I need repotting advice for my Oncidium. The newest bulbs are “elevated” or growing above the old bulbs (wrinkled ones) and I’m not sure how to repot the plant. I want to make sure the new bulb roots are in the bark mix, but I don’t want to bury the old bulbs. I’ve been using moss to keep the newer roots covered. Any suggestions for how to repot would be appreciated. Thanks 🙏
You could divide it and pot the new and old bulbs separately, if there are at least three of each. If not, I wouldn’t worry about the new bulbs not being entirely in the mix; orchids aren’t like other plants and all the roots don’t have to be covered.
0 J'aime It’s probably too small to divide. There’s only two older bulbs and two newer bulbs. There’s another newer bulb that is starting to grow but it’s only an 1” big right now.
2 J'aimeI have three or four varieties of oncidium that have this ‘climbing’ growth pattern, and it annoys the heck out of me. If your orchid is due for a repot, with the medium being old, then I have some advice that might be mildly helpful. But if it’s not really due for a repot, then I’d recommended exactly what you are doing with the moss. The new roots should make their way down into the medium. It’s not the neatest solution, but it works just fine if your environment isn’t EXCESSIVELY dry and killing off the new roots.
2 J'aime I welcome your advice on repotting and it is due for a repot, but I’m not sure how to position it. I’ve never had an orchid with “climbing” growth. If I turn the plant on its side maybe I could try repotting in a rectangular container instead of a normal circular pot? Trying to be creative but maybe I’m not making any sense 😂 It’s not super dry here, but not super humid either. I do get a marine fog in the evening that helps with humidity
0 J'aimeHere’s one of my examples. The oldest pseudobulb is on the left, and the 6th on the right is WAY up above the medium. For the last repot, I did try to kind of angle the plant so all the roots were in the medium but none of the plant was buried in it. A rectangular pt is not a terrible idea- this one seems to grow in a straight line. I do find the bulbs tend to lean toward the light from the window, but I can never get them to completely ‘turn’ from this straight line growth.
Thank you for the pic. That’s helpful 🙏☺️.
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