Onc. Mendenhall Hildos leaves not mottled anymore

[CourtneyT]

I got this beautiful Onc. mendenhall Hildos mid last year and it bloomed twice with gorgeous flowers. However, I observed the fading of the red line pattern on the leaves within the past few months. The leaves are just green now. Also, it seems not forming the third flower bud either. I checked the root and it does not look too bad. I have been growing it near the north facing window with LED growing light on from 5pm to midnight everyday since November. The humidity is about 60%-70%. Temprature is between 58 and 70. I water it once a week. Any suggestions about the caring? What could happen with the leaves and the bud?

[Ray]

Grow it warmer and brighter.

[Optimist]

Faded mottling has to do with the amount of light as Ray has posted. I believe the red pigment is anthocyanin. This is the same pigment that develops in cattleya leaves when the light is optimal. It most likely develops at a lower light with the Psychopsis.

[Roberta]

Don't worry about the blooming... these tend to pop a few flowers, take a respite for awhile, do another series of flowers - sometimes for several years on a given spike. Boosting the light, as others have suggested, may encourage more blooming - and in time, more spikes. They do like it bright. Also, they tend to like to be drier than Oncidiums - and hate repotting. Unless it is very dry, your watering regimen is about right...letting them go nearly dry also keeps the media fresh longer so that you can go longer without repotting. (If the p-bulbs seem like they're shriveling increase water a little but don't over-do it .) When I do have to repot Psychopsis (like when they outgrow the pot) I just gently remove them, shake off any media that comes off easily, and place in pot, with medium-sized bark (larger than you'd want for an Oncidium) but don't try to remove what doesn't come easily, molesting roots as little as possible.

[CourtneyT]

Thank you for the explanation! I will adjust the growing environment and see.

[camille1585]

I agree, it just needs a lot more light for the mottling to show up. When light is increased I don't think that the existing leaves will become mottled, it's the new ones that will. if you only have a north facing window available, you will need to lengthen the time the light is on. When using artificial lights as the main light source, they are usually left on for 12 to 16 hours a day.

As for the buds, in the winter mine usually slows down quite a lot, and it takes a lot more time than in summer for the next bud to grow.

[CourtneyT]

Hello Camille, your point about the current leaves won't get mottled again is something I never thought about but great to know! When do you usually see the new growth? Yes, I only have north facing window at home. I'm going to move it to the office where the light is much better. I guess that mines are just surviving the winter with the growing light on for only 7 hours a day. The north window is quite bright for about 2-3 hours a day in the winter. Some are blooming and quite a few are forming buds.