First non-phal orchid questions (Brassia, Prosthechea, Oncidium)

[callym]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Prosthechea garciana is in the Cattleya alliance, but it will not tolerate standard Cattleya care. It should not dry out. Sphagnum moss is an excellent choice unless people want to water 1-2 times per day.

The Brassia hybrid likewise should not dry out.

I suggest reading more about Oncidium globuliferum. I seem to recall it may have a few peculiarities. There is a Search function in the top maroon menu.

Thanks! I'm guessing that's why the nursery sent them in moss then I found the OB through searching for the Oncidium globuliferum, it's got a strange growing habit, but I couldn't find anything particular about care. I'm assuming because it was sent in bark, it wants to be a bit drier than the others.

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

The OB members have taught me a lot. Especially ES, who has yet to weigh in on your post. I have learned that each branch of the Oncidium tribe seems to have slightly different requirements. But my Brassie and most others need lots of water and the more light the better...except not hot direct sun. I have one constantly moist and just a few inches from the t5 lights. It just spiked. If not for ES, I would have re-homed it. They for sure need more light than phals. Less than cattlaya. The moss I use is a mix. It has cork chips, sponge rock, and bark mixed in. You might try to make your own blend if you feel adventureous.

Luckily I've got a big south-facing window, so I can put them near that with some of my other plants shading them from the direct light. Good to hear about the watering, I'll definately have to water them a lot more often than my phals then!

Originally Posted by jcec1

I would repot the Brassia into small bark, or there is also a product called Seramis orchid potting mix which I use for most of my orchids.

The Oncidium and Brassia would both do well in either an east or west facing window - I reckon you would need to water once or twice a week in winter depending on how well you heat your home and twice a week at other times.

The Prosthechea I have no idea about as I've never grown one. I would reckon having googled it that it would do best in your brightest window - watering I have no idea.

I think I'm going to see how it goes with the moss to begin with, don't want to upset the plants too much with them being posted across the country then being uprooted straight away, but I ordered some small bark so when they look like they've settled in and start growing again, I can move them into bark. I think it's probably worth having to water them more often for the peace of mind that I'm not overwatering them.

Originally Posted by camille1585

Regarding the Scottish climate, it's fairly similar to the Dutch one. At my latitude, Oncidiums can also sit in in front of a window in direct sunlight quite easily, so I expect that it would be the same even further north. Mine are getting about 4-5 hours of direct sun per day in the summer, the rest is very bright light. I've grown them very well in west facing windows, but found east to be a bit trickier (lower bloom count).

My climate is also rather damp, and from experience have found that sphagnum is a bit of a difficult medium in the cooler months 5takes forever to dry out), unless loosely packed and using an aircone pot.

As to the Trossachs, it's a beautiful national park, if you're into hiking. I haven't gone there yet, every time I visit my friends and we plan a hikeing trip, it's raining in the west and we end up hill hiking in the highlands or borders area instead.

I've moved them into brighter light after getting all this advice! I've got a feeling the highs of the winter Scottish sun are not strong enough to be too much for most plants (and the summer sun probably still fine!) Yeah a lot of my plants hardly ever seem to need watering because it takes so long for them to dry out here, so I think repotting in bark and taking watering slow and steady to start off with is probably the best way forward

[rbarata]

I found the OB through searching for the Oncidium globuliferum, it's got a strange growing habit, but I couldn't find anything particular about care.

Taken from OWz:

GROWING MEDIA: As many growers find it difficult to keep mounted plants moist enough, they are grown most often in shallow pots or baskets using a very open, fast draining medium. Some use medium-sized fir bark or shredded tree-fern fiber and add chunky perlite help keep the medium open and also retain some moisture. Including charcoal in the mix helps hold the medium open and keeps it from becoming sour. Plants should be repotted immediately if the medium starts to break down.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: Oncidium globuliferum has a reputation of being difficult to grow and very difficult to flower in cultivation, possibly because it is usually grown a little too warm with not quite enough light.

[Roberta]

I do grow Prosthechea garciana, under rather different conditions than you have, but the advice from ES to not let it dry out is spot-on, I would say "damp" not "soggy". Mine is in sphagnum in an open basket. It does dry out, but not for long (since it gets watered daily in summer, every other day now in winter). It's starting to climb out of the basket and the sphag needs changing, I think that I will continue with the same medium, just in a little larger basket. Light I would call "dappled sun" or "bright shade" - so brighter than Phals, but certainly not needing as much sun as a Cattleya. It's quite cold-tolerant, so unlike Phals, you don't have to worry if it gets a bit chilly overnight.

[camille1585]

To add to rbarata info from Orchidwiz, Orchidwiz also has information on how they grow in the wild, which gives an idea of how to grow them in cultivation.

Very high light (2500-3500fc and can probably take more). In nature plants normally grow very high up in tall trees, indicating that they grow in bright conditions.

Summer temperatures average around 22C, (so that's normal scottish summer temps). and they can take rather cool temperatures.

Rainfall is moderate to heavy most of the year, with additional moisture from dew/mist in cloudforst habitat, and humidity is quite high. They recommend that cultivated plants should never be allowed to dry out completely. Water should be reduced in the winter but the plant should not dry excessively or remain dry for long periods.

[callym]

Originally Posted by rbarata

Taken from OWz:

GROWING MEDIA: As many growers find it difficult to keep mounted plants moist enough, they are grown most often in shallow pots or baskets using a very open, fast draining medium. Some use medium-sized fir bark or shredded tree-fern fiber and add chunky perlite help keep the medium open and also retain some moisture. Including charcoal in the mix helps hold the medium open and keeps it from becoming sour. Plants should be repotted immediately if the medium starts to break down.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: Oncidium globuliferum has a reputation of being difficult to grow and very difficult to flower in cultivation, possibly because it is usually grown a little too warm with not quite enough light.

Thanks for this! It's already in a loose-draining bark mix, I've put it near a south-facing window (behind some other plants), so bright but not direct light, and the window is usually open a bit so it'll get a nice cool air flow.

Originally Posted by Roberta

I do grow Prosthechea garciana, under rather different conditions than you have, but the advice from ES to not let it dry out is spot-on, I would say "damp" not "soggy". Mine is in sphagnum in an open basket. It does dry out, but not for long (since it gets watered daily in summer, every other day now in winter). It's starting to climb out of the basket and the sphag needs changing, I think that I will continue with the same medium, just in a little larger basket. Light I would call "dappled sun" or "bright shade" - so brighter than Phals, but certainly not needing as much sun as a Cattleya. It's quite cold-tolerant, so unlike Phals, you don't have to worry if it gets a bit chilly overnight.

Thanks! I think keeping it in the moss is probably a good idea for now then? I guess I can always move it to fine bark later if I need/want to, but if it's happy enough for now I should probably not go disturbing it!

Originally Posted by camille1585

To add to rbarata info from Orchidwiz, Orchidwiz also has information on how they grow in the wild, which gives an idea of how to grow them in cultivation.

Very high light (2500-3500fc and can probably take more). In nature plants normally grow very high up in tall trees, indicating that they grow in bright conditions.

Summer temperatures average around 22C, (so that's normal scottish summer temps). and they can take rather cool temperatures.

Rainfall is moderate to heavy most of the year, with additional moisture from dew/mist in cloudforst habitat, and humidity is quite high. They recommend that cultivated plants should never be allowed to dry out completely. Water should be reduced in the winter but the plant should not dry excessively or remain dry for long periods.

Thanks for this info! It sounds like these three want quite similar conditions then, which is good and keeps things a bit simpler for me!

Yesterday I went to a hydroponics shop and they were super friendly, I got some plastic net pots for my phals (it's about time I start looking after them properly!) and they even gave me some free Orchid Focus bark and a pot of both the Grow and Bloom fertilizers, so I've spent today repotting my phals from their original clear pots. The bark in most of them didn't seem as bad as I thought it'd be, and there were luckily not many dead roots! But some of them seemed to have little plugs of soil in the centre, which explains why they seemed to stay damp for quite a while, so hopefully now they're all in fresh bark and airy pots I can start looking after them better and watering them more than like once a month! (and they can get fed now which will be a nice treat for them)