please help with my oncidium!
 

Hello, my names justin im new here (this is my first post) and im also new to orchids. I have 2 moth orchids and just bought my first oncidium yesterday. Upon repoting this beautiful orchid i noticed all its roots are brown! The plant is in bloom and the psuedobulbs are nice and firm, but the roots look bad. Is this normal? What should i do?

My oncidium

The roots

Sometimes roots are brown because of the potting medium (as in stained by). Was it in bark? With oncidiums I find I have to feel them more often than not. They could also be dead/dry roots. IF they are dead, then you run into some trouble because oncidiums tend to grow most of their roots, if not all, as they put out a new growth/pseudobulb.\

From looks alone I cannot judge, but they appear to be fine (sometimes they look fine but aren't firm and are actually soggy sponges instead). It appears that you have something in the Encyclia family so if you look up general culture/care for them you'd probably fair pretty well.

Many encyclia are fragrant, so make sure you smell yours at different times of the day to see if it is :)

Wow thanx! I got it from a health food store. It was in potting soil and moss and drenched in water. Some of the roots are soft and mushy but not all😊 ill look into the encyclia. Thanks for your help!

---------- Post added at 03:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:30 PM ----------

You're right! Encyclia cordigera

Encyclias do well mounted, in rock or in LECA (clay pellets that are sold in a hydroponics store). They like cattleya light and intermediate to warm temperatures. It should soon put out a new growth which will produce new roots. Right now is a great time to re-pot or mount it. Good luck!

Just repotted today in a fir bark mixture with charcoal and perlite. By mounted you mean just taking it and placing the roots on a rock? My back porch gets good morning sun but shades by midday (which i thought would be perfect) you guys are great help!

Yes, that is an Encyclia from the Cattleya family, not an Oncidium. Give it Cattleya culture and it should be happy. Lucky to be able to get something like that at a health food store!

By cattleya culture u mean..? So sorry i keep asking. Lol

Beautiful plant! I got mine (also an encyclia noid but looks identical to yours) at the grocery store (mine was labelled Oncidium also). It's roots were pretty rotted but it is now putting out a new pbulb, so exciting!!! I notice mine is most fragrant in the morning as long as my humidity is up (I run a vaporizer almost constantly in my orchid room along with a fan on low). It has the most delightful scent. Enjoy yours! I got mine in early April and the blooms still look great :)