oncidium colmanara wildcat not spiking

[mickie09]

So.....some bad news...I have repotted the orchid, only.to find severe root rot...I did this before I went on a ten day vacation and came back to find my oncidium bulbs looking extra wrinkled as my roommate probably forgot about it too.... When I repotted I cut away all rotted roots I could and changed the medium from very tightly packed moss to bark...there are not a lot of roots left..can it be saved??

[Arenalbotanicalgarden]

Not unless you ditched the original pot.Orchid growers use the cheapest garbage they can get their hands on and lighter means cheaper shipping charges. Get yourself a nice slotted clay pot and some heavy duty metal retaining clips and be patient.It'll likely come back.

[nenella]

Hi, you've had some good feedback here. I have one of these and last year didn't look after it as much as I should have.

My 2 cents worth of advice would be to make sure that any new growth develops roots. Don't cut off the old ones no matter how shrivelled up (they will dry out naturally - and you can then cut them off)
It will not grow new roots on old p.bulbs.
Did you soak your bark before repotting?
If you get a new growth to mature you will get flowers!
Good Luck

[mickie09]

Here are some pics of it...the pot is a ceramic orchid pot with large slits on the side and bottom..when I took it out of the last pot which again had no holes I cut away a lot of the squishy brown and white roots...based on the last reply I hope I didn't kill it....the largest bulb looks more wrinkled than it did when I started this thread as it was neglected shortly after repotting.while I was on vacation. There are new roots growing from smaller bulb that shows in one of the pictures....also when I repotted I found 2 small bulbs that were buried under all the moss and were so SHRIVELED! I am disappointed.with orchids packed in moss from big box stores...every one is packed so tight they always eventually get rootrot...so frustrating ...

[WhiteRabbit]

The tiny shriveled pbulbs you found are most likely very old ones (from when the plant was a baby) since many orchids tend to climb upwards - when repotted older pbulbs get buried a bit, so that the new growth isn't way above the potting media

The shriveled pbulbs aren't likely to plump up, but with proper care the new growth should be fine.
I put skewers in my orchid pots (bamboo skewers for kabobs) to moniter the moisture. Stick the skewers mid-way between the center and edge of pot - or closer to center even. Pull out and touch to your cheek or upper lip - if skewer is even just slightly cool feeling there is moisture in the media. You can also use a freshly sharpened pencil, and gently twist that about an inch or two down into media - when you remove it you can see if the wood looks wet or not - or gently poke a finger down an inch or so into media.

In a clay pot, the media will dry faster than in a plastic pot - especially towards the outer edges. I haven't grown this specific hybrid, but in general have found that Oncidium alliance intergenerics usually do NOT want to dry out - tho shouldn't be constantly soggy either. If using a skewer, water when skewer feels just slightly damp.

I also live in San Jose - our summers can be very dry - so check moisture pretty often in summer (every few days) Also - fresh bark will need more frequent watering for a couple of months.

gl!

[mickie09]

Thank you White Rabbit! I will keep an eye on it....I mixed some spag in with the bark for water retention so it doesn't dry out so quickly...cant wait till it spikes! I'm so impatient

[WhiteRabbit]

Let us know how it goes

[mickie09]

So there are so many new riots I can see growing I can't keep track!!! Still no spike though. Also I have been feeding the orchid SuperThrive in addition with regular orchid food. Hopefully spike will follow all the new roots!!

[mickie09]

Roots**

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by mickie09

So there are so many new riots I can see growing I can't keep track!!! Still no spike though. Also I have been feeding the orchid SuperThrive in addition with regular orchid food. Hopefully spike will follow all the new roots!!

awesome! Oncidium alliance are pretty resilient buggers usually - glad yours is doing so well!