Advice: Pot Oncidium seedling? I purchased this #Oncidium Jiaho Queen (AM yellow & black) seedling a couple of months ago. She looks ready to go into her “next stage” pot but wanted to check with my #orchids folks. It’s my first Oncidium so not sure on getting her roots fully in media or leaving them out? How much big/bigger of a pot. Is plastic with side holes ok or keep her in terracotta?
I would agree with you that it looks like it could use a repot. It’s usually a good time when it’s creating a new growth, since even if you damage some roots in the process, the new growth should be making new roots soon. Advice/tips: I would switch to a clear plastic ventilated pot, an inch or two bigger, depending on how the roots look when you repot. Getting it out of the terra cotta may be a problem- some roots tend to really adhere to this material and end up getting snapped or stripped during a repot. With plastic, you can sort of squeeze the sides and it helps loosen them a bit, and it’s of course smooth, not porous. To help get it out safely, I would submerge the whole pot, all the way up to the base of the pseudobulb- but not including them- you don’t want water in the folds of the new growth- and let it soak thoroughly. Maybe 20-25 mins. Then just be as gentle as you can. Trim away any dead roots- dry and papery or soft and mushy. Determine the size pot you’ll need, and yes, I would include the aerial roots that are outside the media now. If you soak them, they will be a little more flexible. If you just cant arrange them into the pot, no big deal, as long as you have healthy roots in the pot. If you are changing the type of medium you use- to more or less water retentive, depending on what you find in the pot or what your environment requires, I would just keep an eye on that aerial root because it’ll need to acclimate to a more water retentive life. It’ll adjust- you just don’t want to shock it with a totally wet life after being pretty airy its whole life.
2 Likes Thank you for the wonderful advice!!!
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