Mtssa. Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi' - watering

[wighty44]

Hello all,
I am an orchid neophyte, but I have done some research on my newly purchased Miltassia Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi'.

As I understand it, this orchid is a mericlone (propagated by cloning) and an intergeneric oncidium.

When I received the orchid 3 weeks ago it was quite massive with a single 36" spike having 8 buds. Presently 7 of the 8 buds are in bloom: .

The orchid is in a 7½" pot, placed in an east-facing window, and recieves 2,000-6,000 Fc of light. It has been watered every 7-8 days.

And this brings me to my concern - am I watering the orchid properly?

From one source, I read that this orchid should not have "wet feet", and should be thoroughly soaked (and drained) once every 7-10 days. From another source I read that allowing the plant to dry-out between waterings is not good.

When I look at this area of the plant I see something that suggests to me that the plant is not getting sufficient water: Note the "accordian" looking area...

Again, from another source, I read this

Oncidiums like to be evenly moist and if subjected to periods of dryness will grow leaves that have an "accordian" look to them. One option is to layer a bit of sphagnum moss on top of the media to increase humidity, just be careful that it is below the level of the pseudobulbs.

So, today I added a layer of sphagnum moss to the top of the media.

So, I'm interested to hear what some of the board's veterans have to say about this. Did I do the right thing? Has the orchid not been geeting sufficient water? Other thoughts?

Thank you for your assistance.

PS, I should have noted earlier that the pot sits on a 12" tray containing stones & water to raise the local area humidity - the pot base is above the water level.