Oncidium repot or ......
 

I have an older mature plant looks like its a few years old and has about 8 bulbs that have spiked a few times over the years , the leaves and everything about the plant look fantastic with some leaves standing straight up 12 " high
when i took out the clump to repot , the roots are so clumped together and compressed , i was unsure if i should pull the stuffing out from the centre , so i just took the mass clump and put into larger pot and used fresh bark and coconut husk..

Should i have taken the time to separate all the roots and flush them , I feared of breaking them . or keep it the way i potted it and hope the roots will expand out in its new media ?.. or perhaps i should seperate plant in sections and use 2 pots instead of one .

thanks for your response ...

Do you think that there might be a mass of moss or very old, broken down iffy chips in the middle of the roots? I would clean it out. If you are not sure try to gently pry it open a bit. Even if you decide not to clean it out, a little poking shouldn't hurt. Many oncidium hybrids are very stout plants.

It seems to be a mix of super tight moss encased around the entire mass .. I wonder if i take the entire mass and just soak it in water for a few hours it may be of some help . perhaps soak it in water with some nutes ?.. or would that be too much stress on the roots .

I just soak them in water for about 15 minutes. That should be enough to soak through most of the moss. Then you can gently pry the moss apart with your fingers. If you feel the need to get OCD about it, you can take a pair of tweezers and start pulling the moss out that way. It will take a while.

If it seens to be packed sphag, I would try to get out as much as possible. Soak the root mass, use a skewer (or like tool) - work it into the mass and gently wiggle it. Do that a few times, and stuff will loosen up. Continue as needed.

thanks for the suggestions , i will give it a good soakin in the morning , I am going to do a small bark/ coconut husk as my media , is it safe to seperate the phseudo,s into a batch of 4 or leave them as entire batch ?. what is best method and i am assuming sharp sterile razer blade is best for seperation ?.. ;)

A big Sharry baby that I have, develops a tightly packed root ball. I wedge a small net pot in the bottom center of the root ball to keep it aerated.

I have made the seperation into 2 plants with 4 bulbs per pot , I had a heck of a time wiggling and pulling all the moss out , but with delicate movement almost all broke free , I placed them into clear pots with a mix of coconut chips ( large) and abit of sphag moss , but now the roots are free and i decided to direct the roots outwards toward the sides so i can monitor them and they have plenty of air now , I just hope they are not shocked since i took away the tightness of the root ball . :)

They probably are shocked a little bit, but as long as the plant wasn't blooming, and you don't intend to move it around a lot, it should be just fine. I think dividing it was probably a good idea and four bulbs to a pot is just about perfect. You don't want fewer than three when you divide an oncidium.

Got some pics? I'd love to see your plants!

Ummmm could we see some pictures? :)

I seriously wouldn't worry about it. Just leave it, it should be fine.

Here is the before and after separation pics

Here is how oncids and their cousins grow. From the bottom of the old pbulbs come new growth in spring. Or anytime they are kept warm and given bright light. They grow roots from the new growth when it is about 1/3 grown. Oncids like small pots. They do "not" like their roots messed with. They do not like wet stagnant conditions. Their roots, as you found out, are thin and easily damaged. Damaging their roots will set them back for a season. Most likely unless you give this plant perfect conditions it will not bloom next season. Place these plants in a bright medium light and keep them warm. Do not over water them. Let them dry out for a week (will not hurt them a bit). Lift the pots and "feel" how light they are. Now water them for 1 and 1/2 mins under the faucet. After they are thoroughly soaked, lift them and "feel" how heavy they are. Now you will never have to guess if they need watering. Let them dry to just damp. Don't water them until they are almost dry.