Help needed / repotting yes or no / alternative?

[Blueszz]

Once again I need your help :-)

I have two Oncidium's Sweet Sugar and a Colmanara Wildcat. All of them are producing new growths.

Question 1) is it normal for Oncidium Sweet Sugar to produce 2 new growth's from the same pseudo bulb? Just being curious. I'm almost sure the answer must be somewhere here on the forums but I can't find it :-)

Question 2) I think at least 1 of the plants needs to be repotted as the new growth might grow out of the pot. I've read that the right time for repotting is when new growths appear. But... the plants still have enough room in the pot and without digging in the bark I can't find actual root growth from the pseudo bulb that bloomed a few weeks ago. The new growth's still are tiny (but grow fast, oh boy!). Is it OK to wait until I see new root growth on the new pseudo bulbs if I need to repot the plant?

Question 3) I've the idea to make the pot a bit higher on one side of the pot, with a piece of firm plastic sheet, to guide the roots from the bulb that might grow out of the pot into the pot... would that work?

I prefer not to repot as the medium still looks great from both 'Sweet Sugar's' I would love to see their roots but for me that's not a reason to stress the plants.

Thanks again for you time and help!

[Tommyr]

I'd say leave them alone! They like being a bit potbound. don't worry about new growth "spilling over" the pot edge.

Yes they can produce (as you've seen!) more than one growth.

[mayres]

Not unusual to have multiple new growths - both of these plants can "grow like weeds".
They also tend to grow out and up - making them a challenge to keep "in the pot". Depending upon the pot size and root mass, sometimes you can just pull the entire plant out and reposition slightly - tilting and shoving the plant to one side - to give growing space for new roots.
I would also agree that leaving them and allowing them to spill over for awhile would probably be no problem.......

[Ross]

Answer number 1: It's very common for Oncidium alliance orchids to throw out two new shoots from last year's pseudobulb. It means good culture.

Answer number 2: You won't see new roots from new growths until the new leaves are quite tall (I'd guess maybe 6" or so). Once the new roots are just first appearing (maybe 1/2" or so long) then it's safe to repot if you care to.

Answer number 3: That idea sounds fine to me. If you want to keep the plant in the same pot, you'll have to do something like that, because Oncidium alliance plants want to climb up on trees, thus the new growths tend to be higher from the mix then last years'.

Nothing says you have to repot or divide or do anything as long as you are convinced the mix looks fine. Can you see down into the bottom of the pot or basket? I tend to use waterlily baskets for my large complex intergenerics like Bllra, and Oncidium-based mixes, simply because I like reall large plants. I have gone several years between repottings because with the baskets, air gets to the roots deep in the "pot" through the sides. Hope this helps.

[Blueszz]

Thanks for you answers everybody, they make me feel more relaxed :-)
I'm a new orchid mamma, learning every day (and enjoying it every day!) I try to give the plants the best care I can and your info helps me with that.


After heaving read your comments I decided I'm going to wait (and see) how the new growth's stay (or not) in the pot. I really like the idea of adjusting the height of the pot on one side. If I do this in the future, I'll make a picture from it. Maybe nice for others to see if it's possible to guide roots in the pot instead of out of the pot. I didn't know when to expect roots on new growth's, thanks Ross for giving me an indication. For now they grow happily and even showing some 'happy juice'.

@Ross: the plants are in colored plastic pots, so I can't see the medium in the middle of the pot, but when I use a skewer to remove a bit of the mix or when I look thru the bottom wholes the medium and roots just look fine, at least from the Sweet Sugar's. I'm not quite sure about the medium and root condition from Ms. Wildcat and I might repot this plant as I prefer a more open medium than what it lives in now. On the other hand I've seen nothing that indicates root rot or a medium that had decayed too much. Once I see active root growth I might decide to repot... still not sure yet. I guess I have to 'dig' in the pot to make a wise decision. It's pretty root bound but I guess it could grow another season in it's pot. I'll lift it out of the pot next watering to check the roots, if I can get it out that easily LOL.

As you I like large plants too. Too funny you mention those waterlily baskets! I wanted to buy this kind of baskets for my Phal's as I found out the the medium dries out faster with extra wholes I made (with a drill) in the clear plastic pots they came in. At least I see less water droplets on the inside of the pots that have the extra wholes on the sides. In my climate they would benefit from the extra air, pond baskets provide, I guess. It would mean more frequent waterings but I prefer that over having to worry about rot.

Nicole (aka Blueszz)