What to repot Oncidium(?) from Trader Joes in
 

Hello,

I have a few micro mini orchids growing in a terrarium and they're doing ok thus far but I've been wanting to try a 'full sized' orchid for awhile. I found this one at Trader Joes today. It looks like it's potted in plain potting soil. There are a couple of healthy green root tips visible poking out of the bottom of the pot. It's in a plastic pot with a few small drainage holes on the bottom, and the plastic pot is in a plain ceramic pot with no drainage holes. I know it needs a better pot, or perhaps it needs to be mounted? But what should I pot it in, medium wise? I have some sphagnum moss already because i used it when mounting in my terrarium, but should I use bark instead? If so, what kind of bark? Do oncidiums do well mounted? Is this even an Oncidium?

Thanks!

edited to add: I know it's impossible to ID a NOID for sure, but if it helps anybody narrow it down/guess the flowers are more mauve and purple and pink, not maroon and red like the pictures make it seem.

Attachment 106196
Attachment 106197

Pretty!
My favourites are a mixture of coconut chips with perlite or I use lava rock. I don't like bark because the water rolls right off it and it is hard to tell when it is dry underneath. I like using clear pots with drainage such as styrofoam peanuts when I can because it makes it easy to tell when it is dry. It is nice to be able to see what the roots are doing. I also have some in clay orchid pots that dry well.

I think it might be a Aliceara Marfitch 'Howard's Dream'.

I pot my oncidium intergenerics in 75% sphagnum moss and 25% medium fir bark. I tend to underwater and the pseudobulbs would start to shrivel, so I opted for a moisture retaining mix.

These plants should not dry out. Water when just barely moist.

For smaller growing Oncidium intergenerics & Miltonionopsis, I use seedling size bark/charcoal/perlite in 7:3:2 ratio. This mix is fairly water retentive.

For larger growing intergenerics, I use either spaghnum/bark/charcoal mix, or chunky peat/bark/charcoal/leca mix. These are both water retentive mixes.

Thanks for the potting media info everyone. Now my question is should I use a pot with slots cut in it, or just a regular terra cotta pot with a drainage hole on the bottom? I mostly have succulents, which get watered every week in the summer and maybe every two weeks in the winter. I mist my terraria every day or two now, but am experimenting with backing off on that as they get more established. So I'm definitely somebody who won't forget to water, but I'd rather be able to leave for a few days and not have to worry. I'm planning on doing the 75% moss 25% bark mix, and I know the pot with fewer drainage holes would need less frequent watering, but would the roots get enough air flow that way?

And, is it ok to repot now? I know I might lose some blooms but I would really like to be able to inspect it more closely for pests before unwrapping it. I'm pretty sure there is nothing above the soil line but I'm not sure what all the roots look like.

I just planted an oncidium in a terra cotta orchid pot...one that has slits on the sides. The plant is so top heavy that it seemed unstable in my clear plastic pots. I have a few oncidiums planted in clear plastic, so this mini experiment will let me know if one does any better than the other.

I have some in clear plastic pots but I put them inside heavy decorative pots. I like being able to see how moist the medium is.

I love your new plant I too would have bought it is a heart beat.

I have a my sherry baby oncidium in a Clay pot with the extra holes. I have 3 of my Phals in Clay pots. The rest are in Plastic. I live where it is a bit dry.

My Phals need to be watered every 2 days. The clay pots dry out really fast compared to the plastic. My Sherry baby needs to be watered every 2-3 days depending on the weather. So with clay pots I can't slack off. I check them daily.

I drill more holes in my Plastic pots on the sides. This seems to help the roots.

So really it comes down to Do you like to water your plants or not. Plastic is good if you forget to water. Clay is good if you tend to over water.

Plastic in a decretive pot would be best I think.