Need Help With my Oncidium :(

[Npsen]

I bought a very nice Oncidium in Southern California, While bringing it home (8 hour car ride) It must have been gotten a little stressed, especially because of temperature changes, It lost a few leaves (which I expected) this was in November.

Since then it has lost all blooms, all four stems, most of it's leaves it is just doing terribly nothing I do seems to work :S. The leaves feel like paper to the touch, the pseudobulbs were severely wrinkled when I brought it home, but now they are thin and non- existent also.

It was originally planted in what seemed to be moss, really fine wood chips, when I took it out it was a mess :S. Although the plant is withering away, the room system seems fine, no rot which kinda surprised me, I thought it would be rotten.

I repotted this recently, in a mix of medium wood chips, sponge rock and charcoal. I water all my orchids on a weekly basis ( except the ones that are planted in moss). I have it in a South window, that get bright sunlight from about 8 am - 1 or 2 pm when it gets a filtered light (there is a Vine around the window that filters some of the light.)

What am I doing wrong here ? I feel like..I'm watching one of my orchids just wither away, and obviously it is a fighter. The Nursery I bought it from has ignored me, and said It probably has an infection/pest problem with no further explanation !

Any help would be greatly appreciated! This is my most troubling orchid so far :S

[Tim C.]

If the pseudobulbs and leaves are dessicated and withered, and the roots are fine, then it's probably an issue with the Oncid. not getting enough moisture. It is usually advised when repotting an orchid, to give it less than normal light levels while it re-establishes itself. I'd move it out of the south window, and water it maybe twice a week. Keep the bark mix moist, but not sopping wet.

Once you post 5 times, you'll be able to post pictures, which would definitely help, too.

-Tim

[Npsen]

I have moved it out of the south window directly (Almost all my orchids live in the same place, except one of my Cymbidium which hangs out on its' own pedestal). I usually let it dry out completely between each watering, but I can water it more often.

Why is it I'm having so much trouble with this particular orchid when I have an Oncidium/Odontoglossum Hybrid(not really sure if it is correct this is what the tag said on the store?) that is doing just fine :S.

I have been doing fine with my Phals,
but as I started to acquire different types of orchids I have been quite tested. As time goes by I have also been acquiring different supplies, what do you guys think is the best fertilizer is ? I have so much trouble trying to pick good Orchid Care Products, because I am always paranoid that they will not be good for my orchids.

Well on the note of Phals,
I bought my first orchid ever at Walmart after mothers day, it was in terrible shape. It lost a good majority of its roots, on stem, and all its leave except one.

Now, it has two ( soon to be three?) stems, has six leaves, and roots growing out of everywhere! It has been blooming for about a month now, and still is opening buds, but the original stem it was left with is starting yellow, and some of the roots are not looking so good (the ones that are coming out of the bottom of the pot are yellow).

What should I do? I have not repotted this one yet...but I thought it would be best to wait until after it blooms? Maybe it is getting too much water?

Thank you so much for your help Hopefully I will be able to post pictures up soon.

[Tim C.]

I remember when I first started growing orchids, I bought so many different types. Some died, some thrived, and some just sat there doing nothing. It's all trial and error, honestly. Even people that have greenhouses, or live in the tropics and can grow outside year round, can't grow everything.

I suspect, if it's not under-watering, that there is, indeed, a problem with the roots. If they're fine, then it just might be one of those picky orchids that doesn't like your growing conditions. I once had two Onc. Sharry Baby plants - one bought from Lowe's, the other from an orchid grower - and the one from the orchid grower just would not do a thing for me. Meanwhile the one from Lowe's grew and grew, and bloomed and bloomed. Eventually, the one from the orchid grower went downhill, and perished. Some plants are just like that.

As per fertilizer, the biggest recommendation I can make is to use a fert that has all of the essential trace elements in it. Personally, I use the brand DynaGro. They're liquid ferts, have all the essential trace elements and micro nutrients, and are available locally to me. I actually use three of DynaGro's ferts, and add them to my watering sprayer individually (their names are Grow, ProTeKt, and KLN). Whatever fert you use, if it has the trace elements, it'll say so on the label, so that's what you should be looking for.

-Tim

[Leafmite]

An eight hour car trip should not have caused any trouble for an oncidium unless the temperatures were excessively warm or cold. Oncidiums are tough orchids. Culture for these is easy. I have always grown them in lava rock. The large ones like to be soaked well, dry out fast, and be soaked again. The small ones (Twinkles, cheiroporum) like to stay damp so I water the lava rock daily. I give them a spot in the south window even after repotting as they seem to appreciate the light. I do hold off on fertilizer until they show new growth. For me, they expand very quickly and I have switched to growing the smaller oncidiums to save space.
I think the problem is either disease, pest, or cultural...or, something happened during the trip to your orchid. Here are two good sites:

Orchid Pests, Orchid Diseases
http://www.houstonorchidsociety.org/...ySueBottom.pdf

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

As "Leafmite" had mentioned, an 8 hr car trip will not hurt your Oncidium unless there was a severe climatic difference from SoCal to wherever you were headed to.

With that said, on to the other issue...

It isn't always easy to tell offhand whether or not the roots to an Oncidium or Onc Intergeneric are fine or not just by looking at it.

Imo, there are 2 great tests to see if the roots to your Onc are still alive.

Test #1: Wet the roots and see which ones turn green. If they turn green, they're alive.

Test #2: Pull on the roots and see if the velamen comes off. If the velamen comes off, the roots are dead.

Lastly, I have a difficult time believing that if the plant was initially planted in moss and fine wood chips, that many of the roots are really alive at all.

I would check the roots again using the 2 tests.

If the plant is too far gone, I would chuck it up for a loss and get yourself another one.

Did you happen to get your orchid from Norman's Orchids by any chance? The behavior you described sounds a lot like what they would do when people complain about the plants they get from them.


As for your Phal, if you haven't done so already, I think you should repot asap. If you choose to focus on growing nice healthy plants and do things to change a situation from where the Phal is clearly showing signs of distress to a situation where the Phal can clearly thrive, it will re-bloom the next blooming cycle. If you choose blooms over the plant, and the plant is clearly showing signs of distress again - you get to enjoy the blooms this one time, and when the plant(s) die, you gotta get yourself another one. These are really your only options at this point.

[Tim C.]

I totally didn't see your questions about your Phal. The stem you're referring to I'm going to assume you mean inflorescence - the stem that carries the flowers. If the is the case, then Phal stems that have finished flowering do sometimes turn yellow, brown, then die off. It isn't something you've done wrong, it's just the plant's nature.

As for the roots, if the yellow is only slight, and the roots are still firm, then I wouldn't worry. I've seen Phal roots take on a slight yellowish tinge if they are really deep in the pot - or on the bottom - and aren't getting any sun. That's not to say you need to give your Phal's roots sunlight, but in the wild epiphytic orchids' roots are exposed to the sun, and will take on a green or silvery green color, similar to air roots on our plants. It's just a difference in how the plant is being grown, and nothing to be worried about.

-Tim

Sent from my A200 using Tapatalk HD

[Npsen]

Thank you everyone for your input, I really appreciate all your help.

There was a Climatic change when I brought my Oncidium home, It was hot when I bought it, but where I live in NorCal it is dry, and at that time of year cold. I bought my Orchid at a Nursery in the Santa Ynez valley.

I don't think it is pests, I have had most of those pests terrorize the garden outside. Looking at the links leafmite posted, it might be bacterial. Honestly it is really hard for me to diagnose the problem if it was bacterial. I will test the roots tomorrow, I'm hoping that there will be a way to save the plant but =c.

As for the Phal, it is still in bloom, but it is just slightly yellowing on the tip, of the Inflorescence (As Tim said) and the roots at the bottom. The leaves look very nice, the roots are growing, the plant itself has put out an amazing amount of growth in the past few months. I'm just worried about the yellowing, but the roots are still very firm. I will give the roots some sunlight and hopefully that will do it good. It's last bloom will probably be open tomorrow, so I can definitely repot it if it needs to. I always get nervous when repotting, because I'm not pro at Orchid care and, I don't have a knowledge of what orchids will do best in what ect.

You are all so awesome for helping me . I adore my orchids, and I really don't want to loose one :C.

[Bud]

I read about members from North California growing their Oncidiums outdoors ....they need the cold to flower....just no prolonged exposure to frost....
your plant needed to aclimatize to your environment before you disturbed the roots....and when doing so you needed to place then in the shade and dont water for a week to let the roots heal
you also could have asked the growers you bought it from for tips on culture and maintaining your plant....

[Npsen]

Well the orchid Maintains a 75-80 degree Temperature during the day, and Usually the lowest it will dip at night is maybe 60-65.

I have a Cymbidium that seems it will tolerate the weather outside for now, however I'm not sure about the summer when it will range from 104-115 :S I'm not too sure if my orchids will be so forgiving then.

I had asked the growers I bought it from months ago when I first got the Orchid, and started to see it decline. They gave me a link to a website that has about the same information as a tag from a grocery store would have. They said it might be suffering from infection/pest but never gave any answers, ill be posting pics when I can!

---------- Post added at 01:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 AM ----------

Here are a few pictures of what it looked like before (When I first contacted the Nursery where I got it from):




This is when the blooms first started to fall off, originally they were a bit brighter in color, more vibrant then they seemed to dull in color.



And now this is how my poor little Orchid looks =C





Have I missed something? Maybe this could be a virus?