Oncidium help please - Orchid Board

princesjess13 · #1 08-18-2017, 01:01 PM

Hello everyone,

Newbie here! I bought this oncidium roughly 3 weeks ago. When I bought it, it looked like it is was in promix. I waited it out and the pseudobulbs started shriveling. So I decided to go ahead and repot it even though it was still in bloom. I was very happy that there was no root rot and no pests. Now every day I look at it the pseudobulbs seem to be getting worse and then I found what I think is a new pseudobulb that is starting to grow from the base of the newest one. I went ahead and decided to cut the flower spike yesterday because the leaves are limping and the bulbs look so bad and wanted it to focus its energy on this new growth. I have checked the roots everything looks great but I feel like I am doing something wrong and I’m killing it. I water it twice a week or more when the media is dry, and I soak it for 10-15 minutes and let it totally drain. Can anyone please give me some advice?

Ray · #2 08-18-2017, 01:37 PM

Hi, Jess.

My guess is that the roots were in sorry shape when you repotted it, and/or are not optimized for the new pot environment. Either way, the plant is unable to take up sufficient water at the moment.

If that was my plant, I'd water it with a KelpMax solution for three waterings in a row, and keep a clear plastic bag inverted over it to maximize the humidity around the foliage. They are losing water, even though the roots cannot keep up.

Keep it warm and shady (to prevent a "broil in bag" scenario), and it should recover in a few weeks.

princesjess13 · #3 08-18-2017, 02:05 PM

Oh you are so awesome thank you! I have been racking my brain for weeks on this poor guy. If I don't use the bag will it bounce back on it's own naturally?

estación seca · #4 08-19-2017, 01:51 PM

It will be a contest between how much water the roots can take up, against how much water evaporates from the leaves. There is only so much water the roots can take up. Evaporation from the leaves depends on the surrounding humidity - the lower it is, the more water evaporates; the higher it is, the less water evaporates. So standard treatment for a root-injured orchid usually involves raising the humidity around it.

The higher the humidity around the plant, the longer it might survive while it hopes for new roots to develop. If new roots don't grow soon, or if you make a mistake and damage the first set of new roots, your plant might not survive.

Unless you can raise the humidity around our plant, it will probably get more wrinkled, until it can grow enough new roots to provide water. From that point the new growths should look good, but the old growths are not likely to fill out.

You can also raise humidity by putting your whole plant into a large glass vase or a terrarium. If you keep your eyes open you might find an old aquarium at a yard sale.

princesjess13 · #5 08-19-2017, 11:06 PM

Thank you! I was actually thinking the same thing! I have a 10 gallon fish tank. Should I seal with with plastic wrap and put a fan on an opening in the plastic wrap?

estación seca · #6 08-20-2017, 01:38 AM

I would skip the fan and opening in the top. You don't want the humidity to go too low.

You can also have window glass cut at a hardware store to fit the top of the tank, or get a standard tank cover at a pet store.

princesjess13 · #7 08-20-2017, 09:32 AM

Thank you

flowerpower · #8 08-23-2017, 04:14 PM

I find they don't like being repotted. When the new bulb is mature it will be nice and plump. Leave the orchid undisturbed for as long as possible to fill out the pot with nice plump bulbs and keep it well watered. From my experience it was repotting that sets this shrivelling off. As you can see it was sold to you in a very peaty type of mixture because they drink a lot. In your coarser mix it will be quite difficult to overwater this orchid.

princesjess13 · #9 08-23-2017, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowerpower

I find they don't like being repotted. When the new bulb is mature it will be nice and plump. Leave the orchid undisturbed for as long as possible to fill out the pot with nice plump bulbs and keep it well watered. From my experience it was repotting that sets this shrivelling off. As you can see it was sold to you in a very peaty type of mixture because they drink a lot. In your coarser mix it will be quite difficult to overwater this orchid.

Thank you! I was trying to wait it out as long as I could on repotting it but it started to shrivel while it was in what I think was promix. Then I decided to repot it and I was glad I did because it had a chunk of moss in the center that was going to give me a serious case of root rot. I am also wondering if the decorative pot it came with wasn't allowing enough air circulation. So I have it in a clear plastic slotted pot with a pebble tray and a little moss by the new growth for humidity. Fingers crossed I can keep it going.

flowerpower · #10 08-24-2017, 06:04 AM

I have no doubt you can keep it going. Oncidiums sometimes look terrible but they're still in very good health, just using the energy they saved up. It's mosty cosmetic but I also love oncidiums to have those beautiful plump bulbs. It's definitely possible but can be hard to achieve. The new bulbs will grow plump and the secret seems to be keeping them that way and stopping it from ever needing to tap into its energy storage. Hot weather can increase their water loss as they prefer slightly cooler conditions. As the weather gets cooler you might see some plumping up of the bulbs. For me, some oncidiums do plump up but others won't. I don't know why. You might even water as much as three times a week in the hot weather and new, dry media.