Growth of Oncidium Orchids roots

[@wanchungkwok9710]

This is very helpful! It is exactly the advice I need right now. I have an oncidium which has brown roots and wrinkly bulbs plus a new shoots growing many new roots. Now I know what to do 😊

[@42istheanswer23]

Thank you Dani! I know you posted this a while ago, but I'm new to orchids and this video was a great tutorial on Oncidium psb. Coming into this world with no prior knowledge - it can be kinda confusing. You did a wonderful job of EXPLAINING what and why and how - too often you're just told what to do without an explanation of why. thanks again, L

[@reptilegrrl]

I bought my first oncidiums recently. One was a Heaven Scent 'Sweet Baby", and almost all of the roots were dead. I removed the dead roots, and the old PBs are producing new roots. There are many new growths, also making new roots. Every old oncidium bulb is essentially a plant in itself- the old bulbs are photosynthesizing and if they have roots, they are also bringing in nutrients and water.

[@tatianaloch1560]

oh my gosh so ironic you did this video!! my poor beautiful pink twinkle was bought packed sooooo tight in sphagnum moss that even though it had nice shoots, the roots were destroyed and i had to cut them completely back. apparently it's very lucky to have a dozen pseudoblubs and 3 new shoots though, yay!! crossing fingers it will survive. repotted it on the 15th and i think i see a new root coming out already :) my little oncidium is such a fighter, love it. thanks for all the awesome videos, i've really learned a lot :)

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Good luck with your little oncidium, I'm sure it will become healthy really fast, oncidiums are tough ;) thanks for watching!

[@BrownThumbs]

Love your green nails :) Your very right in that old bulbs, even those with few/no roots are storage vessels for the new growth (along the rhizome). That's why, when I divided my Sharry Baby & had a single back bulb left over with a single new growth, it's not growing for me like those with 3 or more bulbs to support the new growths (halp!). Great video as always & thanks for sharing!

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Thanks Brown Thumbs :D I have a few backbulbs too, you're right they are just sooo slow and flimsy :P

[@baileysup]

Very informative video. I didn't know that about the old pseudo bulbs. Thanks :)

[@MissOrchidGirl]

You're welcome :)

[@hlmfl]

I think I may have noticed this on my new Cattleya also. It's the newest pseudobulb only putting out roots like crazy.

[@MissOrchidGirl]

yes indeed, they are the big producers, the others just supply the coffee :))

[@cotofino]

Thank you Very much, like always you are very kind

[@GiovanniOrchidsKiller]

I think you are super right ... in my Oncs happen the same thing .. thanks Danni ...

[@MissOrchidGirl]

:D you're welcome Giovanni

[@alanm9523]

Fascinating. So we can water oncidiums quite abundantly (compared to a phal) because even if the roots did get too wet and died, they only really need to last for a year in the worst case scenario? It goes without saying that the more healthy roots the better but I think many of us are scared of watering our oncidiums. My phals love their coarse mix and the opportunity to dry down just a tiny bit before being soaked again. I don't get any root rot and the leaves stay firm and green. But whenever I try a dendrobium, intergeneric or pure oncidium my canes/pseudobulbs just keep wrinkling and I feel like I am being very generous on the water. My new oncidiums are wrinkling now after about a week of having them. I repotted the day I got them. They had wonderful, thick, firm roots, so many roots I could not put them back in the pot and went up a size. I water twice this week but I am seeing the pseudobulbs lightly shrivel. My humidity is 50-60% naturally. Would you suggest maintaining twice a week watering but soaking well for an hour each time or increasing frequency to 3-4 times a week and just letting the water run through? They are in a finer mix than my phals, a commercial mix of bark but unfortunately a little peat in there which is not my favourite but it is just a little bit. Maybe I am too mean on the water but I do not want root rot as I am nursing an oncidium that I bought with only two healthy roots and it looks like a prune (but has a new shoot that is almost 2cm now!!!)

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi, well the thing is that many Oncidiums (and other orchids) with extensive root systems will lose part of them when repotted. Some roots are kinda old and will go when disturbed, the most recent roots don't die though. Also after repotting they usually start to wrinkle as they were disturbed, but they will plump back up when the roots get established. My suspicion is that some of the roots will die on the Oncidium, but not all of them. I usually do something pretty drastic in this case, because I had too many cases with Oncidiums and big extensive root systems to start to smell bad after one month or so, which you might or might not want to do, up to you :) I usually cut away the oldest roots, I figure out which are the 2 newest psb and only leave the roots from them. Everything older than that I cut. I prefer this to leaving all the roots on as they will die. However you might not be ok with it :) for now I think what is happening is normal, no need to increase watering as you might suffocate the roots. Oncidiums do like moisture, but ventilation too, so be sure the medium is not compacted and that they don't stay soggy, but damp. Let it be for a while and if the medium starts to smell bad after watering, some roots died and I would go back and cut whatever died. Hope this helped :) I will actually make a video on this as it's a slightly delicate subject :P

[@cassycat100]

gre advice! im wondering if the old pseudo bulbs become stressed out are they more likely to produce many new growths ? I have a stressed orchid that's putting out a bunch of growths!

[@cassycat100]

great *

[@MissOrchidGirl]

cassycat100 Hi Cassy, yes I think a stress factor induces new shoot production :) just like backbulbs, they wouldn't normally produce new shoots, but when separated they do ;)

[@finflwr]

Hi Danni. I bought an orchid yesterday that I'd not normally consider buying due to it's condition. however, I could not resist it's red colour!! It's an oncidium type. The 'problem' if it is one, is that it has only one pseudobulb; the one that has the flower spike. no old bulbs, no new shoots, I would really appreciate any advice you could give me. The roots in the pot seem quite healthy and numerous, so that's a plus : )

[@MissOrchidGirl]

+finflwr well first off.. it might have some tiny backbulbs buried in the media, so dig a bit and you might find them :) if it doesn't, well it's just a backbulb but I cannot imagine a backbulb flowering, maybe they were removed recently. As long as the bulb you see looks plump all is fine, but keep an eye on it ;)

[@finflwr]

MissOrchidGirl Thanks, I will do : )

[@yoshsakasegawa4514]

Hi Danni, thanks for the informative videos. I learn so much from them!! So I built a little greenhouse out of an 18" square bakers' rack that I wrapped in patio screening. It's about 5' tall. I'm trying to get the phaels to flower by letting them experience the drop in temperature overnight. Currently it's in the mid to low 60's at night and in the mid to high 80's in the day. The plants get a maximum of about 4 foot candles of light for a short couple of hours in the morning since it's facing East. I have a couple questions. First, how long should I leave them outside to experience the temperature change before I bring them back in? Do I wait until they spike? Can I bring them inside afterwards, or would you recommend leaving them outside until the temperature gets too cold? I also have a Sharry Baby orchid that I bought with a spike on it. Should this one be in the house now that it's spiked, or should I leave it outside to encourage additional spikes? Thanks in advance for any help you could offer!!

[@MissOrchidGirl]

+Yosh Sakasegawa Hi, first of all 4 foot candles is.. well pitch dark :) I'm sure it was a typo but if not, orchids need light :) aim for 1500-3000 fk with Phals, don't keep them in the dark. Second, you can keep them out to get low temperatures until you see a spike forming, afterwards you can bring them inside to warmth. Oncidiums don't work like this, if there is no new psb newly form to produce a spike, you cannot obtain new spikes, so if your oncidium has a spike now, keep it warm in the house and enjoy the blooms. Here is the life cycle of Oncidium orchids kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHSwkqNsmp6tock

[@yoshsakasegawa4514]

+MissOrchidGirl Oops, yes you are right!! I forgot the 0's. Thanks for the oncidium tip. I can't wait for Sharry Baby to bloom!! 😃

[@Maiita]

Hi Danni! Thank you so much for these videos! I purchased an intergeneric from Ikea about a year ago (as it is only labeled as "Cambria" and it has not flowered yet, I do not know what kind, but it is definitely part Oncidium). Unfortunately, the root system on this orchid was in very bad shape and after a couple of months the orchid even got all wobbly in the pot. The new growth looks good for now, even though the two older pseudobulbs are wrinkly. I removed all the dead roots and was left with three roots from the new growth. On top of the bark mix, I have a layer of sphagnum moss that I moisten every day. As this is my first orchid rescue, my question is: How quickly do roots on Oncidium orchid grow, and is there something else I can do to help the orchid?

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi, I think you did good so far :) Did you repot into fresh medium? If yes then the roots should start to grow into the pot within a few months, maybe 2-4 months. The older pseudobulbs will probably start to plump up at that point too. Just make sure the moss is damp and also when the medium dries, or is almost dry, water the entire pot. I think your orchid will do ok though, good job :)

[@Motheroftwins979]

Danni, I recently purchased an Oncidium Sharry Baby. It is currently in spike so I plan to repot after it blooms. My question is - This oncidium has so many air roots, how would you repot this plant? I tried to add a photo of my plant but I can't figure out how to do it in this format. Is there another way I can share the photo? Thank you for all your wonderful videos.

[@MissOrchidGirl]

+Margaret Gillan Hi, well usually I let the non aerial roots inside media and the aerial roots just be aerial :) but it depends, you can upload a pic on g plus, flickr or photobucket and share the link in a comment here so I can take a look :)

[@Motheroftwins979]

+MissOrchidGirl here is a link to the photo goo.gl/photos/yprw7nBoEwhriSUi7

[@MissOrchidGirl]

+Margaret Gillan oh my lol yes well this is where the 'it depends' part of things comes :P those roots should have been in the media. I usually place them inside the media, but there is a chance some of them might not adapt and die. There's no way around it though, that orchid needs a bigger pot and the roots should be in the media to make your life easier when watering. Ok when you repot, place the roots in the media. A few weeks after repotting just sniff the media when you water. If at some point you feel a rotting smell, like chemicals, it's time to unpot it and cut the roots that didn't make it. It doesn't always happen ;)

[@Motheroftwins979]

+MissOrchidGirl perfect- that's what I will do. The orchid is very top heavy and tippy so I look forward to a new pot. Thanks for your quick and sage advice!

[@MaryAnn1174]

MissOrchidGirl Jose

[@ALEXSF24]

i have a lycaste depppei without roots the bulbs are thick and health but i can see any new bulb

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi Alexis, I am not sure about that particular lycaste, but it might be one of those that go through awinter dormancy, in which time they don;t produce new shoots. Just give it a little more time if everything looks still ok :)

[@ALEXSF24]

MissOrchidGirl thanks too share all your knowledge

[@cotofino]

hi Dany, can you please tall me what is the name of this orchid ? today i did buy it from the store and as usual there is no name on it. regards.

[@MissOrchidGirl]

cotofino the one in the beginning is Oncidium Jungle Monarch