My first orchid - Bllra."Golden Gate"

[jspatzwmn]

Help?! I'm a newbie!

My sister-in-law gave this creature to me saying "'They' say it needs re-potting... but you're good at that sort of thing."

Aaack! Orchids are a whole new kettle of fish, horse of a different color, etc.!

It was blooming when she gave it to me (2 months ago), with a new spike on the way. The original blooms are long gone (but I have not cut off the old spike. It's still green at the base, yellowing at the tip). The "new" spike is now blooming, but the blooms are smaller and very close together (does that necessarily mean I should give more light or food?).

When to "re-pot"???
I think I "know" not to re-pot while the plant is blooming. How do I know when it is dormant? I don't see any new spikes (is that the right term?) coming up after the one now in bloom.

How do I "re-pot"???
Looks to me like there are many "plants" in this tiny 4" pot ... maybe 7. Do I separate it, or just give it a larger pot? The "plant" blooming when she gave it to me is the biggest. The one blooming now is not as big, but bigger than the rest.

If I separate the "plants", the are so enmeshed... something is going to suffer. Do I sacrifice the old for the new, or the new for the old?

Where???
Boy, all these roots wrapped in circles! I don't see much evidence of what the previous potting media was ... some pea-sized nuggets of some sort. As a newbie, can you recommend a commercially available potting media for this creature?

What about mounting? Or should I leave that for more advanced growers?

Long-term care???
I'm looking through what is already on this site, but I'm not seeing much for "Bllra". Can you direct me where to look?

Light - requirements? dislikes?
Food - any orchid food? is uptake through leaves or roots?
Diseases - some of the leaves have brown spotty areas on the underside. Is this normal coloration or indicative of a problem? Does this site have pictures to diagnose problems?

OK, that about covers all my questions ... for now.

To anyone with the fortitude to have read this far ... and many, MANY thanks!

I look forward to your responses!
patzwmn

[Pamela52]

Hi, I'm kinda new to this plant . I have a Bllra Tahoma Glacier 'Green". It was in full bloom when I got it. Its in a mix of bark, charcoal and small rocks. Seems to be dormant now, but not sure. I have it in low to med lite, 1000 ftc. likes warmer temps not too cool. Thats about all I have! I'll be watching Please help us. Pam

[camille1585]

Bllra is short for Beallara, which is an oncidium intergeneric.
While it may seem that you have 7 plants in the pot, you have, in fact, only one. Oncidiums grow by producing pseudobulbs, which is what those are. Each bulb only blooms once, then the bulb will make new bulbs which in turn will bloom once they are mature/semi mature. So leave the plant intact! Also, you can cut off spikes that are done blooming, they won't do anything more.

Depending on the amount of roots, either keep the same pot on take a slightly bigger one. Cut off any bad roots, which will be mushy. Good roots, regardless of color, are nice and firm. If the root ball is not too compact, you can gently tease out the old medium. As for the new medium, a standard bark based orchid mix should work fine. I can't tell you which since I'm not familiar with what is sold in the usa.

As for growing requirements, oncidium hybrids don't like to dry out completely. They also like bright light. At my high latitude, they grow behind south facing windows. Also, like with most orchids, it's best to fertilize weakly weekly when you water.

Do you have any of the plant and the spotty leaves? Oncidiums develop spots easily especially if you mist the leaves. If its that type of spots, there is nothing to worry about. Hope this helps!

[masda]

That very good advice from a well informed lady who knows her stuff.

[Pamela52]

Thanks Camille, you have been a great. I didn't know what initials were. Many THANKS Pam