Can Wrinkled Pseudobulbs recover? (Wilsonara)
 

I have been working diligently on the conditions of my Wilsonara Spacemine Red Rendezvous and it is doing better, but the pseudobulbs are still wrinkled. Do they ever recover from this or will it always remain this way?

I presume this is some sort of oncidium/odontoglossum hybrid.
In this case wrinkles are permanent.

most likely permanent, all you can do is wait for new growth that1 are wrinkle free.

Yes from what I understand they are an oncidium hybrid.

Ok, good to know. I was thinking the pbs were a meter for the the condition of the plant, since this isn't the case - at least I can stop obsessing over them now. lol!

Depending on how old the pbulbs are they may recover a bit. I have a few oncidiums that when they get a little dry I notice the pbulbs have slightly deeper, more pronounced wrinkles. When I water them (I usually let them soak for about 5 minutes 2x a week in the summer) I notice the next day some of the wrinkles are less pronounced and some are gone and the pbulb is smooth once again. Now, those are the newer pbulbs that do that. The older ones...they don't plump back up, but I don't worry about them.

Thanks for the advice. It's been so dry that I have needed to water daily and when I do water, I soak them for a few minutes. I want so desperately to keep this orchid alive. It is so lovely!

This is a hygrid from Oncidium/Odontoglossom/coclioda and produce odontoglossom like flowers. Very pretty. The older pbulbs wrinkle quite a bit but this is not an indication of any problems. It is natural and this hybrid wrinkles more than either parent. Be very careful not to water it too much as the thin roots become waterlogged and die off long before the pbulbs or leaves show any sign of trouble. To guage when it needs water just water It well, lift it up and "feel" how heavy it is. Then wait a couple days and lift it again and feel how light it has become. Once it is noticeably lighter in weight then water it again. My wilsonara doesn't require being "wet" all the time. Just damp. The parents of this hybrid all live as epiphyts on trees in open tropical forest. They get shade during the brightest, hottest part of the day. During the dry season they flower.

This is really good info! Thanks, James!

Not all wrinkles are permanent.
It depends on mainyl how old the wrinkles are.
If damage control is done early on by good watering, often wrinkles go away.
Another factor is the growing condition and type of plants.
some plant may never recover once wrinkles show up.
Under hot and dry condition, even good watering may not recover the wrinkles. It is called heat damage. sort of dehydration but severe case.

Under hot and dry condition, plants lose way too much water then water the roots can take up.
so watering do not do much good. only lowering temperature or providing higher humidity in the air or preferrably both will only help.

In my experience , severely wrinkled or shriveled pbulbs will not plump up again. Also, older pbulbs will wrinkle a bit as they age. Water appropriately, but don't over-water trying to re-plump pbulbs. Watch the condition of new growth .