Help with orchid labeled "Odontoglossum/Oncidium"!!

[Yanquister]

Hey Guys!

Today I was at a local Fred Meyer store here in Portland and noticed an Oncidium that had been marked down, so I purchased it...I'm no expert on Oncidiums, but I love them and want to give this one a test run before I buy more for my orchid collection. So here are my questions:

1) What does "Odontoglossum" mean?
2) The two outer leaves appear to have been
damaged/broken. Do they need to be removed or wait
for them to drop naturally?
3) I know I need to take it out of that medium, but can
anyone recommend a good mix for the Oncidiums? I
have been having a hard time locating quality orchid
supplies here in Oregon and thought that maybe I could
mix my own...
4) What is a quick, effective way of replenishing the
pseudobulbs without putting more stress on the plant
and root system?

I apologize if these questions have been asked frequently in the past. My new apartment does not have internet yet and this site is hard to navigate on my phone. Regardless, thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer!!

Happy 4th!!

Joseph

[Yanquister]

Another view of the Oncidium from above.

[Yanquister]

Another view of the Oncidium from above.

[Optimist]

Its a bit small on my screen but seems like colmanera wildcat type. Colmanera is from ondontoglossum, oncidium, and miltonia. I'm not 100% sure. The leaves...unless they are bugging you leave them on until they fall off. They are still photosynthasising and providing food to the plant. Repot if it luuks like the old medium is killing the roots.both miltonia and ondontoglossum like a bit more moisture, so moss is not really bad for it. Small rooted oncidium roots rot easily though, and since the bulbs are so wrinkled, I suspect the roots are shot. Fingernail sized chumks of bark. Best way to get plump bulbs is that you have to get the roots going.old back bulbs will not refill with water.new bulbs growing well because of good roots and good culture will give you a good plant.

My question. Do you see any growth eyes? New roots?

Happy 4th

---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 PM ----------

Sorry for the bad typing. Party USA!

[euplusia]

#1 The root word "odont" is Greek and stands for tooth. The root word "glotta" or "glossa" is Greek and stands for tongue, which means the lip. So Odontoglossum is an orchid with teeth on the basal part of the lip.
#2-#4 In these summer days I would not stress the weary plant any more. I would leave it as it is and bring it to a cooler shady place with high humidity. Spray water regularly on and around the plant, give moving air, but avoid to drown the plant.
Time for repotting has come when the plant starts a new growth, which may be in autumn.
I also compose my own potting mix. You may take fir bark, Perlite, clay pellets, pumice, chopped sphagnum, also hydroponics may work.

[tarev]

To answer your question number 4:

Typically once the pbs of oncidiums go wrinkly it does not go back to its usual full robust form. However, I did one time accidentally leave my oncidium in a container of water for about three days, forgot to tip over the excess water, and I saw a marked improvement on the pbs, got it a bit fuller but still outer skin is like a slightly wrinkled texture. And that taught me too just how water needy this type of orchids are. So during these hot summer days, sometimes I do same thing, and my Oncidiums are okay with it. We get triple digit heat here, so it is quite easy for my Onc to be terribly thirsty.

So you can try and soak the root zone area for awhile, maybe try overnight first to let those roots drink as much as they can. Then drain excess water.

[Yanquister]

So I carefully tried to inspect the roots of the Oncidium and, again, since I am new to Oncidiums, I have been trying to research them...but looking at these roots I don't know. To me they look root bound but someone said they were supposed to be? They also don't look too great if Im comparing to the roots of other types of orchids I have. Im so lost on this one. Any advice on what to do now!! I'm sorry if it's a stupid question guys but again, any wisdom you can offer is appreciated!!

Joseph

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by Yanquister

So I carefully tried to inspect the roots of the Oncidium and, again, since I am new to Oncidiums, I have been trying to research them...but looking at these roots I don't know. To me they look root bound but someone said they were supposed to be? They also don't look too great if Im comparing to the roots of other types of orchids I have. Im so lost on this one. Any advice on what to do now!! I'm sorry if it's a stupid question guys but again, any wisdom you can offer is appreciated!!



Joseph

Hi Joseph, yes, your Oncidium is root bound! I have two experiences with Oncidium that were completely root bound like yours. My first experience is with my Oncidium Pacific Sunrise Hakalau, I created a thread about this plant and my adventures of re-repotting. In repotting that one, I took the tight ball of roots and worked them out. But in the process, I damaged a lot of roots. Through summer, fall, and winter, it looked like it was going to die. Then this spring it surprised with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Relief!

At the same time I had that adventure, I repotted my Miltonidium Bartley Schwartz 'Albino' as it was also root bound like your plant. Instead of loosening up the root ball, I stuck it in a slightly larger pot and surrounded root ball with new media. This plant basically existed, did not loose leaves, etc. like my Hakalau. This spring it also bloomed but it produced a very weak spike of just three blooms. Four days ago, the plant was upended by extreme thunder/windstorm. The plant's root ball remained intact, no evidence of roots reaching out into the new media. Today I will unwrap the root ball, repot it in new media, and I'll see if I get a similar result next year.

Judging from your picture...it looks like the potting media inside the root ball is deteriorating--this old stuff will retain water and keep it too soggy. I would carefully remove that material. You will loose healthy roots as a consequence. It will probably have a set back adjusting to this repotting. But it will also come back with new growth and maybe a flower spike next year--as long as you give it its proper culture--warmth, good air circulation, a lot of good water and some weak fertilizer--hold off on fertilizing for a month or two after repotting, and give it bright light.

[james mickelso]

All very good advice. Oncidium alliance orchids have thin, easily damaged roots, and are prone to fungus. If this were my plant I would wait until it pushed out some new growth. When that new growth reached about 4 inches long, I would repot. If you repot this now you might do too much damage to the roots and invite root rot. The reason the pbulbs are so wrinkled is that it produced a flower spike and wasn't given good care. When you repot this you will find almost all the roots grow straight out of the pbulbs and immediately wrap themselves around the outside of the pot. The media hasn't broken down as much as it was the cheapest alternative to better media. It is too fine and has little air flow. In growing this for sale, it was put in this media en-mass watered, kept very humid and warm, which kept it hydrated without needing much additional water. It was force bloomed. The only energy it had were these two big pbulbs and when it was forced to flower it didn't have any reserves from which to draw upon. So the pbulbs wrinkled. There is not much left here to grow new pbulbs so if you repot now, you may just rot the roots. Wait until it pushes out a couple new growths and then repot. Give it warmth and medium light levels. Bright but no direct sun. Send for some of Rays Kelpmax and use it. If you want you can put it in a medium bark/perlite medium in a slightly larger pot but this will only be temporary. It will help keep the roots, which look to be in very good condition, hydrated. Do not drown this root ball. The problem will come from within this root ball. It will stay too wet and start the inner part of the root ball rotting. Once that happens this plant will quickly die. The plant does not need a lot of moisture now. It is resting. Cut off the flower spike as it is draining what little is left of it's reserves. This should push new growth in a month or so. That new growth will come from the base of the outer most leaf. There are two viable eyes on most oncids. If you give these roots a chance, they will reward you with both eyes. But if you mess with this very much, they will sprout and then wither. Only when the new growth has roots around 1/2 to 1" long will this be ready to re-pot. Then you will be able to carefully get most of the old media out of the root ball and put this in better fresh media. Give it a chance. Oncids grow on tree trunks and limbs and old logs. They don't need any media at all. I have seen countless oncids mounted and they spike and flower beautifully. Give this one a chance by not keeping it much more than damp and it will thrive.

[Yanquister]

Thanks everyone for all the advice!! I really appreciate it!! Happy growing!

Joseph