Oncidium newcomer - Orchid Board

TheAMP · #1 06-28-2014, 03:47 PM

Hello orchid lovers. I've grown orchids as a hobby in Miami, albeit limited to simple dendrobiums.

I recently acquired a 25-yr old oncidium sphacelatum from someone who could no longer care for it. I was told that this plant had 75 spikes earlier this year. It has never been divided and took 4 people to lift and move it.

Naturally, I will be looking for help on how to divide this specimen. I'm thinking I will let it become acclimated to its new location until fall.

I have attached a photo of the specimen before we moved it.

Bulbofett · #2 06-28-2014, 03:54 PM

If I had such a magnificent beast in my collection I would never even consider dividing it.

WhiteRabbit · #3 06-28-2014, 07:24 PM

Wow! That's awesome!

RosieC · #4 06-30-2014, 05:55 AM

Welcome to Orchid Board

Wow great looking plant. Personally unless it is naturally showing split points I would not divide it either. Sometimes a large plant just wants to fall into multiple pieces, that's the only time I divide.

lexusnexus · #5 07-02-2014, 05:41 PM

Welcome to the boards, AMP.

czayta · #6 07-02-2014, 06:21 PM

Wow! That is such a big orchid! Welcome to the orchid board.

Let us know if you end up splitting it. Take pictures!~ ^^

JMNYC · #7 07-02-2014, 06:39 PM

Welcome!

Wow....took FOUR HUMANs TO CARRY IT!

Now, given it seems you grow outdoors (unless that is wrong), the reason I would divide it, but this must be YOUR call as is always the case...is, the roots are clearly beyond filling the container!

For me, that alone would move me to CAREFULLY cut apart that container and consider just dividing it in half. Esp if you can secure both divisions to a tree and so, more perfectly emulate natural conditions!

Course, doing that would also afford you the option of securing the whole thing to a tree! If, I mean, it can be safely lifted and held during the securing by however many humans necessary.

Would be important, even given the size, the WEIGHT of half of it, if you choose to go in this direction, it be secured in a place where it gets support: perhaps on a sturdy branch, or in the juncture between the trunk and a branch....as long as the amount of light it, or they will receive is appropriate.

In either event, over time, new, liberated roots will grow and secure themselves to the tree.....just as they have been evolved to do over milenia.

Of course, you could also pot the divisions! But, for the reasons I shared, were it mine, I would divide it.

Optimist · #8 07-02-2014, 10:54 PM

Why on Gods green earth would you want to divide that beauty. That like turning a prodigious genious into a mediocre hack. You might not understand that is worth a lot of money the way it is. Also for any orchid ernthusiast it is a true collectors item. I beg of you, reconsider!

---------- Post added at 07:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:53 PM ----------

If you don't like it, but a tiny one and sell that to a fanatic!

RosieC · #9 07-03-2014, 06:06 AM

I would consider dividing it if it's just too big to handle. Yes I love massive orchids and it would be a shame, but if you can't handle it (and at that size most private growers would have a problem) then dividing can be a good way to go.

Having multiple pieces also means you can experiment with ways to grow it. I've just divided a Sharry Baby. The main reason I did was because it was just falling into pieces naturally as I tried to repot, holding it together was harder than letting it fall into pieces and however I potted it those pieces would have been trying to fall out the pot in different directions.

However now I have it in several pieces I love the fact that I can grow a couple mounted, a couple potted in bark and a couple potted in Leca and growing as S/H. Having multiple plants of something makes you far more comfortable about experimenting with what is best. I have masses of keikis from a dendrobium that I had growing in a variety of ways, I would never have tried them in moss if I had only had one, as it turns out they grow best in moss!

If you were to sell it there is nothing to say the buyer wouldn't just split it up, and sell the pieces, I think that's what many would do to be honest.

If you can find a way to handle it as one it would be great kept as one. But if not I would divide it as I were you.

JMNYC · #10 07-03-2014, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RosieC

I would consider dividing it if it's just too big to handle. Yes I love massive orchids and it would be a shame, but if you can't handle it (and at that size most private growers would have a problem) then dividing can be a good way to go.

Having multiple pieces also means you can experiment with ways to grow it. I've just divided a Sharry Baby. The main reason I did was because it was just falling into pieces naturally as I tried to repot, holding it together was harder than letting it fall into pieces and however I potted it those pieces would have been trying to fall out the pot in different directions.

However now I have it in several pieces I love the fact that I can grow a couple mounted, a couple potted in bark and a couple potted in Leca and growing as S/H. Having multiple plants of something makes you far more comfortable about experimenting with what is best. I have masses of keikis from a dendrobium that I had growing in a variety of ways, I would never have tried them in moss if I had only had one, as it turns out they grow best in moss!

If you were to sell it there is nothing to say the buyer wouldn't just split it up, and sell the pieces, I think that's what many would do to be honest.

If you can find a way to handle it as one it would be great kept as one. But if not I would divide it as I were you.

Ditto to all of the above. But that splendid creature has been suffering in that container for many years.

Whatever you decide, please liberate it!