Oncidium Potting Query-Overgrown or Ok?

[shoebee]

Hey there.
I was at a yard sale today and the gal was selling her Dancing Lady Oncidiums. They're currently in pots without drainage ( I think they came that way) and are set in Perlite with just a layer of stones on top. The tag on them suggests repotting in the spring but we're past that now and well into summer. I can see that the lowest bulbs roots seem to be not at their best. Wondering if I should split the long rooted sections off and gently try to pot them on their own? Or should I repot the whole thing as it is in new perlite or try a bark/charcoal mix?
I'm in a climate that is very dry in winter so I worry about those long spreading roots...

I'm not the greatest repotter in the world so all and any
advice would be most welcome.
Cheers~
shoebee

PS. These orchids came with tags that tell you how much they should weigh when watered. Even when I bought fancy orchids at a specialty orchid greenhouse I never got that info. Weighing your orchid is new to me!

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

There is so much wrong with growing orchids that way, I don't know where to begin. I have no doubt there are no, or next to no, living roots inside the pots. The plants have grown roots outside the wet medium to survive.

You can repot an orchid any time it is making new roots. It is better if it is during the warm season. So, go ahead right now and repot those.

Use a pot a little larger than needed to stuff the roots in without breaking them. Make sure the pot has a large drain hole or holes. People use bark chips, sphagnum moss and LECA clay balls successfully. Oncidiums need regular and plentiful water, but they cannot tolerate wet roots without air.

If you use the Search function in the maroon menu at the top you can find many threads dealing with repotting Oncidiums.

If you are near an orchid society, they will teach you how to grow orchids where you live. And they will be very friendly.

[shoebee]

Thanks so much for your time e seca!

I'll give it a go and hope for the best.
I'm only worried in that the pseudo bulbs with roots haven't grown level with the lowest bulbs but on a diagonal so that when I repot the lowest pseudo bulbs (currently level with the medium) will be below the medium. I can't see anyway around that other than splitting the plant.

Oh well...life is risky.
They were $5 a pop so...here goes nothing...except $10!

[estación seca]

It's OK to pot them as you describe. A lot of orchids grow that way. So long as the newest growths are at the surface, they should do fine.