Sharry baby (need help)

[ksc]

Hi All

I dont have much experience of orchids! can somebody tell me what is wrong with my Sharry Baby and what I should do?

Thank you so much

[edytka]

Hi your orchid looks like it's either overwatered or underwater ... Have you checked the roots ? Could you tell us how often do you water it ? And post a pic of the roots

[HighSeas]

Point well made. Either you aren't watering it enough....or it's been over watered and you've lost the root system, which can no longer transport. Once you figure that out, stimulate root growth either way with Kelp. In either circumstance, it won't do anything but help the plant. Use a bamboo skewer to help you determine the need for watering.

[judith_arquette]

I'm looking from a small phone screen and can't really tell but it looks like you may have some rot in the bottom right of pic?

[ksc]

I give half water glass of water once in a week. There are some new baby roots that you can see on the last photo. we dont have good wood for ocrhids, I think this wood from pine tree. I think first I should split off the sallow leaves, right? and next ?

[astrid]

Originally Posted by ksc

I give half water glass of water once in a week. There are some new baby roots that you can see on the last photo. we dont have good wood for ocrhids, I think this wood from pine tree. I think first I should split off the sallow leaves, right? and next ?

Oh, there's your problem!!
I live in a temperate climate, and I water my oncidium types (which includes your sherry baby) twice per week, even in winter. You want to get a bigger pot and put water into it, then set your plant down into that pot with water. Get the water to just about the height of the potting mix, and SOAK!

Really, I let my oncidiums sit in water anywhere from 5 minutes to overnight, and they like it.
They like water more than phals do, and this one is definitely underwatered.

Half a glass of water once a week is WAY too little for your oncidiums.

The old bulbs might plump up a little bit, but they will probably stay wrinkled and the new growths will come in more plump if you are doing the right watering. The wrinkly accordion leaves in the upper left corners of your pictures are a classic sign of underwatering oncidiums.

Get the plant repotted in some new bark media (or something that works for you in your climate) and water via soaking twice per week. That's what I'd do. I think a reasonable soak is 30 minutes to 2 hours, but I am more of an amateur at this so others may have a better time frame to give you.

These plants are resilient, and you have SO many roots that I am thinking your plant will be just fine. It may take several months or over a year to recover and make some new growths that are healthier, but it should recover, imo. That, or buy a new one and toss this one, and start watering the new one properly so it doesn't ever get so sad like this plant! It all depends on how patient you are and how invested you are in this particular plant.

---------- Post added at 03:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:35 PM ----------

Originally Posted by ksc

when I bought it, roots were white! why are them brown now? is only water enough or should use something additional? finally are these pine tree woods useable to grow orchid or Should I need something different, for instance I found something called Spagmoss as a orchid soil! is it something better ?

Thank you

Sometimes the media can stain the roots. As long as your roots do not just "pull off" like loose paper when you pull them, they are probably okay. To test this, just pull on a brown root when it is wet, and if the outer "shell" of the root feels squishy and pulls off, that root is dead. You don't necessarily want to remove all the dead roots because they allow the plant to stay steady and have stability in the pot, but if they are rotten and black, you can remove them.

I wanted to add that those ugly, dead, brown bulbs can just be twisted off. If they are so dry and so brown, I don't see a reason to keep them on the plant. Twist them off, and toss 'em! I see two bulbs on your plant that are just brown, and those ones can go.

Sphagnum moss can be mixed into a bark media to increase moisture, but I never use pure sphagnum on my oncidiums because it would be too wet and suffocate the roots, I think.

I would follow this video when you repot the plant (but I wouldn't remove as many roots as she did, because your plant has a lot of good looking roots):

[LovePhals]

The roots look good. It is not overwatered or rot. It is under watered and the bulbs are dying back b.c it has no energy to sustain them. This orchid needs a lot more water than half a glass once a week. Especially when the humity is low. I need to thoroughly soak my Onc. hybrids in water twice a week.
The same thing happened to my sweet sugar 2 years ago it looked like that from underwater. It is finally recovering and the bulbs are small but plump.

[ksc]

Originally Posted by LovePhals

The roots look good. It is not overwatered or rot.

when I bought it, roots were white! why are them brown now? is only water enough or should use something additional? finally are these pine tree woods useable to grow orchid or Should I need something different, for instance I found something called Spagmoss as a orchid soil! is it something better ?

Thank you

[My Green Pets]

my first thought upon seeing those roots was not that they look good, but that they look dead.

i would wash the whole plant down, remove all dead roots and leaves, and repot in fresh bark mix. It will need plenty of time to recover, too.

[LovePhals]

Well some look dead but for the most part they look good (... from what I can see... )from the picture. A lot of my Onc's have brown stained color but they are alive. They are stained from my medium. Not sure what the case is with yours. If they are mushy they are dead. If they are plump and have some green hue when watered they are alive. I don't like using any bark for my oncidiums it doesn't have enough water. I use the oncidum mix from repot me .com