VUYLSTEKEARA Pseudo bulb very thin and wrinkly

[OllieK]

Hello, this is a vuyl carnivale rio I got from traders joe few months ago. The PBs are very thin and wrinkly. What should I do? Leave it as is? Its in a bark medium in a plastic pot with holes. I repotted it when I got it so I don’t want to repot again unless necessary. I water it about every 5 days. I have a oncidium twinkle that it’s in lava rock and it plumbled up back after I change the medium to lava and doing well. What would you do?

Thank you!

[Optimist]

What I would assume is that you do not have any roots, and all the insides of the bulbs have been eaten by the plant. Do you have a new growth? (small new leaves coming up from the base?)

[OllieK]

Hello.... there are roots. I haven’t seen new growth but there are little/young leaves... thank you for helping me

[estación seca]

They like to stay moist. I bet you're not watering enough. The medium looks large and chunky. If it is, you could water every day.

[OllieK]

Oh....... I bet! Thank you so much!! I am always afraid to overwater...

Originally Posted by estación seca

They like to stay moist. I bet you're not watering enough. The medium looks large and chunky. If it is, you could water every day.

[estación seca]

In a typical home, most intergeneric Oncidium hybrids, like Vuylstekeara, need a lot more watering than most other orchids.

Most like cool temperatures, so the range most people keep their homes is good for Oncidiums.

Humidity in homes is usually low, due to air conditioning or heating. This means the plant needs a lot of water, since transpiration from the leaves is increased. Thicker-leaved orchids have waxy coats, and other mechanisms to decrease water loss. Thin-leaved plants don't.

[OllieK]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Originally Posted by estación seca

In a typical home, most intergeneric Oncidium hybrids, like Vuylstekeara, need a lot more watering than most other orchids.

Most like cool temperatures, so the range most people keep their homes is good for Oncidiums.

Humidity in homes is usually low, due to air conditioning or heating. This means the plant needs a lot of water, since transpiration from the leaves is increased. Thicker-leaved orchids have waxy coats, and other mechanisms to decrease water loss. Thin-leaved plants don't.

[OllieK]

What kind of medium does everybody use for this type?

[Fairorchids]

The medium depends very much on where you are growing, and how you are watering.

Most of these plants are grown in Hawaii. There, it either rains a lot, or they water a lot, so they use coarse bark/perlite.

I used to know a semi-commercial grower in NJ. He used a mix of bark, perlite & coconut husk, but with smaller diameter than the Hawaiians (slightly larger than seedling size).

My personal choice is a mix of spagnum & intermediate size bark (about 3:1).