Sharry Baby: Too Dry?

[mtorchid]

Thanks! I do love that Onc sharry baby. Here in Montana, the temps, even in winter, can change abruptly so I'm going to invest in some heat mats this fall, especially for my Phals.

I couldn't help noticing the Phal(?) to the right of the Onc in the photo...is the culture pot sitting on top of a water reservoir (what appears to be a French press coffee pot) for added humidity for the roots? I've heard net pots surrounded by contained (intensified) humid air do quite well, but haven't tried it yet. Just curious what you did...

Also, I still use my French press for coffee!

[james mickelso]

The spots are lumped together and called "leaf spotting" fungus. Not terribly dangerous but can make the older leaves less than glamorous. You can start a spraying program for it but it won't kill your plant. It is in the family of cercospora/septoria/phyllosticta/guignardia. Go to www.stauorchidsociety and look under orchid diseases. Go down the page to near the bottom and look up these diseases. There is also a nice summary of Dr. Motes "Thai orchid disease". Very informative.

[mtorchid]

Good information, thanks! BTW you left the "g" out in the link: staugorchidsociety.org

[james mickelso]

Oops.

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by mtorchid

Yes, they probably should be called "spotted sharry baby".
Mine just finished its bloom cycle with a 3 ft long spike of about 65 flowers with that amazing milk-chocolate scent. It is in LECA, too, but in a semi-hydro environment.

When you opted for "more control" it comes at the cost of having to water more frequently with the added drainage holes. If you have to be gone for a while, you might try putting the culture pot inside a larger pot or higher-sided saucer, that way (semi-hydro) moisture will wick up through the LECA and do the watering for you. Maybe an inch of so of standing water. When you return, you could resume your more hands-on (top-down) routine. Since it's in LECA, you may as well let it work its evaporative (bottom-up) magic for you when needed.

I've found this trick to work. Just put your fast draining pot in a regular draining pot. Fill the gap with spagham moss. Water, and leave for a few days.

[Highland Fashionista]

Optimist...that is perfect for when I am going to be away for a few days, thanks!

And mtorchid, yes, that is a French press cafétiere that that big phal is in. I put it in there because the plant was SO HUGE when it was in full bloom...,big tall double spikes, and it was really top heavy. It kept tipping over and taking out other plants,scattering LECA and bark all over the place that I am still finding around the room to this day. The poor cat kept getting the blame until I realized what was happening. So I put it in there for stability, and thought I might as well take advantage of the reservoir. It is one of my most robust plants. Almost done blooming now, so the cafétiere will come away after I cut the spikes down. Generally, I use a little saucer full of water with a little square of wire mesh over the top for humidity... ostensibly for air movement. I found that stones were getting mucky so fast in the cool damp Scottish winters, so I devised something easier to clean and that wouldn't be touching the medium or plant. No idea if my logic is sound, but the plants seem happy.

[mtorchid]

Yes, if the Phal (and the cat) are happy, that's all that matters!

[Highland Fashionista]

Hi everyone...this is a very happy update to my original Sharry Baby post. I was sure that this plant would never bloom for me, because of a combination of occasional letting it get too dry while away on holiday (as you can see by the pleating on the leaves) and messing with the type of pot that it was in (I finally settled on one of Ray's SH pots).

I am very happy to report that I was wrong that it would never bloom. Despite my newbie errors, I have got a great big fat new spike forming, and I believe a second one is on its way (I thought it was a leaf at first, but I think I can see nodes down the spike).

Just tooting my own horn a bit...toot toot. I have had really good luck with both of my oncidiums, both bloomed within the first year and both were relatively young plants off of Ebay. Both in SH culture, which I think I am sold on for oncidiums. I have just gotten a miltonia (my first) from Ebay today, and I am thinking that is going to go into SH too seeing as though I have had success with my Lemon Oncidium and this Sharry Baby.

[judith_arquette]

Seems like some well deserved tooting! Great job!

[bil]

Interesting. I potted two different but similar oncs, one was that common yellow one, in identical setups. The one went mad, but never flowered, whereas the yellow one seemed so relieved at being taken out of the ghastly little pot it was sold in (its roots were like wood wool,) and it bloomed straight away, almost as a thankyou.