Preemptive Onc potting question

[Suzanne17]

Hallo! I just bought some plants on eBay (someone needs to take my cards away)- two of them are onc alliance which will be my first...Mtssa Shelob "Tolkien" in triple spike and Onc incurvum var alba in spike. My usual routine, whether a plant is in spike or bud or flower, is to repot once I have a plant home to check the roots and look for signs of critters. I hear that oncs sulk after repotting so I imagine I'm at more risk of losing these spikes than I was with my paphs and phals. Is there anything I can do to mitigate that? I think I'll put them into air cone pots and Ray's better off potting medium (the medium grade) which is orchiata, charcoal, sponge rock, and some granite.

Any advice is welcome! I'm a little heavy handed so I'm a touch scared of these delicate roots. Of course this is premature since the plants won't arrive till next week (and the pots and medium, haha) but I tend to fret about things.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Suzanne17]

Oh, and a Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' if I win that auction...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[james mickelso]

Well unless they pack the plants very well, the buds on the spikes may blast anyway. With oncidiums I would wait until after the blooms have faded. Unless you are very good at repotting and have practiced on many oncids, I would wait.

[Suzanne17]

These would be my first oncidiums. They will be in a separate room from the rest of my plants so I'm not concerned about spreading infestations around. I just always like to repot when I get a new plant in the house but I think I'll make an exception for these...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk