Help! TONS of pseudobulbs in this 5.5" potted orchid.... - Orchid Board

shayna71708 · #1 04-08-2012, 06:31 AM

I picked up an orchid today that I swear has no less than ten pseudobulbs (or maybe backbulbs?). It's clearly WAY outgrown the 5.5 inch pot. All of the bulbs are plump and smooth and look great. The stem is a nice green, with a spike that has little spots where I'm guessing the buds will form. Those are all green too. When I first picked up the plant I thought it was just done blooming because it LOOKED like it'd dropped all its flowers. But, then I compared how it looks to the way one of my Sharry Baby orchids look that just DID drop its flowers, and it looks different. I've attached some pictures.

I'm not sure WHAT it is - though the entire plant smells like a Sharry Baby, whether its from old dead blooms or what I'm not sure. I guess it's just going to be a surprise.

Anyway...there are SO MANY bulbs. WHAT do I do with this plant?! Should I divide it or just repot it into a larger one?? How do I know which bulbs will flower and which ones won't?? There are some pictures attached.

Arenalbotanicalgarden · #2 04-08-2012, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shayna71708

I picked up an orchid today that I swear has no less than ten pseudobulbs (or maybe backbulbs?). It's clearly WAY outgrown the 5.5 inch pot. All of the bulbs are plump and smooth and look great. The stem is a nice green, with a spike that has little spots where I'm guessing the buds will form. Those are all green too. When I first picked up the plant I thought it was just done blooming because it LOOKED like it'd dropped all its flowers. But, then I compared how it looks to the way one of my Sharry Baby orchids look that just DID drop its flowers, and it looks different. I've attached some pictures.

I'm not sure WHAT it is - though the entire plant smells like a Sharry Baby, whether its from old dead blooms or what I'm not sure. I guess it's just going to be a surprise.

Anyway...there are SO MANY bulbs. WHAT do I do with this plant?! Should I divide it or just repot it into a larger one?? How do I know which bulbs will flower and which ones won't?? There are some pictures attached.

Yank it out of the plastic pot, sit it in a wood slat basket, and toss in some one inch to two inch lava rock to keep it stable and maintain humidity. In a year or so it'll be ready to divide and put in two 8 inch or four 6 inch baskets.
Nice plant.

Wynn Dee13 · #3 04-08-2012, 08:50 AM

It is up to you if you want to divide it. If you want a smaller sized plant divide it but if you have room for a large plant I would leave as is. I like to avoid dividing if I don't have to cause it will bloom on multiple leads and you will have a great specimen with a nice show of flowers. To me the spike looks like it is done blooming. The plant will only bloom on the new pseudobulbs/new growths. You can put it in a basket but I don't use baskets because I grow indoors all winter and I can't keep the humidity up good enough. I don't know how you grow or what your growing conditions are but I would grow it how you are most comfortable with whether it is dividing it, putting it in a bigger pot or in a basket. Good luck!

Wynn Dee

WhiteRabbit · #4 04-08-2012, 04:19 PM

Looks like that spike is finished blooming.

Whether to divide or pot up is a matter of preference. I like big plants so long as I can manage them (space certainly can be an issue), big plants have potential for more blooms (not just the number of spikes, but bloom count per spike). If you should divide, bigger divisions are better than small ones. Any division should be no less than 3 older pbulbs + 1 new growth.

Oncidiums only bloom from new growth - each new growth has the potential to bloom.

Unless you are growing in extremely humid climate, I would not recommend growing in a wood basket with only lava rock, but potted in a media that retains moisture, but drains well. For Oncidiums I like either a small bark mix, or fine chc mix in plastic pots.

Good luck!

shayna71708 · #5 04-08-2012, 05:01 PM

Thank you! It's definitely not very humid here, and I think several of my plants are balking at that fact. I think I'll go ahead and leave it all one big plant, especially until I know what it is - if it's a sharry baby, then I definitely would LOVE a huge plant. I need to get more of them...in fact if I had 12 that would bloom one each month of the year then I would be thrilled. Someone needs to bottle that fragrance!!

I really appreciate all the input!

Arenalbotanicalgarden · #6 04-08-2012, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shayna71708

Thank you! It's definitely not very humid here, and I think several of my plants are balking at that fact. I think I'll go ahead and leave it all one big plant, especially until I know what it is - if it's a sharry baby, then I definitely would LOVE a huge plant. I need to get more of them...in fact if I had 12 that would bloom one each month of the year then I would be thrilled. Someone needs to bottle that fragrance!!

I really appreciate all the input!

Get an ylang ylang tree.

I named mine Vegas

WhiteRabbit · #7 04-08-2012, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shayna71708

Thank you! It's definitely not very humid here, and I think several of my plants are balking at that fact. I think I'll go ahead and leave it all one big plant, especially until I know what it is - if it's a sharry baby, then I definitely would LOVE a huge plant. I need to get more of them...in fact if I had 12 that would bloom one each month of the year then I would be thrilled. Someone needs to bottle that fragrance!!

I really appreciate all the input!

Looks like it could be Sharry Baby, if not, another robust Oncidium that quite possibly has a nice fragrance. These can grow quickly with lots of large pbulbs - just an fyi when deciding on pot size (Something I am learning and need to remember when repotting mature Oncidiums)

shayna71708 · #8 04-08-2012, 08:03 PM

Does the ylang ylang smell like it? I'm so hitting up every nursery in a 50 mile radius next weekend!! WhiteRabbit - I really do hope that it is another Sharry baby. It smells so good!

Gage · #9 04-09-2012, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shayna71708

Does the ylang ylang smell like it? I'm so hitting up every nursery in a 50 mile radius next weekend!! WhiteRabbit - I really do hope that it is another Sharry baby. It smells so good!

If I'm not mistaken, the ylang ylang tree's blooms are used for making Chanel No. 5.