Help-I have a dendrobium and oncidium that need TLC

[Adela the beginner]

Last time I wrote in I didn't have any pictures of my "sick" orchids. Is there any hope for these? The dendrobium had beautiful flowers but I had to sacrifice them when I was forced to repot due to overwatering. It does have two very green roots that I am hoping will keep it alive.

The oncidium's roots dried up. Don't know why.

Any advice is welcome.



Well I tried to post the pictures but am having a hard time trying to figure out how to attach the images.

[bonsai1504]

the oncidiums roots probably dried up to overwatering. and that dendrobium looks kind of like a phalaenopsis by the way the spike is coming out of the sides. as for advise, sorry i can't help.

[Adela the beginner]

I only water once a week with fertilizer. I let the potting material dry out before I water again to avoid overwatering. the other oncidiums seem to be doing pretty good and they receive the same amount of water. Maybe it was just not a good plant to start out with.

[tim abbott]

Hi Adela,

I am pretty much a neophite too so I can't diagnose what has happened. I have both of those species & I keep all of mine outside(I live inCocoa Beach, Fl) so they get quite a bit of moisture and light. They never get fully direct light, but several hours of pretty good indirect exposure. So they seem pretty tolerant to both moisture & sun. I do have real good drainage, the water runs right through. I would try a little more watering & make sure the fertilizer isn't too strong. If they are inside could be a draft or some other condition they don't like. I wouldn't give up on them until I was sure they were goners, they may surprise you! Good Luck.

Tim Abbott

[Roly0217]

Adela !!! Well the first couple of look like a phalaenopsis to me, not a dendrobium. Don't give up on it. I would try to use a rooting hormone since both the Phal and the Onc. seem to be getting dehydrated. Home Depot sells one that seems to work for my chids.

[Mirranova]

Hi Adela,

The one on the left is a Phalaenopsis, and the one on the right is an Onc. I feel that they have likely been underwatered, and the pots that they are in are too big. These need to be in pots that are just larger than the roots.

Both of these plants like a fair amount of water, and Phals don't like to dry out much. I would soak these in a quart of water with 6 drops of Superthrive for at least an hour, and put them in a pot that fits them better. You will want to cut off any brown or dead roots and such. If you pot into bark, be sure to soak it for at least 5 hours or so to help it to retain some moisture.

Once a week may not be enough watering for these two depending on your conditions. My Onc. get watered when they are just dry, sometimes twice a week. My Phals are the same way. I also soak my plants at least once a month for at least 30 min or so by putting the plants into the sink and filling it with water to just below the rim of the pot. The rest of the time I hose them, let them sit 10 min, and hose them again making sure that the medium is well wetted.

I am not sure if these can be saved, but I wish you good luck.

[camille1585]

Seeing how dehydrated they are, especially the phal, I would use the good old sphag and bag technique. Use some KLN to try to promote roots, and put the plants in a big transparent bag will either a clump of damp moss, a damp paper towel or a damp sponge. The plants shouldn't touch it. Leave the bag a bit open at the top and in the shade.Then comes the hard part. Waiting! Just keep the sphag or other damp and maybe new roots will appear. It could take many weeks, even months. The high humidity in te bag will keep the plants from dehydrating any further while they try to grow some roots.

[Adela the beginner]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I will put them to use. it's interesting though that the first orchid was identified as a phal because it was labeled a dendrobium when I purchased it. Will let you know how they turn out. Thanks again.