repot oncid after blooming?

[thom]

hello everyone. would anyone tell me if I should repot a oncid sweet sugar after it finishes blooming?

Do you separate the old and newer pbs and repot only the newer bulbs?

Or should I leave it alone for next summer?

I repotted it when i got it as a gift for christmas 2009.

You folks are the best!

Thanks for any and all advice!

Thom in Pittsburgh

[Paul Mc]

I'm a newbie, so my answer is not definitive on this. My understanding is that you should repot after 2 years, or if the oncidium roots are madly out of control and the plant is getting too large for it's container. And my reading does seem to indicate that you should repot after blooming as this is when the plant will focus on promoting new roots and growth.

Again, a newbie here, especially when it comes to Oncidiums. So take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

[tucker85]

You need to repot an orchid when the growing medium is breaking down and can cause problems with the roots. I like to repot in early spring so the plant can establish itself in the new pot during the summer growing season. On the other hand if the plant is a spring or summer bloomer you would want to wait until after it blooms to repot. The experts say to repot approximately every two years but you should repot any time that the medium looks like it's deteriorated badly or smells bad (no matter what time of year it is). The most spectacular orchids are often those that have been left undesturbed for a couple of years or more.

[thom]

thanks guys for your advice about the repotting.

I just don't know if the older pseudobulbs will bloom next summer or if the plant has to grow all new ones to bloom.


will the plant put out new spikes from the older pseudobulbs?
that is the real question i have??

thanks again!

[tucker85]

No, the orchid will only spike from new psuedobulbs. The new psuedobulbs will grow from the base of the old ones. But the old psuedobulbs provide the energy for the plant through their established root system, stored nutrients and photosynthesis from their leaves. You can remove old psuedobulbs when you repot but if they are healthy and have leaves you want to keep as many of them as possible. Removing old dead psuedobulbs is not a problem.

[thom]

Tucker85, thanks so much for your advice!
I guess I will repot this winter and remove some of the old psbs.

None appear to be dead. but the 6" pot is full now and i can't see going to a larger pot to hang onto old psbs.

check out the picture and see how full the pot is now....

thanks again!

[neb]

You may want to leave the old pseudobulbs because the rhizome will still grow in the same direction as it was in the past so if it is near the edge of the pot it will still go over and if too many pseudobulbs are removed the plant will not bloom until it gets over the loss

[Wrebbitrocks]

not that i have any good experiences with repotting but i think it would look just grand in a bigger pot. splurge on a bigger pot or whatever you wanna stick it in so itl grow huge. i went to the tucson botanical garden last winter for the butterfly exhibit and half the time i didnt even pay attention to the butterflies. i was in awe by the SIZE of their orchids. there was a dendrobium phalaenopsis type 6 feet tall with more than 100 canes and in FULL bloom, trluy a sight to behold. im thinking a giant ball of yellow flowers would be quite a conversation piece.

[thom]

hi wrebbitrocks and neb....thanks for your input!

I don't think I'll separate anything. Just let it grow or repot in a bigger pot and let it do it's thing.

I like that idea.

a room full of beautiful yellow flowers in late summer. very cool.
thanks! thom

[tucker85]

That's a good looking oncidium. Nice job. I would just leave it alone and let it do it's thing unless the medium is breaking down. It looks pretty happy to me and personally I love large orchids crowded in a small pot and escaping over the sides. I have a lot of those kinds.