Oncidium roots

[littleflower]

Trying to figure out if I need to do anything with this plant. Growing lots of roots, but should they be buried? at first I thought maybe this was a keiki but obviously not, just a new growth

[DirtyCoconuts]

nothing wrong there, new growth roots so it has somewhere to attach itself, the mechanical stability part of their function


as for the bury them question, how and where do you grow this plant? they do not have to be buried but you could if you were having a tough time with say maintaining humidity or keeping the plant from getting top heavy.

[littleflower]

Thanks for the reply! I grow in my house, in front of a south facing window. Humidity could be better, but I try to water often and mist the roots as well. So far stability has not been a problem, but I would probably try to stake or put a wire frame around if it was. The roots look healthy, so I guess I will leave it as it is for now

[DirtyCoconuts]

that'd be my move as well.

happy growing!

[SouthPark]

Totally seconding those moves about leaving as-is. If the orchid is growing like a machine ----- ok, like a plant on steroids ---- ok ..... like a healthy plant ....... then leave as-is. The conditions are good.

[Dollythehun]

Some of these Oncidiums are just "climbers." I have a Sweet Sugar that does the same thing. It's just the plant's habit.

[Ray]

It’s not just oncidiums that can be uncooperative. A lot of Phrag. besseae do something similar, making pot culture tough. In situ photos show them growing in steep hillsides, so it makes sense.

[Zoizikid]

i would mist the roots daily as you do. i would maybe place some sphagnum arround them to be sure that they have lots of humidity there but not tight. I would finally trained the new growth little by little until it reach the final place i like, but really wouldn't be a problem for me. But i really hate when one just leaf is out of the main body of the plant. In that cases i 100% tie the leaf with wire until it will be straightened.

[JScott]

I feel like Oncidium alliance hybrids with a lot of Brassia in them tend to climb upward, meaning that each new growth is higher up than the previous one, so the roots have to grow down through the air for some length before they reach the medium and dig in. I haven't found it to be a problem. I just let them do what they want.