisture the culprit of my now yellow leaves. All of my orchids get repotted in bark, and sometimes a little moss mixed in. This is my first ondontoglossum/oncidium hybrid do they have different potting requirements? should I go ahead and just repot it now?

Your knowledge and thoughts wound be greatly appreciated.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I don't know any true Oncs that are true terrestrials. I also don't know of any Odontoglossum species that are true terrestrials either.

Some species might be lithophytes, but I don't know of any that are true-in-the-ground terrestrials. This is especially so when you're talking about hybrids.

So, I'd have to say, "nay", on growing this orchid in potting soil.

The yellowing could be the beginning signs of damage from being put in potting soil, but it could also be from old age.

Whatever the reason is, I think you've got it under control.

[Ordphien]

It's not soil.
It's a very airy soiless mixture that looks like soil.
Freaked me out too...

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[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Ordphien

It's not soil.
It's a very airy soiless mixture that looks like soil.
Freaked me out too...

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

How do you know this?

[Ordphien]

I've bought many orchids from TJ's.
I eventually contacted their supplier asking them about it since it concerned me when I first started buying them.


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[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If the roots aren't damaged from being put in soil, (because the mix is a soilless mix), then it could very well be from aging.

Keep an eye on the plant to see if the entire plant starts looking worse.

[Chatbud]

Is it true that oncidiums, miltonias and all related hybrids should be best potted in smaller chunk/fine bark/sp. moss mixture cos of their fine roots?

Over here at East Asia, charcoal is widely used to pot dendrobiums and vandaceous types, but when it comes to oncidiums (esp. the ubiquitous yellow-bloom dancing ladies) I noticed the growers like to pot them in fine wood shavings and chopped coconut husk.

[Domenico]

Originally Posted by Ordphien

I've bought many orchids from TJ's.
I eventually contacted their supplier asking them about it since it concerned me when I first started buying them.


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Thank you, good to know, as trader joes has become my new low cost orchid source

---------- Post added at 04:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:27 PM ----------

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

If the roots aren't damaged from being put in soil, (because the mix is a soilless mix), then it could very well be from aging.

Keep an eye on the plant to see if the entire plant starts looking worse.

thank you for the advice, I will keep an eye on it and repot soon.