Oncidium - yellowing leaves
 

Hello everyone! I have an oncidium I bought mail order - it came in bloom and bare root. I immediately potted it in bark and soaked the bark so the roots recieved a good drink. It has been about two weeks and the leaves are turning yellow. Just one so far but yikes! What should I do? The bark is cool/damp down about an inch. The care sheet says not to let it dry out, should i water more even though it runs right through? Any advise is really appreciated.

Do not be worried, Oncs are tenacious and its hard to kill them unless you purposedly neglect it...the plant came bareroot and you potted it...it had undergone stress in transpo and the plant needed one leaf to sustain it...but that is the result: it will die out...if it was a new leaf that yellowed then its another problem...if it was an old leaf then its just normal...the first few weeks with the new bark it will not hold much moisture so you need to water more up until the bark is holding moisture: so you can water everyday if you see its dry.

thanks!
 

I figured it was stressed but was concerned about overwatering. I soaked the bark so it holds water and skipped this weekends watering since it is still quite damp. I will just be patient - smile!

What kind of oncidium is it? Most of them actually want to be dry a bit before you give them another drink. Not all, but some. It would help if you could tell us what kind you have.

Here goes! Sunlight, Tropic Tom, and Rayna. The care sheet said to let them dry a bit but the bark was so dry I soaked it do it is still moist. They are in a southern window and get good morning sun. Just getting back into orchids after several years without and I do not want to screw this up! Thanks for the reply!

I am thinking a southern window is too much sun unless you have a sheer over it or something. Both your Rayna and Sunlight have low or medium light requirements according to OrchidWiz. Especially Rayna as 70% of its parentage requires low light, 30% medium light so it needs shaded to dappled conditions. For Sunlight, it is 57% med, 25% high and 13% low light. Tropic Tom is a mix as well at 38% high, 35% low and 11% med light.

They all should be watered well and then just as they are beginning to dry out, water again. Usually when they have been shipped bare root I would keep them out of a lot of light anyways for a week or so as they will be struggling to adjust and should not have any extreme conditions.

I hope that helps. I find most of my oncidiums do not want to get thoroughly dry like I do to my cattleyas. Using a kebab skewer left in the media near the centre of the pot is a good way to tell when its time to water. Pull it out and feel it (on your upper lip or cheek is a good place to really tell how it feels) and then place it back in the same spot to avoid poking holes in the roots all the time. Good luck and welcome back to the orchid craze :)