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Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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Posted by ech_a_holic PA (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 12:55
| Greetings All,
My question today is concerning the Dancing Lady of the orchid world, Miss. Oncidium.
My beef with this genus is that they seem to be (in my opinion) one of the hardest to maintain aesthetically. I can keep them alive, but I almost always have to look at a shriveled bulb. I mean we are talking about some severe wrinkling up the side of two or three bulbs, not necessarily all of them.
When speaking to someone at my local nursery they suggested that the bulbs were "old" and eventually going to be dropped by the plant. This theory holds value except that the plants themselves are relatively young (maybe 2 years).
I have tried watering them more often as I thought initially that they were drying out and sapping the water out of the bulb for sustenance, but that only allowed me to discover how to rot an oncidium quickly. I am aware that it prefers to be a bit more moist than some orchids, but there is a fine line when watering more than once a day to try and plump up some shriveled bulbs.
Then I tried watering less and watched the bulbs shrivel even more and the entire plant suffer. Once I did water again I was greeted with more rot due to the stress I was putting on it while not watering.
Now I have killed two different oncidiums in about two months (so much sadness).
This destructive cycle is what brings me here today. Help my little ballerinas please. Tell me, oh great sages, why oh why can I not get a smooth bulb?
I am also having this same problem with my Brassidiums, only not to the degree as with the Oncidiums. They hold relatively stable and the crackling is slow.
Am I dealing with an invisible virus or fungus? Do my plants just hate me?
Please help me restore my confidence and achieve a smooth bulb.
Thank you so much in advance !
~ Patrick |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| Do you have names? Could be something to do with your growing conditions or perhaps the potting mix. Also, some are easier to grow than others with perhaps Oncidium Sharry Baby being rated by many as being easy and Oncidium twinkle being more difficult. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| I had no success at all growing Oncidium in England which is roughly the same latitude as PA. Here in Brazil they grow like mustard and cress. The key difference is not temperature but light (I assume you have a heated greenhouse) most Oncs are medium to high light plants. They grow very well mounted ( and are harder to kill that way). I'd try growing them without any shade. Now in Winter would be a good time to start as there is less likelihood of them burning, if they have been used to shady conditions. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| Thanks to both of you for the advice. :O) I actually do not have them in a green house. They are under lights on a rack in my bedroom (classy). 2x T12 and 2x T8. They get 13 hours of light a day at around 71 degree F. Humidity is fine as I have them next to open trays of water for the ferns also on the shelf (whole nother forum). I did have three oncidiums when this all began but am now down to 1. She is a twinkle (do they come in anything other than mini?). As stated in my previous post the other two rotted. They were not mini's, but I do not have species unfortunately. Also included in the collection are what I believe to be 2 Brassidiums. I was told that they were Brassavola when they were given to me, but after the description of the flower and research, I think they are Brassidiums. They do not appear to be suffering the degree of bulb shriveling/crackling as my twinkle, but they do have a few that appeared after they came under my care. Currently twinkle gets watered every other day as she is in an extremely small black plastic pot (1 1/2 inch maybe?). I will repot AS SOON as she is NOT in full bloom. IF I must before that please advise as I am aware of plastic pots and orchids. There are proper ones but this is not the case. The Brassidiums are in 5.5 inch Dual Oxygen Core Pots. They get watered every other day also as their medium stays moist for a day or so. There is noticeable new root growth and a whole new bulb on the one plant. So I must be doin' somethin' right with them. I guess the question with twinkle comes down to, is there enough light? Do I hack the flower for the sack of the plant and repot? Or is water the issue? Wow, I can really narrow it down can't I (sarcasm). If anyone still has the energy left, please advise as to your experience with Oncidium and what were your Do's and Don’ts. Maybe I am just missing something small. Thank you again so much ! |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| If you were trying to fatten the wrinkled leaves or bulbs you would never have suceeded, as once wrinkled, these don't plump up again. It's the new bulbs that would show the benefits of more water. Here in NJ I had my oncidiums in a west window. They were in fine bark. Indoors during the winter I watered them every four days or so, and outdoors in the summer twice a week or even more often. I treated the brassavola the same. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| It is very likely that you are over watering. The roots stop absorbing water and rot. Read up on the pencil test that is described in the FAQ. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| I grow mine in LFSM and wait until it dries before watering. I find Oncs. very easy. However, I AM a Phal killer. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| I let mine dry out almost completely. In winter they can go a week or two before I water. They are in plastic pots, full South sun. Jane |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| I think the diagnosis given in the above posts of over-watering is correct. I suspect that that is why Oncidium Twinkle is rated on the difficult side by many. I have plants of Oncidium ornithorhynchum, one of the parents of Twinkle and the watering period of that orchid in winter is about once a week. The other parent Oncididium cheirophorum might be best grown on a mount. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| Sheila, I'm going waay out on a limb here to guess that LFSM is Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss. I learned this acronym this morning after I Binged "LFSM orchid". tommyr, we're only beginners here. :) --Stitz-- |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| Amen stitz! Easy as they say Paphs are, I kill every one of them I touch. I only now have a multifloral hybrid that seems to be doing alright. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| I have an oncidium Twinkle with two dozen+ pbulbs and it's been blooming nicely for the past 2 years (ever since I got it). This year, it put out about a dozen spikes, and I removed a couple of them because I didn't want to plant to get "too tired." Now the flowers all faded, and I realized over the course of one month, the bulbs have shriveled quite a bit. I have been keeping it on the dry side (maybe not good)...though I guess that spending energy on flowers can also deflate bulbs. Also, you can do a root check. If the roots are hollow, then they're dead, meaning the plant can't absorb enough water to plump up its bulbs. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| I have this same problem. shriveled bulbs. I will try watering less and putting them in more sun light. Thank You all for your input. |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| I guess my question would be; in the summer, wouldn't the heat of the sun pull all the water out of the planting medium and cause the bulbs to shrivel if you did not water more often? |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| Many years ago, I read that with many Oncidium species, the most common mistake made is that growers observe the pseudobulbs severely shriveling during late autumn and winter, panic and immediately water. The article continued to note that many species normally look like crap with a significant die-off during this period. Watering is often the last thing that these plants need. --Stitz-- |
RE: Shriveled Oncidium Bulbs
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| My Oncidium (Onc. Alliance, unknown what kind) is grown in LFSM, in a hanging wicker basket, outside in zone 9a. It is much happier in these conditions than it was grown inside in zone 6a (where I moved from and where it was purchased). It gets dappled bright light most of the day, and in the summer I water it every other day. Most of the p.bulbs look good except the biggest one, which has never resembled anything other than a raisin :) In case you were wondering: I let it live outside until the temps get below 55 degrees or so. ( it only gets watered about once a week, if that when the temps drop). I'm thinking of getting a paph. next spring to see if it will grow under these same conditions. I've never tried paphs before, but would love to if they're as easy and outdoor-friendly as my Oncidium... ~AOK |
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