Beginner's luck Oncidium - Orchid Board

Orchid Ash · #1 08-06-2014, 12:40 PM

A while back my husband bought me a really pretty red oncidium at Trader Joes. Before that I had only ever cared for phalaenopsis. A couple of them had rebloomed so I figured I knew everything I needed to know about orchids. Right?

After the flowers died, I couldn't find a spot for this substantially larger plant so I put it on the zero sun, dry, drafty mantle and forgot about it until it started to yellow. At that point, I figured I'd just mount it to a tree outside since it seemed like the logical choice for an orchid. I removed all the old potting medium (it was a in a fine medium) and replaced it with a coarse bark and mounted it to the tree. Within a few days, the bulbs started to shrivel and the roots dried out despite misting and watering daily. At that point I figured I should do some reading and learn about oncidiums.

I repotted my poor plant back into a fine medium and moved it from filtered all day sun to morning sun and again forgot about it since by this time, the plant looked pathetic. It completely dried out multiple times since my outdoor plants tend to get a little neglected when my schedule gets hectic. Two weeks ago in a rush to water, I doused the oncidium with water, moved it to an unsheltered 5 hour sun ledge and left it sitting in about 3 inches of water.

Imagine my surprise when a flower spike showed up. I fully expected this plant to be a casualty of my four kids' overly busy schedule and my previous mistakes. This little plant's resilience has inspired me to continue orchid care even with a crazy schedule.

I have one question. When do I transition it inside? Do I wait until the flower stalk has matured more?

Purple_phal_gal13 · #2 08-06-2014, 01:50 PM

With a flower spike trying to come up, I'd leave it outside where you got it till it blooms. It looks happy with nice roots coming out.

Bud · #3 08-06-2014, 07:10 PM

You are in an environment where the plant will thrive outdoors because you have humidity in your atmosphere. Put it indoors if you feel that there is frost. But Los Angeles rarely have frost maybe every two years....make sure the heavy downpour of rain this end of summer doesn't kill it.....that's also when you put it indoors.
Even if you have high humidity, you may also put a small saucer under the pot with water on it. If you see that the water is gone, its time to drench it and water it well. Feed it weakly weekly fertilizer and you're all set.

Optimist · #4 08-08-2014, 06:29 PM

Agreeing that LA is a good place for them. Since there are so many oncidiums and the hybrids derive from plant who range from sea level to high cloud forest, I go by root thickness. Thin roots mean more water, less sun, medium roots are somewhat tolerant, thick roots can survive with lower humidity, less water. Yours look mid to thick. Good growing!

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