Oncidium NoID

[LiveLaughGrowOrchids]

Hi there, I've got a question about an Oncidium which I've just got. The flowers are fading and have all but dropped off. The leaves are a light green with some yellowing along the edges, and the ??pseudobulbs are quite wrinkled. However the potting mix is still a bit damp.

What do I do with it now?

It's starting to get colder now. We don't get frost here, although we do get a lot of wind chill and evening temps drop below 10celcius.

Should it be outside? Or should I keep it inside with my moth orchids, which are all quite happy, and should I be worried about viruses? And their spreading to my moth orchids?

[Dante1709]

Those temperatures seem much too cold, especially for a shrivelled orchid with wet media. Yes, bring it in! I would treat it with intermediate temperature ; let it out during warmer months.

Shrivelled pseudobulbs are from dehydration. My guess is that the media is too wet ; and the roots are dying. I'd repot ASAP, and this way you can cut the risk of infection/infestation for your other orchids.

[RandomGemini]

It should be inside. It can't tolerate being below about 20 degrees C. I would keep it in another room apart from the phals for a few weeks.

The yellowing concerns me a bit. The leaves should be a yellow green, but yellowing on the edges makes me think it's getting just a bit too much light.

[kindrag23]

My thoughts on the shriveled phulbs is also from the spike pulling a lot of energy to bloom. Since the blooms are done you can go ahead and cut it off. Thus diverting the energy into making new phulb/phulbs.

[LiveLaughGrowOrchids]

Thanks! I'm trying to post a picture so everyone knows what I'm talking about but struggling a bit!

[RandomGemini]

It's over potted. If you want to repot it, I would wait until it grows a new pseudobulb and has new roots coming off of it, then repot this into a smaller pot that the roots fit in with maybe a half inch of space around them for growing room.

I think it looks ok otherwise. Moving it inside over the winter will be best for it.

I agree with kindrag. I would cut the spike and let the plant focus on growing a new pseudobulb and new roots.

[tarev]

The container seems a bit too big for it. Oncidiums are water hogs, but they like being a bit more snug in the container and temps just about 20 to 25C. Now with temps being a bit cold like that, lay off the watering and try to bring it indoors for now. It is stressing I guess with the temperature drop. It likes a bit more light than Phals.

It may have shriveled pbs, due to some underwatering it suffered before. But it will survive, but will not regain complete plumpness of pbs again.

In my area, I grow my Oncidiums in my growcamp outdoors, but during winter when it gets cold, I lessen watering frequency. During the warmer season like now, then I continue with watering, it likes being moist a lot when it is warm temps.

If it is done with the blooms, just remove the old spike. It will just make a new one later after making new pbs.
Old pbs will serve as storage of nutrients and will help later as new pbs come about.

[LiveLaughGrowOrchids]

Thanks! I've read a lot but worry ill end up killing it! If it's over potted but I need to wait to repot till it makes a new pseudobulb, then how do I go about watering? With my Phals I generally water weekly in summer and now 2 weekly, depending how dry the moss on top is. But this one isn't in moss, and the top feels dry, if I stick my finger in its only a little damp.

Is it ok to drench it and let the water run through?
And should I be misting the leaves between?

I really appreciate all the advice, there's so much to learn!

---------- Post added at 11:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:53 PM ----------

And I've cut off the flower spike now

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[RandomGemini]

Yes, it is ok to drench them and let water run through the pot. No misting necessary, unless you don't have time to drench it and run water through the pot on watering day, then you can mist the top of the medium and water it properly the next day.

I water these twice weekly, roughly. These like to be a bit more moist than phals do so I water them on the same schedule as my paphs. Since this is over potted, you can probably water it a bit less often until that new pbulb grows. I would water it when a bamboo skewer inserted into the medium feels only very slightly damp.

The skewer method has a whole post on it somewhere, search the forum for it. It's great to get you started. After a while, you will be able to tell when your plants need to be watered by how much the pot weighs when you lift it.

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[LiveLaughGrowOrchids]

Thanks so much! I really hope it survives, I got it after it had almost done flowering, and would like to see it flower a bit longer, so will try all the suggestions and keep you posted!!