Oncidiums - Should I or should I not?

[mlira85]

Hello everyone!!

I am fairly new to this board....a couple days old as a matter of fact and so far I have gotten some pretty good and helpful advice I am currently thinking of getting an oncidium from a local store, Lowes and want to get some advice from those of you who have some experience with oncidiums and keeping them alive. I've never had oncidiums, only phalaenopsis' and dendrobiums so I am looking for some much needed suggestions, tips, and advice on how to care for this beauty before I actually buy one. What are some do's and don'ts with this orchid? Any information would be extremely helpful. Thanks so much.

Marcy

[Fishkeeper]

They're not difficult. If you can keep phals and dendros happy, you can keep an oncidium happy. Just don't let it dry out too much, they don't like that, and be very careful of the delicate roots when you repot.

[fooferdoggie]

yes they are easy I have couple mounted on cork and a couple in pots they both do well. the sharry baby and the sweet sixteen smell great. they are fragrant later in the morning till evening.

[will1986]

Oncidiums are easy, and you should definitely do it! Do you know what type of Oncidiums you are seeing at Lowe's right now? Some of the hybrids with Miltoniopsis and the plants formerly known as Odontoglossum and Cochlioda will tolerate, and even enjoy, cooler temperatures, while others like it warmer, but what you can find at Lowe's are probably complex hybrids and will tolerate a wide range of temperatures.

Oncidiums like a little more light than your Phals, but not nearly as much as your Dens. I grow mine on a south-facing covered porch in the summer where they get a couple of hours of direct sun early in the morning, and then bright shade the rest of the day. I put them by a south-facing window in the winter, where they get direct sun for several hours a day. They would probably tolerate a little less light than that, but they bloom better in brighter light.

As was mentioned above, keep them moist. They don't like to dry out, but nor should they stay soggy. You'll probably find them at Lowe's growing in sphagnum moss, which I think stays too soggy, so I grow mine in a mixture of small bark, perlite, and charcoal, and I water every day in the summer when they are outside, and then every three to five days in the winter, depending on what the weather has been like (they dry more slowly during cloudy winter weather).

They're tolerant of a pretty wide range of conditions, and most do well in typical household conditions.

[mlira85]

Originally Posted by will1986

Oncidiums are easy, and you should definitely do it! Do you know what type of Oncidiums you are seeing at Lowe's right now? Some of the hybrids with Miltoniopsis and the plants formerly known as Odontoglossum and Cochlioda will tolerate, and even enjoy, cooler temperatures, while others like it warmer, but what you can find at Lowe's are probably complex hybrids and will tolerate a wide range of temperatures.

Oncidiums like a little more light than your Phals, but not nearly as much as your Dens. I grow mine on a south-facing covered porch in the summer where they get a couple of hours of direct sun early in the morning, and then bright shade the rest of the day. I put them by a south-facing window in the winter, where they get direct sun for several hours a day. They would probably tolerate a little less light than that, but they bloom better in brighter light.

As was mentioned above, keep them moist. They don't like to dry out, but nor should they stay soggy. You'll probably find them at Lowe's growing in sphagnum moss, which I think stays too soggy, so I grow mine in a mixture of small bark, perlite, and charcoal, and I water every day in the summer when they are outside, and then every three to five days in the winter, depending on what the weather has been like (they dry more slowly during cloudy winter weather).

They're tolerant of a pretty wide range of conditions, and most do well in typical household conditions.

Thanks for all the information, good to know about the light requirement for oncidiums. Unfortunately, Lowes does not label the type of oncidium just that it's an oncidium. The colors that I have seen are the solid yellow flowers, and the red flowers that look like stars.
Do you have pictures of your oncidiums?

---------- Post added at 11:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Fishkeeper

They're not difficult. If you can keep phals and dendros happy, you can keep an oncidium happy. Just don't let it dry out too much, they don't like that, and be very careful of the delicate roots when you repot.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice on not letting them dry out

---------- Post added at 11:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 PM ----------

Originally Posted by fooferdoggie

yes they are easy I have couple mounted on cork and a couple in pots they both do well. the sharry baby and the sweet sixteen smell great. they are fragrant later in the morning till evening.

Thank you very much. I'll have to check if Lowe's has the sharry baby

[will1986]

These are, from left to right, noid from Lowe's, Beallara Plutos Drummer 'Pacific Pink', Vuylstekeara Celtic Sun 'Maya', and Beallara Tropic Lily 'Hilo Spaceship'. However, note that since the reclassification of Odontoglossum and Cochlioda as Oncidium, Beallara is now Aliceara and Vuylstekeara is now Oncidopsis.

These are all pretty tolerant of a wide range of temperatures, except for Celtic Sun, which won't tolerate hot temperatures, because it doesn't have any warm growing plants in its background. I keep that one inside during the hottest part of the summer. It only goes outside in the spring and fall.

[mlira85]

will1986
You have a beautiful collection of oncidiums and those blooms look pretty happy. Thanks for sharing the pictures of your orchids and here I was thinking that all oncidium flowers were rather small, boy was I wrong. I'm looking forward to purchasing an oncidium soon.

[bil]

Here's mine on its mount.

[nogreenthumbs]

Originally Posted by bil

Here's mine on its mount.

Wow, very impressive!

[bil]

Originally Posted by nogreenthumbs

Wow, very impressive!

Thanks. Last year I got a lot of bloomms from the one new pBulb, and this year I have the first flower spike, but best of all I am getting a second new pBulb.
I am a HUGE afficionado of mounts. I believe they are the way to go for most epiphytes